7.1 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.0 | |
Overall | 2.0 |
A stern Sicilian patriarch struggles to save face in the midst of a family crisis sparked by the unfortunate impregnation of his youngest daughter by the rakish fiancee of his oldest daughter.
Starring: Stefania Sandrelli, Saro Urzě, Aldo Puglisi, Lando Buzzanca, Lola BracciniForeign | 100% |
Drama | 50% |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Family | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Italian: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
Italian: Dolby Digital 2.0
Italian SDH, English, French
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region B (locked)
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 2.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 2.0 |
Pietro Germi's "Seduced and Abandoned" a.k.a. "Seduced and Abandoned" (1964) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Italian distributors Cristaldi Film/Cecchi Gori. The supplemental features on the disc inlcude deleted and extended scenes; documentary film; archival video interview with actress Stefania Sandrelli; archival video interview with actor Lando Buzzanca; collection of stills from the film; and more. In Italian, with optional English, French, and Italian SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".
Agnese
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Pietro Germi's Seduced and Abandoned arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Italian distributors Cristaldi Film/Cecchi Gori.
The technical presentation of this classic Italian film is very disappointing. It appears that the high-definition transfer has been struck from a recent master -- quite possibly after the original negative was scanned -- but machine noise is visible throughout the entire film. What makes the technical presentation very problematic, however, are the numerous traces of compromising digital corrections (denoising and sharpening adjustments) which have affected image depth and clarity. Many of the close-ups, for example, look uncharacteristically flat, while wider panoramic shots appear smeary (see screencaptures #2 and 16). The encoding is also problematic -- there are visible artifacts and even distracting macroblocking. The only good news here is that image stability is excellent. All in all, if the raw files created during the scanning still exist, a different distributor can easily create a very beautiful Blu-ray release of Seduced and Abandoned. The current technical presentation, however, is very disappointing. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).
There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and Italian Dolby Digital 2.0. For the record, Cecchi Gori have provided optional English, French, and Italian SDH subtitles for the main feature.
The lossless Italian track is excellent. I did some direct comparisons with my Italian DVD release and depth and clarity are indeed substantially improved. Even during seemingly casual sequences -- for example, see the sequence where Don Vincenzo slaps his daughters after he discovers that Agnese is pregnant -- the sound is much better. Of course, the music and dialog are also properly pitched. There is no background hiss, pops, audio dropouts, or digital distortions to report in this review. The English translation is excellent.
I have been hoping to see a Pietro Germi film transition to Blu-ray and I could not be happier when earlier this year I learned that one of the Italian director's best, Seduced and Abandoned, with beautiful Stefania Sandrelli, will be released by Cecchi Gori. Unfortunately, I have to say that this is one of the year's most disappointing releases -- it is plagued by too many issues that make it very difficult to enjoy the film. Since Seduced and Abandoned was previously released on DVD by Criterion, I hope that we will eventually see a proper U.S. Blu-ray release. AVOID.
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