6.7 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
In the first of a trilogy of movies about Elisabeth "Sissi" of Austria, the young vibrant princess catches the eye of her sister's fiancé, Emperor Franz Josef.
Starring: Romy Schneider, Karlheinz Böhm, Magda Schneider, Uta Franz, Gustav KnuthHistory | 100% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1, 1.33:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.75:1
German: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Note: This film is available as a part of
The Sissi Collection.
Peter O’Toole will enter the cinematic record books for any number of reasons, including the fact that he remains one of the most Oscar nominated
actors to never receive an “official” award (O’Toole was feted with an honorary Academy Award in 2003, perhaps precisely because he had
never “really” won). O’Toole’s second and third nominations for Best Actor made history in a different way, for in 1964’s Becket and 1968’s The Lion in Winter, O’Toole was playing the same real life historical character (at different ages), King Henry II. There
have been at least a few other performers who have played the same character in different films, and some of them, like Bing Crosby in Going My Way and The Bells of St. Mary's, or Al Pacino, in The
Godfather and The Godfather: Part II, have also
garnered Oscar nominations for each film, like O'Toole, though by and large those performances have been of fictional characters. One of the few
other
times the same performer has played the same real life historical character in otherwise unrelated films was when Romy Schneider "recreated" her
take on Empress Elisabeth of Austria for Luchino Visconti's Ludwig
, years after she had taken on the same role in a series of films that became known as The Sissi Trilogy ("Sissi" was the diminutive
nickname family members called Elisabeth). This in and of itself is kind of a fascinating "trivia" phenomenon, since I personally can't think of
another example where one performer essayed a role based on a real life historical figure in a "series" and then played the same role years later in
a completely unrelated film. There are of course other manifest differences between the series and the Visconti film, due not just to the different
eras in which they were produced, but also due to the fact that Ludwig is an often provocative, even trenchant, entry, while all three
Sissi films tend to exploit a glossy quasi-"Hollywood" style where happily ever after is never too far out of reach.
All three of the Sissi films in The Sissi Collection
are presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Film Movement with AVC encoded 1080p transfers in both 1.33:1 and 1.78:1 in what Film Movement is
touting as new 2K restorations (without stating what exactly was the source for the restorations). All three films feature an announcement that they
have been digitally remastered by Arri Film and Television Restoration Services and Taurus Media Digital. Because all three share certain
similarities, I'll deal with them as a group before moving on to comments about each
film separately. Perhaps surprisingly, given the era in which they were shot, all three were evidently originally released in Academy Ratio, despite
the
fact that the "widescreen" rage had already erupted on this side of the pond. Therefore, most of the screenshots I've included with each review
feature
that aspect ratio, but I have also included a few of the "rejiggered" 1.78:1 versions so that those interested can see the differences in framing. One
of
the most noticeable differences is not in fact with regard to framing but with regard to the appearance of grain, which is much more substantially
noticeable in the 1.78:1 versions, I assume due to being blown up and cropped to fit that aspect ratio. All three films were shot using the German
Agfacolor process, a technique that is manifestly different looking than "classic" Technicolor. If "Technicolor reds" might be thought of as one of the
defining characteristics of that technology, I'd argue that "Agfacolor blues" might be a corollary for this particular process. Otherwise, Agfacolor can
look just a little anemic, at least relative to Golden Age Technicolor, with reds tending to skew a bit toward the pink or orange side of things and the
overall palette never looking quite as richly suffused as in traditional Technicolor outings. The restorations are by and large quite winning, though
eagle
eyed viewers may still catch a stray (minor) blemish or two that peeks through now and again. Detail levels are a little variable, with all three films
looking a bit on the soft side. At times even midrange shots tend to look a bit "blurry" in terms of things like facial details. That said, in close-ups,
fine
detail on elements like the opulent costumes and sets can be excellent. While there is a fine grain field in the 1.33:1 versions, things look just
slightly
digital to my eyes, with perhaps some high frequency filtering having been applied, since the grain field is somewhat variable and tends to look
unnatural at times.
The odd looking grain in all three features is evident right off the bat in the first Sissi film during the credits sequence, where, while there
is "something" crawling through the background, there's also a frozen look to large swaths of the frame, something that becomes
immediately apparent if you pause the Blu-ray at any given moment. Once the film starts, things look a good deal more natural, and in fact the
grain field has moments of looking almost noisy, especially in some of the more brightly lit outdoor moments where shots include summery skies.
But there's something just slightly "off" here, and as I'll mention in all the reviews of the films in this set, the best way to see some of the anomalies
is to freeze frame at various intervals, where grain can be seen to clump or swarm in sections of any individual frame, with a complete absence in
other parts of the frame, to the point they almost look airbrushed (a good place to try this experiment is in the early hunting scene with Sissi and
her father that begins at circa 16:45). Other than this issue (which may not bother others as much as it did me), colors are decent looking, and
some of the palace reds and the vivid red of Sissi's cape in the final barge scene pop rather impressively well. Fine detail on elements like the
feathered hats several characters wear is also very good, at least in close-ups. There are some minor brightness fluctuations that also crop up from
time to time.
All three of the Sissi films feature DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Dolby Digital 5.1 mixes in the original German. Why these have not been offered with the original mono tracks is unfortunate, since aside from some age related issues like overall boxiness, there are recurrent prioritization issues in all three films that sounded decidedly unnatural to my ears. For example, sound effects like squawking geese or galloping horse hooves can occasionally overwhelm dialogue. The "surround" activity in these mixes is intermittent at best and at worst tends to add too much reverb (for my ears, anyway), leading to a somewhat diffuse sound. There is minor distortion in all three films with regard to some of the music, especially in terms of the more blaring brass or higher string sounds. Dialogue generally comes through fine, with the exception of the aforementioned prioritization issues.
While there are some supplements included in this package, none are on this particular disc. See our The Sissi Collection Blu-ray review for details.
There's an interesting essay in the insert booklet included in this set which indicates that part of Sissi's enduring popularity in Germany came courtesy of annual broadcasts on television around Christmastime, and it's easy to see why a film like this would resonate so well during the holiday time. It's a rather simple story, told simply, with a lot of visual allure, and as such may well appeal to both adults and kids in sugar comas and recovering from a day of opening presents. Film Movement provides a release with some hurdles in both video and audio, but there's a lot to enjoy here, at least for those not expecting a Ludwig style deconstruction of history. Recommended.
(Still not reliable for this title)
Sissi - Schicksalsjahre einer Kaiserin
1957
Sissi - Die junge Kaiserin
1956
1994
1965
2017
Limited Edition to 3000 - SOLD OUT
1954
2016
1970
2011
Warner Archive Collection
1955
2014
2013
1964
2011
Intolerance / The Mother and the Law / The Fall of Babylon
1916
2013
2006
2011
1970
1964