7.4 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
A butler working in a foreign embassy in London falls under suspicion when his wife accidentally falls to her death, the only witness being an impressionable young boy.
Starring: Ralph Richardson (I), Michèle Morgan, Sonia Dresdel, Denis O'Dea, Jack Hawkins (I)Drama | 100% |
Mystery | Insignificant |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.37:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.37:1
English: LPCM 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region B (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Nominated for Oscar Awards for Best Director and Best Writing, Carol Reed's "The Fallen Idol" (1948) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of StudioCanal. The supplemental features on the disc include interviews actor Robert Henrey and assistant director Guy Hamilton; interview with film historian Charles Drazin; interview with filmmaker Richard Ayoade; featurette with historian Richard Dacre; and restoration demonstration. The release also arrives with an 18-page illustrated booklet featuring an essay by film critic Ryan Gilbey. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".
"Au revoir, Papa!"
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.37:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Carol Reed's The Fallen Idol arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of StudioCanal.
UPDATE 2: I just received a corrected copy from StudioCanal and can confirm that the framing issue that was described in our review earlier has been fixed. The film is now properly framed in its original aspect ratio of 1.37:1. Please note that screencaptures #1-20 are from the fixed release. You can order safely a copy of this film for you collection now.
UPDATE: StudioCanal have confirmed that the issue described in our review (see below) occurred during the encoding process. New discs will be pressed and a replacement service will be offered for customers on request. Folks who wish to exchange their discs must send full details to info@studiocanal.co.uk. Replacement discs will be send out as soon as they are made available. Once we receive a repressed disc, one score will be adjusted accordingly. (For the record, the actual restoration of the film is very good).
***
There are some good news and some bad news about this recent release.
The good news: The new restoration is lovely. Generally speaking, detail and depth range from good to very good. Because there are some obvious source limitations, there are some notable density fluctuations. Some small traces of fading and various minor scratches and blemishes remain as well. However, shadow definition is a lot more convincing and the heavy crushing from previous releases is practically eliminated. Grain exposure does fluctuate a bit, but because careful work was done to rebalance the image without affecting its integrity the film has a nice and stable organic appearance. Also, there are a few uneven transitions, but overall image stability is very good. In other words, after the digital restoration this is clearly the best this classic film has ever looked.
The bad news: It appears that there is a mastering defect. I do not wish to speculate what might have happened during the encoding process, but currently there is some very obvious vertical stretching inside the 1.29:1 image frame. Especially during close-ups it immediately becomes obvious that the composition/balance inside the image frame is problematic. You can see examples in screencaptures #3, 22, 23, 25, 26, 32. I was particularly bothered by close-ups of Michele Morgan's face because the stretching is very distracting. The good news here is that StudioCanal's master appears to be properly framed, so it should be very easy to reauthor replacement discs. In the restoration demonstration clips that are offered on the disc, the footage is properly framed in 1.33:1 and there is no vertical stretching inside the image frame. You can see close-ups from the original scan, the restored scan, and the complete restoration in screencaptures #36, 37, 38, 39, and 40.
To sum it all up, the new restoration of The Fallen Idol is very good, but the current technical presentation is problematic. However, once the defect is eliminated, the new restoration will likely remain the film's definitive presentation on the home video market.
(Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).
There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.
Depth and clarity remain pleasing throughout the entire film. However, there is some extremely light buzz that is present in the high-frequencies. It isn't distracting, but it can be heard. There are no stability issues. Also, there are no pops or audio dropouts to report in our review.
UPDATE: I just received a corrected copy of The Fallen Idol from StudioCanal and can confirm that the framing issue that was described in our review earlier has been fixed. If you wish to own a Blu-ray copy of the film in your collection, you can order with confidence now. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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