7 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
A wealthy Englishman finds his third wife dead. After the police discover that his first two wives had also died suddenly, an investigation is launched. Meanwhile, a new neighbor moves in and becomes very interested in him.
Starring: Carroll Baker, Michael Craig (I), Miranda Campa, José Luis López Vázquez, Enzo GarineiMystery | 100% |
Thriller | 11% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
Italian: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
In some ways, Carroll Baker might have seemed like an unlikely candidate to bid adieu (or arriverderci as the case may be) to Hollywood and all it had to offer in pursuit of a career in some fairly lurid at times European fare. After all, Baker was an alum of the well regarded Actors Studio and had a rather notable early start in major film roles with two 1956 efforts, Giant and Baby Doll, the latter of which afforded her her sole Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. But as evidenced perhaps by the fact that her next film, The Big Country, came out two years later may indicate that Baker was not on an overly hard charging career path, and if her filmography is perused, there are some surprising gaps in terms of "really big" films, with several years intervening (admittedly with parts, albeit in films that are not that well remembered) before How the West Was Won and some subsequent films like The Carpetbaggers, Cheyenne Autumn and The Greatest Story Ever Told came out. However, it was probably Baker's attempt at a biographical film of Jean Harlow that may have put the kibosh, at least temporarily, on any plans Baker may have made to remain in the American film industry. The lackluster response to that film, along with a deteriorating relationship with both producer Joseph E. Levine and Baker's soon to be ex-husband Jack Garfein, may have been the veritable straws that broke the camel's back, with the result being Baker's move to Italy, where for the next several years she managed to forge a substantially successful career, typically as a damsel in distress in any number of gialli.
The Fourth Victim is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Severin Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. The back cover of this release states that this is "the English language Blu-ray premiere" and has been "scanned in 2K from the original negative". This feature may be a rare enough find that fans will be willing to overlook some deficits here, for judging by appearances the negative may not have been curated especially effectively. While this is perfectly watchable, I'm officially scoring this at 3.0 at least in part to temper expectations since Severin typically does such a nice job with some of the cult items they release. There is a somewhat anemic looking palette at times, and blacks are noticeably milky and at times kind of tinged with blue, something that can lead to deficits in both detail and shadow definition in the many dimly lit scenes. There are also rather wide and noticeable brightness fluctuations. A lot of the more brightly lit material pops at least relatively well by comparison, and select moments can actually look quite good, all things considered (see screenshot 4). There are some minor signs of age related wear and tear, but frankly damage in the form of scratches or other blemishes is probably less of a concern than the flicker situation and some of the palette anomalies. All things told, my score is 3.25.
The Fourth Victim features DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono tracks in either English or Italian. Toggling between the two shows some noticeable amplitude differences, with the English track sounding hotter. That may account for why certain moments, like the female vocalist featured in the film's appealing theme by Piero Umiliani may tiptoe right up to the edge of distortion, even if they don't quite tip all of the way over into it. As is always the case with these international co-productions, you're getting dubbed voices one way or the other, and so sync will be loose (as they say) no matter which version is opted for, though my advice is to stick with the English, which is somewhat more robust and offers Craig and Baker in their natural habitat, so to speak (no pun intended). Optional English subtitles are available.
There are some rather wide tonal variances in this film, which kind of meanders between low comedy and quasi-Hitchcockian duplicity and angst, but Baker is fun in a role that perhaps gives her a bit more of a chance to offer nuance than a traditional damsel in distress situation. Video here has some issues that my hunch is cult fans are going to be willing to cut some slack to if not completely ignore. Audio has its own hurdles, albeit probably less noticeable ones. The supplemental interview in particular is excellent, for those who are considering making a purchase.
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