7.2 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
A sailor bets he can seduce a wealthy man's wife, not knowing the man has hired a woman to play the role.
Starring: Jeanne Moreau, Orson Welles, Norman Eshley, Fernando Rey, Roger CoggioForeign | 100% |
Drama | 92% |
Romance | 14% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.66:1
English: LPCM Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
French: LPCM Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English, English SDH
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Orson Welles died on October 10, 1985 at the age of seventy, just a couple of months before the film version of Out of Africa opened (note that the link points to the pretty problematic first Blu-ray release, since the review of that version was written by yours truly; there’s a better looking release also available). Welles had reportedly considered filming the memoir of “Isak Dinesen” (a pen name for Karen Blixen) at some point, though as with so many other projects that drifted by the famed auteur, Out of Africa never materialized as a Welles film. Welles did have a hand in a screen adaptation of another Dinesen piece, namely this 1968 effort for French television which was culled from a Dinesen short tale included in an anthology collection of hers entitled Anecdotes of Destiny, which according to some online sources was originally published on October 12, 1958, virtually 27 years to the day before Welles expired. The Immortal Story probably won’t be considered “prime” Welles even by diehard fans of the legend, but it has some interesting elements, not the least of which is it is evidently the first Welles offering shot in color. There are some limits to this piece which no doubt sprang from a general lack of funding (a recurring issue in Welles’ professional life, as many will no doubt already know), but there’s still some intriguing style on display here in a kind of wending, soap operatic saga that has certain “meta” elements which may appeal to some.
The Immortal Story is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of The Criterion Collection with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.66:1. Criterion's accordion style foldout insert contains the following information on the transfer:
The Immortal Story is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.66:1. On standard 4:3 televisions, the image will appear letterboxed. On standard and widescreen televisions, black bars may also be visible on the left and right to maintain the proper screen format. This new digital transfer was created in 4K resolution from the 35 mm original camera negative and a 35 mm interpositive. Restoration was undertaken in 2K resolution at Eclair | Groupe Ymagis by Gaumont, with the support of the CNC.This is by and large a very winning looking transfer, though I'm assuming some of the slight variances seen in color timing and (especially) thickness of the grain field may be due to the two separate source elements listed above. Densities are generally excellent, and the bulk of the transfer exhibits a really nicely vivid palette, albeit one that tends to exploit more burnished tones like regal purples and cool blues at times (there's a kind of odd looking bluish undertone to some scenes which may also be due to the different source elements utilized for this transfer). Detail levels are quite good throughout the presentation, aided by Welles' frequent use of extreme close-ups of faces or at times offering other large objects in the foreground where textures are easily discernable. My score is 4.25.
The original monaural soundtrack was transferred from the 35 mm sound negatives and restored by L.E. Diapason.
There are two versions of The Immortal Story offered on this disc, an English language version and what I'm assuming was the (somewhat shorter) original French broadcast version, both delivered via LPCM Mono tracks. The telefilm is graced with some nice Erik Satie music (though some tempos are kind of unusual, including a rather brisk Gnossienne No. 3 ), and all of the cues sound full bodied without any brittleness or brash upper registers. Dialogue and narration are both presented cleanly and clearly throughout, and I noticed no problems whatsoever with regard to dropouts, distortion or other damage.
Welles completists will probably want to check out this odd but kind of weirdly captivating piece. It has some of the hallmarks of Welles' often florid framings, but it's also kind of curiously static a lot of the time. Technical merits are solid, and as usual Criterion has assembled some interesting supplements, for those who are considering a purchase.
西鶴一代女 / Saikaku ichidai onna
1952
1961
世界 / Shijie
2004
阿飛正傳 / Ah fei zing zyun
1990
Le genou de Claire
1970
Conte d'hiver
1992
Les nuits de la pleine lune
1984
Da hong deng long gao gao gua
1991
Identificazione di una donna
1982
The Collector
1967
苏州河 | Sū zhōu hé | 4K Restoration
2000
1961
Un beau soleil intérieur
2017
1975
La maman et la putain
1973
2004
Nattvardsgästerna
1963
東邪西毒 / Dung che sai duk / Ashes of Time Redux
1994
1973
밀양 / Milyang
2007