7.6 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Shortly after the Second World War, Max, a transplanted American, visits an English pawn shop to sell his trumpet. The shopkeeper recognizes the tune Max plays as one on a wax master of an unreleased recording, discovered and restored from shards found in a piano salvaged from a cruise ship turned hospital ship, now slated for demolition. This chance discovery prompts a story from Max, which he relates both to the shopkeeper and later to the official responsible for the doomed vessel, for Max is a born storyteller. While gaining his sea legs, he was befriended by another young man, the pianist in the same band, whose long unlikely name was Danny Boodman T.D...
Starring: Tim Roth, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Bill Nunn, Mélanie Thierry, Clarence Williams IIIDrama | 100% |
Foreign | 97% |
Video codec: VC-1
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Italian: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Italian, Italian SDH, English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region B (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Winner of six David di Donatello Awards, including Best Director, Best Music, and Best Cinematography, Giuseppe Tornatore's "La leggenda del pianista sull'oceano" a.k.a "The Legend of 1900" (1998) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Italian distributors Medusa. The supplemental features on the disc include trailers; documentary feature; video interviews with Giuseppe Tornatore and behind the scenes featurette; deleted scenes; and more. In English, with optional English, Italian, and Italian SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".
The legendary hands
Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with VC-1 and granted a 1080p transfer, Giuseppe Tornatore's The Legend of 1900 arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Italian distributors Medusa.
Note: Please note that the Medusa Blu-ray contains the fully uncut version of the film, which runs at approximately 170 min.
The Blu-ray release represents a strong upgrade in quality over the old R2 Italian SDVD release. Detail during the daylight scenes, for instance, is very good (see screencapture #4), while colors look far richer and better saturated. Clarity is also improved, though some of the footage with the light manipulations from inside the Virginian remains a bit soft. The macroblocking however, is effectively addressed, and even the early memory flashbacks look a lot crisper. Some noise corrections have been performed, but detail has not been compromised. In fact, because of the substantially better detail it is now a lot easier to recognize the various CGI effects used in the film (see screencapture #2). There are also a few scattered traces of mild sharpening, but they are either difficult to spot or extremely easy to tolerate in motion. Finally, there are no serious stability issues to report in this review. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).
There are two audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. For the record, Medusa have provided optional English, Italian, and Italian SDH subtitles for the main feature. When turned on, they split the image frame and the black bar below it.
I've had the Italian SDVD of The Legend of 1900 for years. Having just seen the film again on Blu-ray, I can honestly say that I have been missing a lot -- the strong English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track gives Ennio Morricone's brilliant soundtrack the type of depth and fluidity that it rightfully deserves. I was particularly impressed by the intense performances during the duel. The dialog is crisp, clean, and easy to follow. (Please note that the English subtitles do not fully match the English dialog).
When Image Entertainment released Giuseppe Tornatore's The Legend of 1900 on SDVD in the U.S. in 2002, the film was severely cut (the U.S. release runs at approximately 125 minutes). The only way to see the original director's cut was to import the Italian SDVD release, which had the full 170-minute version of the film. This wasn't surprising though, as very few of the Italian director's big films have been able to reach the U.S. uncut. Malena, for instance, was never released uncut, and early reports indicate that the upcoming Blu-ray release of Cinema Paradiso will also contain the shorter version of the film (don't sell your R1 Miramax SDVD yet). I mention all of the above because I believe that if you wish to own a copy of the uncut version of The Legend of 1900 on Blu-ray, it is best to act now. An uncut local release is highly unlikely to appear any time soon. RECOMMENDED.
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