Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

The Libertine Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov September 25, 2020

Pasquale Festa Campanile's "The Libertine" a.k.a. "La Matriarca" (1968) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Nucleus Films. The supplemental features on the disc include new video essay by critic Rachel Nisbet; new program with critic critic Lovey Jon; numerous archival promotional materials; outtakes and alternate scenes; and a lot more. In English or Italian, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

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It is good to see that this brand new Blu-ray release of Pasquale Festa Campanile’s The Libertine has a small piece highlighting different films from Audubon Films, which was Radley Metzger’s distribution company. Metzger is actually the reason why The Libertine reached the United States and then many years later even made it to home video.

The Libertine is the spiritual father of the ‘fetish thriller’. It is not the first film that tackled fetishism, but it was big enough and respectable enough to be acquired by a lot of serious distributors and then shown in plenty of different markets in the early ‘70s. Its influence can easily be detected in much-better known films like Lucio Fulci’s The Eroticist, Barbet Schroeder’s Maitresse, Marco Ferreri’s The Flesh, and even more recent films like Stephen Lance's My Mistress and Roman Polanski's Venus in Fur.

Before we discuss why The Libertine became influential and why it is considered -- and rightfully so -- a cult film, however, here is a quick summation of its plot: After her older husband unexpectedly dies, Mimi (Catherine Spaak) is informed that she has inherited a secret apartment. Soon after, she visits the place and discovers that her late husband used it to meet various lovers, including one of her closest friends, who were happy to engage in unusual sexual games with him. Shocked by the discovery but intrigued by her husband’s imagination, Mimi begins experimenting as well, first with his business confidant and then with strangers that routinely misinterpret her intentions. As she becomes more comfortable with the sexual games and the unique pleasures they bring into her life Mimi encounters Dr. Carlo De Marchi (Jean-Louis Trintignant), who is just as eager as she is to explore but needs a little bit of encouragement to come out of his shell.

There are two different versions of The Libertine on this release, but they are equally harmless. The shorter American version misses a few seconds of footage that is reinstated in the international version, though the negative was actually cut in Italy and then left to deteriorate. This is the precise reason why the slightly longer version is a reconstruction with all kinds of other inherited source limitations.

At its core The Libertine is essentially a witty comedy that carefully uses the silly insecurities of the two sexes to promote the idea that the most intense and memorable sexual thrills occur during foreplay, not during intercourse. In other words, the humor normalizes a wide range of alternative activities that nowadays are categorized as fetish. Obviously, as presented in the film and viewed with a modern mindset these activities are not exactly controversial, but in the ‘70s they weren’t mainstream either. So, this ‘groundbreaking’ attitude is what years ago earned The Libertine its cult status.

The film’s reputation was also solidified by the fact that it united a lot of easily recognizable European actors. Gabrielle Tinti (Rider on the Rain), Luigi Pistilli (The Great Silence), Paolo Stoppa (The Leopard), and Phillipe Leroy (Le Trou) for instance all have small but memorable cameos. (Leroy in particular pops up in a short but outrageously funny scene wearing a leopard skirt and getting frisky with a giant whip).

Campanile was fortunate to contract and work with cinematographer Alfio Contini, who a few years later lensed Michelangelo Antonioni’s Zabriskie Point. The groovy soundtrack was composed by the prolific maestro Armando Trovajoli (Two Women, Marriage Italian Style).

*If the subject matter appeals to you, see Alain Robbe-Grillet's Trans-Europ Express, with Trintignant playing a much more serious and vile character.

The Libertine Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, The Libertine arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Nucleus Films.

There are two versions of the film on the disc: the slightly longer uncensored version (01.34.25) and the U.S. theatrical version (01.34:25).

I viewed the slightly longer version which is essentially a reconstruction job. This isn't surprising because the original camera negative was cut in Italy many years ago, so to get a proper uncensored version of the film a few trims had to be reinserted. Unfortunately, the surviving elements that were used to prepare the current master also reveal light to moderate deterioration that produce various weaves/bumps throughout the entire film, so there are additional source limitations that are not on the trims. This isn't surprising either because some of the weaving was also visible on the old and out-of-print R1 DVD release, which was sourced from a reconstructed but incomplete master as well. The stability issues affect delineation, density, and even clarity, but without a massive and surely enormously expensive restoration they are unavoidable. The good news is that even with all the light softness and flatness that emerges in different areas the film still has a rather pleasing organic appearance. The color scheme is convincing, but this is another area that is impacted by the source limitations -- select nuances as well as highlights are less than optimal, especially during indoor/darker footage. A few blemishes can be spotted, but there are no distracting large debris, marks, or cuts to report. All in all, given the poor treatment of the existing elements that were used to prepare the current master, I think that this is the best presentation the film could have received on Blu-ray. (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).

The Libertine Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I viewed the film with the English track, which should be considered the original audio track because the overwhelming majority of the actors utter their lines in English. However, keep in mind that a lot of studio overdubbing was performed after the audio was finalized, which is the reason for some of the obvious dynamic unevenness that pops up from time to time. On the other hand, in the very beginning of the film the music struggles with light buzz in the upper register plus elsewhere some sporadic flatness can be heard as well, and these limitations are age-related, not inherited from the original soundtrack.

The Libertine Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• U.S. Theatrical Version - presented here is the slightly shorter version of The Libertine. In English. (1080p).

• U.S. Theatrical Trailers - original U.S. theatrical trailers for The Libertine. In English. (7 min).

• Futurism and Frivolity - presented here is a brand new visual essay that focuses on the production designs and stylistic appearance of The Libertine. The essay was produced by Rachel Nisbet. In English. (27 min).

• U.S. Trovajoli Postlude - in this new program, critic Lovey Jon discusses the life, career, style, and legacy of composer Armando Trovajoli. In English. (29 min).

• Outtakes and Alternate Scenes - newly restored. Music only. (17 min).

• Film Censor Cuts - this piece highlights the cuts that were made after Cinecenta submitted The Libertine to the BBFC in 1969. The film was eventually classified "x". (3 min).

• Topfilm Fotoromanzi - a very nice collection of vintage promotional materials for The Libertine. With music. (3 min).

• Image Gallery - another collection of vintage international promotional materials for The Libertine from around the world. With music. (10 min).

• Trailers - three remastered trailers for The Libertine.
  
  1. English. (4 min).
  2. Italian. With English subtitles. (4 min).
  3. French. With English subtitles. (4 min).

• Credits - original restored film credits.
  
  1. English credits (4 min).
  2. French credits. (4 min).

• Japan Promo - a vintage Japanese promo for The Libertine, seen as La Matriarca. (5 min).

• Audubon Films - a gallery of promotional materials for different films distributed by Audubon Films. With music. (2 min).

• Commentary - an exclusive new audio commentary by critic Kat Ellinger.

• Cover - reversible cover with the alternate title for the film, La Matriarca.

The Libertine Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This release of Pasquale Festa Campanile's The Libertine is a true labor of love. The film wasn't just cut and recut numerous times over the years -- which is one of the reasons why the old U.S. DVD release was still incomplete -- for some strange reason it was simply not handled well by the people that own it. I know the film well and what is on the Blu-ray is the most complete version that I have seen to date. And yes, it is a cult film too, just as Nucleus Films' release claims, though times are different now and what once looked provocative and maybe even scandalous no longer is. (As far as I am concerned the naughty material is actually pretty darn funny). I would recommend The Libertine to folks that have seen and enjoyed Campanile's The Slave and Alain Robbe-Grillet's Trans-Europ Express, as well as admirers of Radley Metzger's stylish European projects from the same era, like Camille 2000 and Score. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.