7.3 | / 10 |
Users | 3.5 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 3.9 |
An unemployed youth's desperate search for a job leads him to the dangerous world of professional bullfighting.
Starring: Miguel Mateo 'Miguelín', José Gómez Sevillano, Pedro Basauri 'Pedrucho', Linda Christian, Luque GagoDrama | 100% |
Foreign | 95% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Italian: LPCM Mono
English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 5.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Francesco Rosi's "Il momento della verità" a.k.a. "The Moment of Truth" (1965) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The only extra feature on the disc is an exclusive interview with the Italian director recorded by Criterion in Italy in 2004. The disc also arrives with an illustrated booklet featuring an essay by critic Peter Matthews. In Italian, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
The Last Dance
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Francesco Rosi's The Moment of Truth arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.
Detail has a tendency to fluctuate, particularly during the bullfights, where the natural light and some quick zooms affect clarity. This isn't to say, however, that there are serious technical issues with the presentation; large portions of the film look raw because this is how they were filmed. Contrast also varies, though again, the unique filming conditions have certainly contributed to these fluctuations. This being said, the high-definition transfer has not been struck from an extensive new restoration of the film. Naturally, grain is not always well resolved. Some mild sharpening is also noticeable but it is never overly distracting, Color reproduction is convincing. With the exception of one frame skip that appears during the second half of the film, there are no serious stability issue either. All in all, I am very pleased with the presentation as I have never been able to find a proper release of The Moment of Truth to add it to my library. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).
There is only one audio track on this Blu-ray disc: Italian LPCM 1.0. For the record, Criterion have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.
The dialog is crisp, stable, and easy to follow (please keep in mind that there is plenty of dubbing in the film and the lip-sync discrepancies are normal). Mild background hiss, however, occasionally pops up here and there. It is not overwhelming, but its presence is certainly felt. Also, the loseless track's dynamic amplitude is quite limited, but this should not surprise anyone. For the record, there are no problematic distortions or audio dropouts to report in this review.
Francesco Rosi's The Moment of Truth is an astonishing film, arguably the greatest bullfighting film ever made. It is wild, it is brutal, it is beautiful and at times even erotic. Some of Miguel Romero's moves are poetry in motion. Criterion's presentation of the film is pleasing. Let's hope that eventually we will also see proper releases of the Italian director's very difficult to see More Than a Miracle and Lucky Luciano. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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