6.4 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
A collection of sketches on prostitution through the ages.
Starring: Michèle Mercier, Enrico Maria Salerno, Gabriele Tinti, Elsa Martinelli, Gastone MoschinForeign | 100% |
Drama | 90% |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.66:1
French: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
"The Oldest Profession" a.k.a. "Le plus vieux métier du monde" (1967) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Video. The supplemental features on the disc include an original French trailer as well as an original English-dubbed version of the film. In French or English, with optional English subtitles for the French version. Region-A "locked".
How do I look now?
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.66:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, The Oldest Profession arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Video.
The release is sourced from the same restored master that Gaumont prepared and used for its local release of the film in 2016. Unfortunately, I find the master to be pretty underwhelming.
The main issue is a familiar one. The remastering work is actually very strong and the entire film has the consistent density that a proper remamster should have, but it is color-graded in a way that creates all sorts of different anomalies. Aside from the fact that the LUTs have incorrect values, there are various segments where it is very easy to see that the film's native dynamic range has been destabilized. The most obvious ones are during the darker/indoor footage where shadow definition is affected and as a result existing detail is lost (see screencaptures #3, 13, and 14), but even during daylight footage the effects of the awkward grading are quite prominent (see screencapture #12). So this impacts overall depth -- which had the master been graded properly would have been quite striking -- as well as fluidity. There are no traces of problematic sharpening adjustments. Image stability stability is also fantastic. Last but not least, the entire master is virtually spotless.
There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: French DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the original French track.
The French lossless track is excellent. The audio is nicely rounded, stable, and exceptionally clean. It also has a great range of proper dynamics that allow Michel Legrand's orchestral soundtrack to quite easily alter the mood of each segment where it is tasked to do so. There are no audio dropouts or digital distortions to report in our review.
I find the quality of the writing and especially the witty humor of The Oldest Profession to be in the same league with those of The Dolls and Ro.Go.Pa.G.. I used to have this film on a VHS cassette, but over the years it demagnetized and after it became unusable it was pointless to keep it. Needless to say, I am really happy to see that Kino Video acquired it for their catalog, but I would be lying if I did not say that I find Gaumont's recent restoration more than a bit underwhelming. I don't understand why the studio does not hire a knowledgeable professional that can actually do some serious color-reference work so that these types of older films look as they should when they transition to Blu-ray. The actual scans, cleanup and remastering work that are done for just about every period film that I have seen from Gaumont are typically of very high-quality, but when the color-grading is done it almost looks like there are people that are consistently guessing wrong. It is very frustrating. If you are interested in acquiring a copy of The Oldest Profession, I think that what makes the most sense is to wait for some sort of a sale and see if you can get it heavily discounted.
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