The Seduction Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.0

The Seduction Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov July 24, 2017

Fernando Di Leo's "La Seduzione" a.k.a. "The Seduction" (1973) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Raro Video. The only bonus feature on the disc is an archival documentary featuring interviews with director Fernando Di Leo, cinematographer Franco Villa, actress Jenny Tamburi, and producer Armando Novelli. The release also arrives with an illustrated booklet featuring Bret Wood's essay "Seduction". In Italian or English, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

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When Fernando Di Leo’s name is mentioned most people are immediately reminded of his violent crime dramas and thrillers, but he also directed a couple of very interesting films that targeted Italian culture without using buckets of red paint and blank ammo. In Burn, Boy, Burn, for instance, a sophisticated but sexually frustrated housewife begins a supposedly casual affair with a handsome lifeguard while vacationing with her family and unexpectedly loses the mask she has been wearing during most of her adult life. In To Be Twenty two young girls (one played by the future sex star Lilli Carati) go on a long-distance hitchhiking trip to have some real fun, but after the initial sweet euphoria become involved with some very shady characters running a prostitution ring. In A Wrong Way to Love a young girl again attempts to follow her heart and remain independent, but struggles to make ends meet and soon after is forced to make a number of terrible compromises.

The Seduction, which Di Leo completed in the early 1970s, is another carefully constructed litmus test that basically targets Italian machismo from two different angles. (The other three films that are mentioned above function in a similar way -- their conventional stories always end up exposing a parallel reality that at the time few Italians were willing to admit existed). Its main story is about a middle-aged man (Maurice Ronet) who returns to Catania after years of living abroad because he needs to finalize various property documents that the authorities have transferred to him following the unexpected death of his father. However, before he goes to work the man meets a widow (Lisa Gastoni) he once loved but could not have and the two begin seeing each other. Their relationship seems to be heading in the right direction until the woman’s teenage daughter (Jenny Tamburi) concludes that it isn’t fair that the ‘foreigner’ shares only her mother’s bed and proceeds to seduce him. At first the girl enjoys the silly seduction game, but when she begins to change her own rules and her mother becomes suspicious she loses control of it.

Di Leo uses the main story to accomplish two things. First, as the man resumes his relationship with the widow Di Leo begins to target the hypocrisy of a typical small-town Italian community. He does it with a certain lightness and playfulness that remind of Pietro Germi’s films (Seduced and Abandoned and Divorce Italian Style), though here the comedy material is much more restrained. Second, he pays special attention to the Italian macho male and exposes his vulnerable nature. His favorite target is a cocky jeweler (Pino Caruso) who insists that his long experience with women has convinced him that there are only two groups that they fit in, whores and saints. The self-professed playboy, however, quickly turns out to be an unlucky bachelor who is so desperate to have a woman in his bed that he would literally make a complete fool of himself even during public events.

The film’s producer, Armando Novelli, reportedly wanted Ornella Muti to play the young girl, but it was Tamburi that was cast for the role. Tamburi had just started her career and had appeared only in a couple of small films, one of them being Rino Silvestri’s sleazy cult thriller Women In Cell Block 7.

The short prologue opens up with Rosa Balistreri singing the wonderful “Mi Votu e mi Rivotu”. The original soundtrack was created by the prolific Argentine-born Italian composer Luis Bacalov (Django, Il Postino).

The Seduction Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.92:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Fernando Di Leo's The Seduction arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Raro Video.

The release is sourced from an older remaster and I am fairly confident that it was prepared during the DVD era. (In Italy there were two DVD release of the film, and the second one that I have seen, which was a Collector's Edition, I believe was sourced from the same remaster). The technical presentation fits somewhere between average and decent. For example, while quite a few close-ups boast improved definition and in some cases depth, the wider panoramic shots often appear quite flat. Some sort of a filter has been applied throughout the entire film, though in some areas the effects are clearly more pronounced and ultimately more distracting. The original cinematography also contributes to it as indoor footage, in particular, has plenty of restricted light and the flatness can evolve into obvious smearing. So it is quite easy to tell that ideally definition, clarity, depth, and fluidity should be much better. Colors are rather good, but saturation and balance are affected by the issues described above. Image stability is very good. Lastly, there are no distracting large debris, cuts, damage marks, or torn frames to report. My score is 3.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).

The Seduction Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

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

This film has been screened theatrically with the Italian and the English tracks and the reason for that is that it was shot as a hybrid project. Indeed, even if you choose the international English track there are portions of the dialog where some of the actors still deliver their lines in Italian (see the barbershop sequence). However, elsewhere the same actors deliver their lines in English. (This isn't an editing job, it is how the film was shot) I personally find all of this to be largely irrelevant as the English and the Italian tracks were eventually overdubbed. I would probably recommend that you view the film with the Italian track because some of the dubbing on the English track is a tad too comical at times. Clarity and depth are very good, though the overdubbing has certainly introduced some minor unevenness. However, when the film was remastered the audio was definitely cleaned up because there really aren't any age related imperfections to report.

The Seduction Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Erotic Notes - this archival documentary focuses on the production history of The Seduction as well as the evolution of the key relationships in it. Included in it are clips from interviews with director Fernando Di Leo, cinematographer Franco Villa, actress Jenny Tamburi, and producer Armando Novelli. The documentary was produced in 2004. In Italian, with optional English subtitles. (32 min).

• Booklet - an illustrated booklet featuring Bret Wood's essay "Seduction".

The Seduction Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The main story in Fernando Di Leo's The Seduction most certainly has some Lolita-esque elements, but it is really its ability to function as a litmus test that makes it interesting. This isn't exactly unusual, however, as virtually all of Di Leo's films, including his popular violent crime thrillers, are conceived like that. Raro Video's new Blu-ray release is sourced from what I believe is the same remaster that was used for the old Collector's Edition DVD release of The Seduction that was available in Italy. I think that it is serviceable, but ideally the film should look quite a bit better in high-definition. Also included on this release is an archival documentary that has excellent interviews with Di Leo and actress Jenny Tamburi. Pick up a copy if you can find the release with a decent price tag. RECOMMENDED.