5.9 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Dino De Laurentiis brought together the talents of five celebrated Italian directors for an anthology film. Their brief was simple: to direct an episode in which Silvana Mangano plays a witch.
Starring: Silvana Mangano, Annie Girardot, Francisco Rabal, Massimo Girotti, Véronique VendellForeign | 100% |
Drama | 42% |
Romance | 1% |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Italian: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
English: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A, B (locked)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 3.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Vittorio de Sica was one of the most legendary directors in the entire annals of Italian (and world) cinema, having been one of the founding fathers of the neorealist movement that arose in the wake of World War II, and the guiding force behind such all time classics as Bicycle Thieves, Shoeshine and (somewhat later in his career) The Garden of the Finzi Contini. Several of de Sica’s masterpieces were either nominated for or won Academy Awards, and in fact de Sica himself was nominated for an Academy Award in 1958, though kind of interestingly not for directing, but rather for his supporting actor work in an otherwise pretty tepid adaptation of Ernest Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms. The 1960s were an interesting era for de Sica, with the director sometimes attempting to inject slyly comedic aspects into at least somewhat neorealist efforts like 1964’s Marriage Italian Style. But one of the other aspects to de Sica’s 1960s’ output was his contribution to what have been called “anthology films” or portmanteaus. In fact one of de Sica’s more notable efforts in this genre was 1963’s Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, the film he made immediately prior to Marriage Italian Style, and which featured that film’s two legendary stars, Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni. Other sixties’ anthologies (some of which had other directors in addition to de Sica) included Boccaccio '70, another outing that featured the allure of Sophia Loren. Loren may indeed have been an excellent choice for two films that had a de Sica credit and which were released in 1967, both of them anthologies, and both centered on the appeal of what might be thought of as the Eternal Feminine. Woman Times Seven was directed solely by de Sica and presented Shirley MacLaine in a septet of stories, all of which had at least a tangential connection to the idea of adultery.
The Witches is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Academy with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. Arrow's insert booklet contains the following information on the restoration:
The Witches (La Streghe) has been exclusively restored for this release by Arrow Films. The film is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 with mono audio.While not completely optimal (some of the issues I'll mention might arguably have been improved by sourcing off the negative), this is a commendable looking restoration that offers generally good detail levels in close-ups, even though the bulk of this presentation has an almost gauzy softness at times (apart from any stylistic choices on the part of the directors or cinematographer). The palette is varied and fairly natural looking, but is just a bit on the tired side, with even the candy colors of the Pasolini episode never totally popping. Contrast seems just slightly anemic at times, something that tends to show up more in the darker scenes, where some of the blacks are just slightly hazy looking. All of this said, The Witches boasts a genuinely organic appearance with naturally resolving grain (some brief moments are just a bit rough looking, as evidenced by screenshots 18 and 19). This restoration lacks any major issues in terms of damage like scratches and other blemishes.
The original 35mm interpositive was scanned in 2K resolution on a Lasergraphics Director Scanner at EFilm, Burbank. Picture grading and restoration was completed at Pinewood. The grading was completed on a DaVinci Resolve and picture restoration was performed using PFClean software. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches and other instances of film wear were repaired or removed through a combination of digital restoration tools and techniques. Image stability was also improved. Separate interpositive elements were sourced for the English language sections of the film. In some shots there were instances of heavy scratches at the far edge of the image which necessitated a minor repositioning of the frame.
The Witches' DTS-HD Master Audio Mono mix has the slightly "detached" feeling quality that often attends post looped Italian films. The overall sound here is decidedly on the boxy side, with a somewhat compressed sounding midrange. Dialogue is never masked in any meaningful way, but things sound somewhat artificial at least some of the time. There are no overt problems with dropouts and the like.
As a showcase for Mangano, The Witches probably gets that task accomplished readily enough, but this has a more disjointed and even chaotic feeling than many anthology films do. The stories here are so widely disparate and frankly kind of on the gonzo side at times that it's hard to assess any through line uniting them other than Mangano's presence, which frankly may not be enough for non-Italian viewers. Still, this has interesting elements for fans of the directors involved, and Arrow has once again assembled a release with an appealing commentary and generally solid technical merits.
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