7.3 | / 10 |
Users | 4.5 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Cesira and her 13-year-old daughter, Rosetta, flee from the allied bombs in Rome during the second world war. They travel to the village where Cesira was born. During their journey and in the village, the mother does everything to protect Rosetta. However, on one occasion they both get raped by soldiers hiding in a church. This cruel event is too much for the always powerful fighting Cesira and she suffers from a breakdown. During their stay in the village, a young intellectual, Michele falls in love with Cesira who does not know how to reply to the advances of such a gentleman.
Starring: Sophia Loren, Eleonora Brown, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Andrea Checchi, Pupella MaggioForeign | 100% |
War | Insignificant |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Italian: LPCM 2.0
English: LPCM 2.0
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Winner of Best Actress Award at the Cannes Films Festival, Vittorio De Sica's "Two Women" (1960) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Cult Films. The supplemental features on the release include the documentary films "Sophia - Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow" and "Umberto D", as well as trailer for other releases from the distributors' catalog. In Italian or English, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.
Cesira
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Vittorio De Sica's Two Women arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Cult Films.
The release is sourced from a new restoration of the film, and while it is the best presentation that I have seen to date, I have to say that the end result is rather underwhelming. Obviously, next to the various poor DVD releases that this film has seen in the United States the Blu-ray release is quite the revelation, but it is easy to see that the film could have looked a lot more impressive in high-definition. For example, while the master that was created appears to be quite excellent, at some point digital corrections were made to rebalance the image and as a result a lot of existing detail was lost. To be perfectly clear, there are traces of various filtering adjustments that have impacted depth and in some cases even clarity (see screencaptures #14, 17, 18). Some of the daylight footage can still look quite good, but it is only because the raw images actually have very strong organic appearance (see screencapture #1). Early into the film I also noticed some light macroblocking that should have been avoided. The most obvious examples are during the sequence where Sophia Loren meets Raf Vallone (see screencapture #8). Image stability is very good, though a few small reel bumps remain. Lastly, it is rather easy to tell that large damage marks and other age-related imperfections have been removed as best as possible. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your Blu-ray player regardless or your geographical location. For the record, there is no problematic PAL or 1080/50i content preceding the disc's main menu).
There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 2.0 and Italian LPCM 2.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.
I prefer to view the film with the Italian track, though I should clarify that both tracks actually feature some original overdubbing. Generally speaking, clarity is quite good. Depth is also pleasing, but from time to time some thinness in the mid/high registers can noticed. You should not be concerned, however, as almost certainly these minor fluctuations can be traced back to the original audio masters. There are no audio dropouts or digital distortions to report.
This recent Blu-ray release of Vittorio De Sica's Two Women offers the best technical presentation of the film that I have seen to date, but I think that the end result should have been a lot more convincing. I still have to give Cult Films a lot of credit for bringing the film to Blu-ray because we never had a decent English-friendly DVD release on the market. The Blu-ray also has two terrific documentaries that examine the careers of Vittorio De Sica and Sophia Loren. RECOMMENDED (with some reservations).
1960
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1966
1952
Una giornata particolare
1977
Il Conformista / Arrow Academy
1970
Germania Anno Zero
1948
Roma, cittŕ aperta
1945
Paisan
1946
Tre fratelli / Arrow Academy
1981
La notte di San Lorenzo / The Night of Saint Lorenzo
1982
2013
Vintage World Cinema
1954
Norte, hangganan ng kasaysayan
2013
Изгнание / Izgnanie
2007
誰も知らない / Dare mo shiranai
2004
Edipo Re / Masters of Cinema
1967
Masters of Cinema
1961
অপুর সংসার / The World of Apu
1959
Ladri di biciclette | Remastered | Arrow Academy
1948
20th Anniversary Edition
1993