Victims of Sin Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Victims of Sin Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov July 15, 2024

Emilio Fernandez's "Victims of Sin" (1951) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the release include new program with cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto; new program with filmmaker and film preservationist Viviana Garcia Besne; original trailer; and more. In Spanish, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Victims of Sin is a genuine macho film that must have gone as far as possible without creating serious problems for its creator, legendary Mexican director Emilio Fernandez. Sections of it produce visuals that several legendary Italian post-war directors would have been proud to include in their neorealist films, which is most interesting because Fernandez worked in a completely different socio-cultural environment.

Pier Paolo Pasolini’s Mamma Roma is one of these classic films. In it, a retired prostitute reunites with her teenage son and begins a difficult transformation to prove that she can be a good mother. The two share an apartment in the Eternal City, which is not cheap, so she struggles mightily and eventually, after her pimp reemerges, gets drawn back into her old profession. Even by modern standards, Mamma Roma is a hard-hitting film, one that is not easy to forget.

Also directed by Pasolini, Accattone visits many of the same places Mamma Romma does, but changes the viewing angle. This time, the camera closely follows a young and violent pimp who is heading to the abyss, where his kind usually self-destructs. On the way to the abyss, the pimp frequently acts like an unhinged dog, and even though he realizes it, he is too weak to confront his demons. Accattone is an unusual film because the bulk of its unfiltered drama is tainted by politics, which identifies an even bigger and more controversial character.

Antonio Pietrangeli’s Adua and Her Friends is also set in the Eternal City, where four prostitutes are trying to reset their lives after the passing of the Merlin Law, which put legal brothels out of business. With their savings, the prostitutes open a small but very stylish trattoria, hoping that they will attract a brand new clientele whose business will eventually allow them to retire. But when the small trattoria becomes a big trattoria, some of the prostitutes’ former clients reappear and begin blackmailing them. To remain in the legal business, the prostitutes then begin running an illegal business on the side, ensuring their inevitable demise.

Victims of Sin is a close relative of the three classic Italian films. In spends a lot of time in a popular nightclub where most of the women, including some of the dancers, are prostitutes who are very closely controlled by a couple of pimps. When one of these prostitutes returns with a child and attempts to reunite with a ruthless pimp named Rodolfo (Rodolfo Acosta), all hell breaks loose. To be allowed to work again, the desperate woman is forced to abandon her child at a garbage pile, where later the nightclub’s biggest dancing star, Violeta (Ninon Sevilla), recovers it. But Violeta’s rebellious act sends her back to the streets, where she has come from, and to make ends meet, she starts sleeping with men for money, too. When Rodolfo comes after her and permanently scars her beautiful face, Violetta kills him, completing a forced transformation that pushes her to the edge of the abyss of self-destruction.

The harsh Mexican reality where Violeta tries to avoid the pimps and survive alone is very similar to that of the Eternal City, where the Italian prostitutes and pimps are constantly at odds with each other as well. Indeed, these realities are flooded by identical poor and desperate characters, producing almost identically striking contrasts. However, one-third of Victims of Sin is shot as a conventional musical, and in two-thirds of it, possibly even more, the drama freely evolves into melodrama. As a result, Victims of Sin never acquire that borderline documentary quality the Italian films have.

Nevertheless, considering that it was completed in the early 1950s in Mexico, Victims of Sin is a remarkably bold film. Visually, it is a striking film, too, often conveying compositional brilliance associated with the great masters of European cinema.

Victims of Sin Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.36:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Victims of Sin arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

The following text appears inside the leaflet provided with this Blu-ray release:

"This new 4K restoration was created from the 35mm nitrate original camera negative. The original monaural soundtrack was remastered from the 35mm optical track negative.

Restoration producers: Viviana Garcia Besne/Permanencia Voluntaria Archivo Cinematographico; Peter Conheim/Cinema Preservation Alliance.
Colorist: Andrew Drapkin.
Restoraiton: Peter Conheim."

Victims of Sin looked stunning on my system. If time had left its mark on it before it was restored, and this was almost certainly the case, it is impossible to tell now because all visuals boast a lush, very attractive organic appearance. Delineation, clarity, and depth are outstanding. Only a few outdoor shots with the prostitutes are seen lined up on the street can appear slightly softer, but I am quite certain that this is an inherited limitation. There are no traces of problematic digital corrections. The grayscale, as demonstrated by our screencaptures, is terrific. I did not notice any crushing even in the darkest areas, where there are plenty of subtle dark nuances. Highlights are wonderfully balanced. Image stability is excellent. The entire film looks immaculate as well. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Victims of Sin Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 1.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.

There is a lot of music in Victims of Sin. However, dynamic contrasts are unimpressive because the film's original sound design has all of the typical limitations you would expect to encounter on a film from the early 1950s. The dialog and the narration are very clear, sharps, and easy to follow. I did not notice any age-related anomalies in the upper register, or elsewhere, to report in our review.

Victims of Sin Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Viviana Garcia Besne - in this new program, filmmaker and film preservationist Viviana Garcia Besne discusses the life and legacy of Cuban-born actress Ninon Sevilla. In English, not subtitled. (17 min).

• Rodrigo Prieto on Gabriel Figueroa - in this new program, cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto (The Wolf of Wall Street) discusses the compositional style of Gabriel Figueroa, who lensed Victims of Sin. In English, not subtitled. (17 min).

• Those Who Made Our Cinema - presented here is an episode of the television series Those Who Made Our Cinema (Los que hicieron nuestro cine), which takes a closer look at the cine de rumberas genre and features an interview with the star of Victims of Sin, Ninon Sevilla. The episode was broadcast in 1983. In Spanish, with English subtitles. (29 min).

• Trailer - presented here is a U.S. trailer for the new 4K restoration of Victims of Sin from Janus Films. In Spanisn, with English subtitles. (2 min).

• Leaflet - an illustrated leaflet featuring critic Jacqueline Avila's essay "Dancing in the Dark" and technical credits.

Victims of Sin Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Even though it comes from Mexico, Victims of Sin is a very close relative of Mamma Roma, Accattone, and Adua and Her Friends. I was particularly impressed with its visual style, which often conveys a rather remarkable compositional brilliance. Criterion's Blu-ray release introduces an excellent recent 4K restoration of Victims of Sin. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.