Face/Off – Kino Lorber (4k UHD/Blu-ray Combo)

Theatrical Release Date: USA, 1997
Director: John Woo
Writers: Mike Werb, Michael Colleary
Cast: John Travolta, Nicolas Cage, Joan Allen, Alessandro Nivola, Gina Gershon, Dominique Swain, Nick Cassavetes, Harve Presnell, Colm Feore, John Carroll Lynch, CCH Pounder

Release Date: December 12th, 2023
Approximate Running Time: 138 Minutes 55 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / Dolby Vision HDR10
Rating: R
Sound: DTS-HD 5.1 English, DTS-HD Stereo English
Subtitles: English SDH
Region Coding: Region Free (UHD), Region A (Blu-ray)
Retail Price: $39.95

"FBI agent Sean Archer (Travolta) knows how to stop elusive terrorist Castor Troy (Cage). He’ll become him. Archer undergoes a futuristic surgery and has Troy’s face mapped onto his, then infiltrates the terrorist’s world to discover his deadly secrets. But as much as Archer looks and acts like Troy, he doesn’t really know him. He never figures Troy will retaliate and force doctors to transform him into Archer. Now the agent faces a shattering nightmare: his archrival is living with his family." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.75/5 (4K UHD), 4.25/5 (Blu-ray)

Here’s the information provided about the transfer, "From a 4K scan of the 35mm original camera negative".

Face/Off comes on a 100 GB triple layer 4K UHD.

Disc Size: 91.6 GB

Feature: 90.3 GB

The source looks excellent, and the image always looks organic. Colors are nicely saturated; contrast and black levels are solid. That said, this release has two issues of note. In the last five minutes, the color space has shifted, making flesh tones appear more red than normal. And there are some minor compression-related issues that most viewers will not be bothered by.

Face/Off comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 46.2 GB

Feature: 29.7 GB

The Blu-ray uses the same source as the 4K UHD does for its transfer.

Audio: 5/5 (DTS-HD 5.1 English, DTS-HD Stereo English)

This release comes with two audio options, a DTS-HD 5.1 mix in English and a DTS-HD stereo mix in English. Both of these audio tracks sound excellent. Dialog always comes through clearly, and everything sounds balanced. Ambient sounds are well-represented, and both audio tracks sound outstanding range-wise. That said, I would give the edge to the DTS-HD 5.1 audio track. Included are removable English SDH.

Extras:

Extras on the 4K UHD include an archival audio commentary with director John Woo and screenwriters Mike Werb and Michael Colleary, an archival audio commentary with Mike Werb and Michael Colleary, and an audio commentary with action film historians Mike Leeder and Arne Venema.

Extras on the Blu-ray disc include a theatrical trailer for Face/Off (2 minutes 7 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), seven deleted and alternate scenes: Castor Kills the Janitor (36 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles, with optional audio commentary with John Woo, Mike Werb and Michael Colleary), Archer Weeps (1 minute 9 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles, with optional audio commentary with John Woo, Mike Werb and Michael Colleary), Childhood Lessons (1 minute 5 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles, with optional audio commentary with John Woo, Mike Werb and Michael Colleary), Hideaway Shootout (2 minutes 3 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles, with optional audio commentary with John Woo, Mike Werb and Michael Colleary), Archer vs. Castor Finale (2 minutes 12 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles, with optional audio commentary with John Woo, Mike Werb and Michael Colleary), Will Dad be Dad Again? (11 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles, with optional audio commentary with John Woo, Mike Werb and Michael Colleary), and Alternate Ending (1 minute 8 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles, with optional audio commentary with John Woo, Mike Werb and Michael Colleary), an archival featurette titled Science Fiction/Human Emotion (9 minutes 45 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival featurette titled Casting/Characters (17 minutes 23 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival featurette titled Woo/Hollywood (21 minutes 35 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival featurette titled Practical/Visual Effects (9 minutes 42 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival featurette titled Science Fiction/Human Emotion (5 minutes 57 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival featurette titled John Woo: A Life in Pictures (26 minutes 4 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival audio commentary with John Wo, Mike Werb and Michael Colleary, an archival audio commentary with Mike Werb and Michael Colleary, and an audio commentary with action film historians Mike Leeder and Arne Venema. 

Other extras on the Blu-ray disc are trailers for Hard Target, Staying Alive, The Experts, Fire Birds, Ronin, Out of Sight, and The Usual Suspects.

Other extras include reversible cover art and a slipcover (limited to the first pressing).

Summary:

Directed by John Woo, who is most known for his heroic bloodshed films. Notable films directed by John Woo include A Better Tomorrow, A Better Tomorrow II, The Killer, and Hard Boiled.

An FBI agent assumes the identity of a comatose criminal by switching faces with them via a face transplant.

Though there have been films based on history or films that want to retain a gritty realism about them, cinema, at its core, is about escapism. Then there are films like Face/Off, which takes escapism to another level. And nowhere is this clearer than when it comes to Face/Off’s out-of-this-world premise.

That said, in lesser hands, a film like Face/Off would not be as effective. When it comes to action sequences, John Woo is one of the most celebrated filmmakers to ever work in the medium. And yet, he often gives careful attention to fleshing out his characters.

Though casting is important, it plays a monumental role in Face/Off. It is a film that requires two actors to portray two characters convincingly. And in order to do this, each actor has to mimic the other's performance.

Cast in the roles of the two main characters, FBI agent Sean Archer and mastermind criminal Castor Troy, are John Travolta (Pulp Fiction) and Nicolas Cage (Wild at Heart). That said, you could not ask for better performances, as they perfectly mimic each other.

This is a John Woo film, so you know that there are going to be bombastic action sequences. A few standout action set pieces are: a scene where the FBI goes in guns blazing into the home of one of Castor Troy’s associates. This scene, like many of John Woo’s most famous action sequences, effectively uses a piece of music, Somewhere Over the Rainbow, as bullets and explosions engulf characters. And when it comes to Mexican standoffs, no one does them better than John Woo. Face/Off has a phenomenal Mexican standoff inside a church.

From a production standpoint, Face/Off is John Woo’s most satisfying Hollywood film. He does a superb job landing an outrageous premise, and the narrative does a fantastic job building momentum towards a sensational finale. Another strength is John Woo’s knack for creating tense moments that climax at the right moment. Ultimately, more than any of John Woo’s other Hollywood films, Face/Off finds that perfect balance between his style and Hollywood cinema.

Kino Lorber gives Face/Off its best home video release to date, highly recommended.

Note about the 4K screenshots: It is not possible to make Dolby Vision or HDR10 screenshots that faithfully match the experience of watching a film in motion on a TV. Instead of not having any screenshots, all of the 4K screenshots are m2ts taken with a VLC player and lossless PNGs.

Written by Michael Den Boer

Beyond the Valley of the Dolls / The Seven Minutes: Limited Edition – Arrow Video (Blu-ray/DVD Combo)

Theatrical Release Dates: USA, 1970 (Beyond the Valley of the Dolls), USA, 1971 (The Seven Minutes)
Director: Russ Meyer (Both Films)
Writers: Roger Ebert, Russ Meyer (Beyond the Valley of the Dolls), Richard Warren Lewis (The Seven Minutes)
Cast: Dolly Read, Cynthia Myers, Marcia McBroom, John Lazar, Michael Blodgett, David Gurian, Edy Williams, Erica Gavin, Phyllis Elizabeth Davis, Harrison Page, Charles Napier, Lavelle Roby, Pam Grier (Beyond the Valley of the Dolls), Wayne Maunder, Marianne McAndrew, Philip Carey, Jay C. Flippen, Edy Williams, Lyle Bettger, John Carradine, Harold J. Stone, Tom Selleck, James Iglehart, John Sarno, Stanley Adams, Charles Napier, Wolfman Jack, Yvonne De Carlo, Uschi Digard (The Seven Minutes)

Release Date: January 18th, 2016
Approximate Running Times: 109 Minutes 5 Seconds (Beyond the Valley of the Dolls), 115 Minutes 25 Seconds (The Seven Minutes)
Aspect Ratio: 1.781 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: 18 (UK)
Sound: LPCM Mono English (Beyond the Valley of the Dolls), Dolby Digital Mono English (The Seven Minutes)
Subtitles: English SDH (Both Films)
Region Coding: Region B (Beyond the Valley of the Dolls), Region 2 NTSC (The Seven Minutes)
Retail Price: OOP

"When Easy Rider rewrote the box-office rulebook in 1969, Hollywood scrambled to catch up - and 20th Century Fox noticed that one particular independent filmmaker was seeing impressive returns from tiny investments. So what would happen if he was given a decent budget and the run of a Hollywood studio and told to make the ultimate Russ Meyer film?

Well, this is the result: an initially X-rated cult camp classic about an all-female rock band trying to parlay Midwestern success into a Hollywood contract with the aid of a hefty inheritance. But will they be able to maintain their trademark apple-pie wholesomeness under their new manager, the notorious Ronnie 'Z-Man' Barzell? Take a wild guess.

Co-scripted by film critic Roger Ebert, Beyond the Valley of the Dolls is a merciless satire of Hollywood and the music business, a no-holds-barred psychedelic thrill-ride that gleefully stirs sex, drugs, rock'n'roll, fashion, lesbianism, transvestism and Nazis into one of the most riotously unhinged mainstream films ever made. This special edition also includes the rarely-seen The Seven Minutes (1971), Russ Meyer's Hollywood swansong, an adaptation of Irving Wallace's polemical novel about the absurdities of American obscenity laws." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.5/5 (Beyond the Valley of the Dolls), 3.5/5 (The Seven Minutes)

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, “Beyond the Valley of the Dolls was restored in 2K from a 35mm scope interpositive and a 35mm scope internegative for the textless optical sections. The restoration work was carried out at IVC on behalf of Fox Entertainment.”

Beyond the Valley of the Dolls comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 40.2 GB

Feature: 32 GB

The source used for this transfer looks great; it is a noticeable improvement over Fox’s DVD 2006 release. Flesh tones look healthy, colors are nicely saturated, image clarity and compression are solid, and black levels are strong.

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, “The Seven Minutes was transferred in standard definition from a 35mm print.”

The Seven Minutes comes of a dual layer DVD.

Disc Size: 6.4 GB

For a standard definition source, this transfer looks very good; any imperfections are minor. The colors look great, the image clarity and black levels are strong, and the compression is very good.

Audio: 4.5/5 (LPCM Mono English - Beyond the Valley of the Dolls), 3.5/5 (Dolby Digital Mono English - The Seven Minutes)

Beyond the Valley of the Dolls comes with one audio option, a LPCM mono mix in English with removable English SDH. The audio sounds excellent. It is clear, balanced, and robust when it should be.

The Seven Minutes comes with one audio option, a Dolby Digital mono mix in English with removable English SDH. This audio track is in great shape; dialog comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced, and things sound very good range-wise.

Extras:

Extras for Beyond the Valley of the Dolls include Stills Galleries: Behind the Scenes, Cast Portraits,  Film Stills and Marketing Materials, two theatrical trailers (4 minutes 46 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), an introduction to the film with actor John Lazar (1 minute 27 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with actresses Cynthia Meyers and Erica Gavin titled  Casey & Roxanne: The Love Scene  (4 minutes 21 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), a documentary titled Above, Beneath and Beyond the Valley (30 minutes 3 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), a featurette titled Look On UP at the Bottom (10 minutes 59 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), a featurette titled Best of the Beyond  (12 minutes 23 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), a featurette titled Sex, Drugs. Music & Murder (7 minutes 35 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an isolated music and effects track, an audio commentary with screenwriter and film critic Roger Ebert, and an audio commentary with Dolly Reed, Cynthia Meyers, Harrison Page, John Lazar and Erica Gavin.

Extras for The Seven Minutes include a theatrical trailer (2 minutes 55 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles) and an episode of David Del Valle's television series The Sinister Image with Russ Meyer (28 minutes 4 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles).

Other extras include reversible cover art, a slipcase, and a 44-page booklet with cast & crew information for both films, an essay titled Vixens at Fox written by Kat Ellinger, contemporary reviews for each film under the title Good Bad Reviews, an interview with Russ Meyer titled No More Spilling of the Vital Juices by Anne Billson, an explanation from David Del Valle about why a second episode of Sinister Image with Russ Meyer was not filmed titled I Was Glad To Do It!, and information about the transfers.

Summary:

Both films were directed by Russ Meyer, whose other notable films include Lorna, Mudhoney, Motor Psycho, and Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!

Beyond the Valley of the Dolls: Three friends form a rock band and head to Hollywood to find fortune and fame. Somewhere along the way, they lose sight of the dream, and their decadent behavior nearly destroys them.

Throughout cinema’s history, very few filmmakers have been given complete control of the films that they directed. That is, unless the powers that be in Hollywood want you, and at any cost. When 20th Century Fox was looking to make a sequel for Valley of the Dolls, this is what happened to Russ Meyer. That said, what he delivered was something that was unlike anything that Hollywood had ever seen.

From its opening moments, which play out over the credits, Beyond the Valley of the Dolls quickly draws you into extraordinary satire that explores things like the entertainment industry, drugs, sex, and decadent behavior. When discussing Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, one of its greatest strengths is the characters that populate it. They are well-defined characters who remain likable despite the destruction they cause. Another strength of Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, and more importantly, its narrative, is how it concludes with a voiceover, which explains the fate of each character.

The visuals take full advantage of the cinemascope frame. Russ Meyer’s visual eye ensures that every frame is exploited for maximum effect. Also, the female cast members' ample assets ensure there is never a shortage of eye candy. There are two moments that stand out: Casey and Roxanne’s love scene and an outlandish finale. In the case of the latter, it is a costume party that is hosted by a character named Z-Man, who is dressed like Wonder Woman. For a film that is filled with over-the-top moments, none will haunt you more than Z-Man’s big reveal in the finale.

Performance-wise, the entire cast is exceptional in their respective roles. This film's standout role comes from John Lazar in the role of Ronnie ‘Z-Man’ Barzell. Cynthia Myers portrayal of Casey is another standout performance. Out of the three girls who make up the band The Carrie Nations, it is her character that goes through the most turmoil. Other recognizable cast members include Phillis Elizabeth Davis (Terminal Island), Michael Blodgett (The Trip), Edy Williams (Chained Heat), Erica Gavin (Caged Heat), and Charles Napier (The Silence of the Lambs).

From a production standpoint, there is no area where this film does not excel, and then some. Pacing is never an issue, as the narrative moves along briskly from one shocking moment to the next. And a WTF finale provides a perfect climax. Ultimately, Beyond the Valley of the Dolls is a sensational piece of film that defies the system in which it was made and still manages to succeed.

The Seven Minutes: A district attorney with political aspirations and an ambitious nature brings a bookstore clerk to trial for selling an obscene book, as per the local community standards.

20th Century Fox once again teamed with Russ Meyers for The Seven Minutes, after the success of Beyond the Valley of the Dolls. Where their previous collaboration gave Russ Meyers creative freedom, this time around, the powers decided to rein things in, and the end result was the most sanitized film that Russ Meyers ever directed.

Judging a filmmaker by their previous output does them a great disservice, especially when they release a film that is outside of their comfort zone. Case in point: Russ Meyers' The Seven Minutes, a film that is long overdue for a reevaluation.

Content-wise, The Seven Minutes actually has many of the elements that one would want from a Russ Meyers film. Like buxom women, rapid-fire editing, and heaping helpings of satire. The Seven Minutes' use of inventive cinematography is another one of its strengths. Which, of course, always ensures that the women in The Seven Minutes look amazing.

There are several amusing set pieces; these two stand out: a scene where an adult film with a man in a gorilla is raided by the police, and a scene where a lawyer tracks down the only person alive who has ever met the author of The Seven Minutes.

Performance-wise, one would be hard-pressed to fault the enthusiastic performances from the entire cast. Also, the cast features several recognizable faces, like Jay C. Flippen (The Killing), Yvonne De Carlo (The Munsters), Edy Williams (Beyond the Valley of the Dolls), Tom Selleck (Magnum, P.I.), and John Carradine (Shock Waves) in the role of Sean O. Flanagan.

It is safe to say that in the hands of just about anyone but Russ Meyers, The Seven Minutes would have been a complete disaster. Fortunately, the good outweighs the bad. And the end result is a highly entertaining satire about censorship.

Arrow Video gives Russ Meyer’s two Hollywood films their best releases to date, highly recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer

Cinema Paradiso – Arrow Academy (4k UHD/Blu-ray Combo)

Theatrical Release Date: Italy, 1988
Director: Giuseppe Tornatore
Writers: Giuseppe Tornatore, Vanna Paoli
Cast: Philippe Noiret, Salvatore Cascio, Antonella Attili, Marco Leonardi, Agnese Nano, Jacques Perrin, Brigitte Fossey

Release Date: December 7th (UK), December 8th, 2020 (USA)
Approximate Running Times: 173 Minutes 31 Seconds (Director’s Cut), 122 Minutes 55 Seconds (Theatrical Versi1n)
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 Widescreen / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / Dolby Vision HDR10 (Theatrical Version), 1.66:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC (Director’s Cut)
Rating: 15 (UK), PG/R (USA)
Sound: DTS-HD 5.1 Italian, LPCM Stereo Italian (Director’s Cut), DTS-HD 5.1 Italian, LPCM Mono Italian (Theatrical Version)
Subtitles: English (Director’s Cut), U.S. English, UK English (Theatrical Version),
Region Coding: Region Free (4K UHD), Region A,B (Blu-ray)
Retail Price: £29.99 (UK), $49.95 (USA)

“Salvatore, a successful film director, returning home for the funeral of Alfredo, his old friend who was the projectionist at the local cinema throughout his childhood. Soon memories of his first love affair with the beautiful Elena and all the highs and lows that shaped his life come flooding back, as Salvatore reconnects with the community he left 30 years earlier.” – Synopsis provided by the Distributor

Video: 5/5 (Director’s Cut, Theatrical Version)

Here’s the information provided about the transfer, "This 4K restoration of Cinema Paradiso was produced by Istituto Luce Cinecitta, with support by Dolce & Gabbana, Cristaldi Film and the Cineteca di Bologna.

The restoration was completed at L'Immagine Ritrovata in Bologna under the supervision of Director Giuseppe Tornatore and Director of Photography Blasco Giurato.

A new 4K HDR/Dolby Vision graded master was created at L'Immagine Ritrovata on behalf of Arrow Films."

Cinema Paradiso, the theatrical version, comes on a 100 GB triple layer 4K UHD.

Disc Size: 90.4 GB

Feature: 85.3 GB

Arrow Academy takes their already solid transfer for their 2017 Blu-ray and creates a new 4K master that improves upon that earlier release’s transfer. Colors look stronger, image clarity and black levels are noticeably stronger, there are no issues with compression, and the image retains an organic look. It should be noted that this film features clips from other films, and these moments vary from source to source quality-wise.

Here’s the information provided about the transfer, "Cinema Paradiso was exclusively restored by Arrow Films for this release. The original 35mm camera negative elements were scanned in 2K resolution at Technicolor Rome, with all grading and restoration work completed at Deluxe Digital Cinema - EMEA, London.

Throughout the process, care was taken to ensure that the film's original texture, details and grain structure remained unaffected by digital processing. Although every effort has been made to present Cinema Paradiso in the highest quality possible, some minor picture issues remain, in keeping with the condition of the original archive materials.

Thanks to Cristaldifilm for making this restoration possible."

Cinema Paradiso, the director’s cut, comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 45.7 GB

Feature: 45.3 GB

Cinema Paradiso’s director’s cut is the same transfer that Arrow Academy used for their 2017 Blu-ray release.

Audio: 5/5 (LPCM Stereo Italian - Director’s Cut, LPCM Mono Italian Theatrical Version), 4.5/5 (DTS-HD 5.1 Italian - Both Versions.

Cinema Paradiso, the theatrical version, comes with two audio options: a DTS-HD 5.1 mix in Italian and a LPCM mono mix in Italian. Included are two removable subtitles, U.S. English and UK English.

Cinema Paradiso, the director’s cut, comes with two audio options: a DTS-HD 5.1 mix in Italian and a LPCM stereo mix in Italian. Included are removable English subtitles for both audio tracks.

All four audio tracks sound excellent. Dialogue always comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced, and Ennio Morricone’s score is well-presented. Though the two DTS-HD 5.1 audio tracks do a great job opening up things range-wise. I prefer the mono and stereo tracks.

Extras:

Extras on the disc with the theatrical version include a theatrical trailer (1 minute 40 seconds, Dolby Digital mono Italian with removable English subtitles), a featurette titled The Kissing Sequence (7 minutes 1 second, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), a making of documentary tilted A Bear and a Mouse in Paradise (27 minutes 26 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian and French with removable English subtitles), a documentary about Giuseppe Tornatore titled A Dream of Sicily (54 minutes 45 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), and an audio commentary with Italian cinema expert critic Millicent Marcus and Giuseppe Tornatore, in English.

Extras on the disc with the director’s cut include Arrow Video’s 25th anniversary re-release trailer (1 minute 24 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles).

Other extras include reversible cover art, a slipcover (limited to the first pressing), and a 26-page booklet (limited to the first pressing) with cast & crew information, an essay titled Stolen Kisses: Tornatore’s Cinema Paradiso written by Pasquale Iannone, and information about the restoration.

Summary:

Giuseppe Tornatore co-wrote and directed Cinema Paradiso, whose other notable films include The Star Maker, The Legend of 1900, Malena, and The Best Offer. His filmography over the last 38 years surpasses that of any other Italian filmmaker. Cinema Paradiso would mark the first time Giuseppe Tornatore worked with Ennio Morrione, who would compose the score for all of Giuseppe Tornatore’s theatrical films until Ennio Morrione in 2020.

Cinema Paradiso is an extraordinary tale about love, regret, fate, and nostalgia. Salvatore’s love of cinema and his first love, Elena. Salvatore’s regret about losing his soul mate Elena and his regret related to abandoning his mother. The role that fate plays in one’s life and nostalgia, Salvatore’s love of cinema.

Cinema Paradiso’s remarkable score was composed by Ennio Morricone, who’s most remembered for the scores he composed for Sergio Leone. For a career that spanned six decades and over five hundred years, Ennio Morricone composed many timeless scores and has firmly established himself as one of cinema’s greatest composers. That said, Cinema Paradiso is another exemplary score that perfectly underscores that mood.

Cinema Paradiso is a film that spans forty years and covers three periods: Salvatore’s. preteen years, when he formed his friendship with a projectionist named Alfredo; his adolescence, where he found his first love, Elena; and the present day, where he is now a middle-aged man looking back on his youth.

Casting for a film like Cinema Paradiso is an easy task since it’s not possible for one actor to play a character at three stages in their life. And though there are some who might be turned off by the actors chosen because they don’t look alike, ultimately, this should be a non-factor for most viewers since the story and what lies within are so powerful that such a minor thing as actor continuity will be nothing more than an afterthought.

That said, performance-wise, the cast is all excellent in their respective roles, especially Philippe Noiret (La Grande Bouffe) in the role of Alfredo, Salvatore’s mentor and closest friend, and Salvatore Cascio in the role of a preteen Salvatore. Notable cast members include Marco Leonardi (The Stendhal Syndrome), who portrays adolescent Salvatore; Jacques Perrin (Girl with a Suitcase), who portrays middle-aged Salvatore; and Brigitte Fossey (Farewell, Friend).

There’s some debate over which version is stronger, the theatrical version or the director’s cut. And nowhere is this divide clearer than how different each version is tone-wise. The theatrical version takes on a softer tone than the director’s cut. That said, though both versions have their strengths, ultimately, the director’s cut gives a more thorough picture of Salvatore’s journey from childhood to middle age. Whereas in the theatrical versions, the removal of most of the Salvatore scenes lessens his moment of truth.

Though there have been other films where cinema plays a large role in the story at hand, there’s something unique about the way Cinema Paradiso intertwines cinema with Salvatore’s journey. This is most clear when it comes to cinematic moments. Notably, when a middle-aged Salvatore watches a collection of kisses that were censored from films. Ultimately, Cinema Paradiso is a superbly executed love letter to cinema.

Though some might be disappointed that both versions were not given 4K restorations with Dolby Vision or HDR 10, ultimately, most people are sure to be thrilled once they see the theatrical version’s new 4K restoration in Dolby Vision or HDR10. Cinema Paradiso makes its way to 4K UHD via an exceptional release from Arrow Academy, highly recommended.

Note about the 4K screenshots: It is not possible to make Dolby Vision or HDR10 screenshots that faithfully match the experience of watching a film in motion on a TV. Instead of not having any screenshots, all of the 4K screenshots are m2ts taken with a VLC player and lossless PNGs.

Written by Michael Den Boer

Misunderstood: Limited Edition – Radiance Films (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Italy, 1966
Director: Luigi Comencini
Writers: Leonardo Benvenuti, Piero De Bernardi, Lucia Drudi Demby, Giuseppe Mangione
Cast: Anthony Quayle, Stefano Colagrande, Simone Giannozzi, John Sharp, Adriana Facchetti, Anna Maria Nardini, Silla Bettini, Rino Benini, Giorgia Moll, Graziella Granata

Release Date: April 29th, 2024 (UK), April 30th, 2024 (USA)
Approximate running time: 103 Minutes 57 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: 12 (UK), NR (USA)
Sound: LPCM Mono Italian
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region A,B
Retail Price: £14.99 (UK), $39.95 (USA)

"John Duncombe, the British consul in Florence, returns home from his wife’s funeral to his two children, who are unaware of their mother’s passing. He makes the decision to tell his eldest son, Andrea, but hides the truth from his sickly younger son, Milo." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.5/5

Here’s the information provided about the transfer, “Misunderstood was scanned from the original camera negative in 2K at Studio Cine, Rome. The film was restored by Radiance Films at Filmfinity in 2024. Thousands of instances of dirt, dust, stains and tears were removed and dozens of shots stabilized to attenuate mechanical jitter."

Misunderstood comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 40.9 GB

Feature: 30.3 GB

The source looks excellent. Flesh tones are healthy, colors look correct, image clarity, contrast, black levels, and compression are solid, and the image always looks organic.

Audio: 4.25/5

This release comes with one audio option, a LPCM mono mix in Italian with removable English subtitles. The audio is in great shape; the dialog comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced, and ambient sounds are well-represented.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a theatrical trailer (3 minutes 18 seconds, Dolby Digital mono Italian with removable English subtitles), an archival interview with film critic Michel Ciment (23 minutes 41 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo French with removable English subtitles), an archival interview with screenwriter Piero De Bernardi and Cristina Comencini, the director’s daughter and herself a noted filmmaker (35 minutes 10 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), a video essay by David Cairns titled A Child’s Heart, this extra explores Luigi Comencini’s affinity for childhood stories (24 minutes 51 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), reversible cover art, removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings and a 32-page booklet (limited to 3000 copies) cast & crew information, an essay titled Troubled Youth in Cinema written by Manuela Lazic, an archival interview with Luigi Comencini by Dominique Rabourdin and information about the transfer. 

Summary:

Directed by Luigi Comencini whose other notable films are Bread, Love and Dreams, The Window to Luna Park, Unknown Woman, and The Sunday Woman. Misunderstood was adapted from Florence Montgomery’s novel of the same name.

The narrative revolves around a family's struggle to cope with the loss of a loved one.

Death is something we all experience, whether it be someone we know or our own death. Experiencing the loss of a loved one as a child is often deeper than experiencing the loss of a loved one as an adult. And though there have been numerous films about the loss of a loved one, very few have done it as effectively from a child's point of view as Misunderstood.

There are three characters in Misunderstood who experience grief: a husband who lost his wife, and two sons who lost their mother. And in the early stages of the narrative, the father entrusts the older son Andrea with keeping his younger brother Milo in the dark about his mother's death. The decision ultimately puts a strain on Andrea’s relationship with his father, whom he feels is giving more attention to Milo.

Though there are a few minor characters who interact with the three main characters, it is the performances of the three actors who portray the leads that carry Misunderstood. This is especially notable when it comes to the performances of Stefano Colagrande in the role of Andrea and Simone Giannozzi, who portrays Milo. For both, this was their first and only acting experience. They both deliver extraordinary performances that are well beyond their years. Anthony Quayle’s (Lawrence of Arabia) portrayal of the father is equally impressive.

Luigi Comencini’s direction is perfect, and though he lets the performances take center stage, there are a handful of standout visual moments. Notably, moments and objects that remind characters of the wife or mother who died. That said, no moment is more potent than the gut-wrenching finale, in which one character comes to terms with dying when life has become too painful to live. Ultimately, Misunderstood is one of cinema’s best films about the human condition.

Misunderstood gets an excellent release from Radiance Films that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and insightful extras, highly recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer