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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r |
(aka "The Iron Kiss" )
The setup is pure pulp: A former prostitute (a
crackerjack Constance Towers) relocates to a
buttoned-down suburb, determined to fit in with
mainstream society. But in the strange, hallucinatory
territory of writer-director-producer Samuel Fuller (Shock
Corridor,
The Big Red One), perverse secrets
inevitably simmer beneath a seemingly wholesome surface.
Featuring radical visual touches, full-throttle
performances, brilliant cinematography by Stanley Cortez
(The Night of the Hunter), and one bizarrely
beautiful musical number, The Naked Kiss is among
Fuller’s greatest, boldest entertainments. *** Director Sam Fuller once stated, during a cameo appearance
in Jean-Luc Godard's
Pierrot le Fou (1965), that "a film is like a
battleground -love....hate...action...violence...death...in one
word - emotion!" This simple philosophy couldn't be better
illustrated than Fuller's astonishing opening sequence to The
Naked Kiss (1964), which begins in the middle of a violent
fight between a prostitute and her pimp and culminates with the
pimp being beaten unconscious after he pulls off the woman's
wig, revealing her bald head. It's a shocking image but is just
the beginning of a 90-minute attack on middle-class morality and
hypocrisy, which must have confused and disturbed audiences who
first saw this hyperactive melodrama distributed on double bills
or in theatres that specialized in B-movie fare. Anyone
expecting sexual titillation was in for a surprise. |
Posters etc.
Theatrical Release: 29 October 1964
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
Comparison:
VCI - Collector's Edition - Region 0 - NTSC vs. Criterion Collection - Spine # 13 - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Wild Side Vidéo (Coffret Fuller) - Region 2 - PAL vs. VCI - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray |
Big thanks to Ashirg and Alain Dupont for the Screen Caps!
1) VCI (Collector's Edition) - Region 0 - NTSC LEFT 2) Criterion Collection - Spine # 13 - Region 1 - NTSC - SECOND 3) Wild Side Vidéo (Coffret Fuller) - Region 2 - PAL - THIRD 4) VCI - Region 1 - NTSC - FOURTH5) Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray RIGHT
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Released on Blu-ray in the UK by Criterion in September 2019: |
Distribution |
VCI Region 0 - NTSC |
Criterion Collection - Spine # 13 Region 1 - NTSC |
Wild
Side Vidéo Region 2 - PAL |
VCI Region 1 - NTSC |
Criterion Collection - Spine # 13 - Region A - Blu-ray |
Runtime | 1:30:15 | 1:30:33 | 1:26:36 (4% PAL speedup) | 1:30:15 | 1:30:51.487 |
Video |
1.75:1 Original Aspect Ratio
16X9 enhanced |
1:66:1 Original Aspect Ratio |
1:33:1 Original Aspect Ratio |
1:33:1 Open Matte format |
1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 46,081,720,836 bytesFeature: 26,637,557,760 bytesVideo Bitrate: 34.99 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video |
NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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Bitrate:
VCI (2007)
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Bitrate:
Criterion Collection - Spine # 13
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Bitrate:
Wild Side Vidéo (Coffret Fuller)
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VCI
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Blu-ray
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Audio | English Dolby Digital 2.0 | English Dolby Digital 1.0 |
English Dolby Digital 2.0, French Dolby Digital 2.0 |
English Dolby Digital 1.0 |
LPCM Audio English 1152 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 1152 kbps / 24-bit |
Subtitles | None | None | French (non removable) | None | English, None |
Features |
Release Information: Studio: VCI Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details: Chapters 12 |
Release Information: Studio: Criterion Collection - Spine # 13 Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details:
Chapters |
Release Information: Studio: Wild Side Vidéo Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details:
DVD
Release Date: 4 October 2005 Chapters 12 |
Release Information: Studio: VCI Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details:
DVD
Release Date: 30 May 2000 Chapters 18 |
Release Information: Studio: Criterion Collection
1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 46,081,720,836 bytesFeature: 26,637,557,760 bytesVideo Bitrate: 34.99 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Edition Details: Chapters 20 |
Comments |
NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc. ADDITION: Criterion Region 'A' Blu-ray January 11': As many could have predicted this is a dramatic increase in video quality from the many editions (this is a PD title) - which include Criterion's non-16X9 enhanced 1998 DVD edition (spine #13). Contrast is a notable improvement as are detail, grain visibility and the visuals are cleaner without disruptive damage marks. The Criterion Blu-ray is stated as being 1.75:1 but it doesn't look but a hair off 1.78:1 to me. Aside from a smidgeon of noise in the darker recesses of Kelly's jail cell - I have no complaints and whatever process Criterion used to procure this 1080P presentation - it's a substantial increase in quality - one Fuller's fans will greatly appreciate. Audio is lossless - faithfully mono in a linear PCM track sounding consistent and clear. There are optional English subtitles and, predictably, my Momitsu has identified it as being a region 'A'-locked.Supplements are strong. We get a new video interview with star Constance Towers by film historian and filmmaker Charles Dennis from 2007 - running almost 1/2 hour. She still looks great - delicate and refined and it is nice to hear her talk about the film and its director. There are 30-minutes of excerpts from a 1983 episode of The South Bank Show UK) dedicated to Fuller where we see and hear his impressive character reminisce about segments of his life. There are two interviews from French TV with burned-in subtitles - the first from a 1967 episode of the television series Cinéastes de notre temps running 23-minutes and a latter 12-minute one via a 1987 episode of the French television series Cinéma cinémas. We get the original theatrical trailer and an amazing 26-page liner notes booklet with delightful illustrations by cartoonist Daniel Clowes featuring an essay by critic and poet Robert Polito and excerpts from Fuller’s autobiography, A Third Face: My Tale of Writing, Fighting, and Filmmaking. Only thing missing here is a commentary but this still ranks as one of the essential purchases of the early year. P.S. Certainly ranks as 'Cover of the Year' so far, IMO. :) ***
ADDITION: VCI (CE) - May 2008': Even though the new VCI DVD is anamorphic, it's still doesn't improve much on the image. The picture has higher resolution compared to previous releases, but it's still non-progressive and has the same damage spots (see the last capture). Where VCI does improve is in the provided extras although original trailer is still missing from VCI disc. We get nice interviews with a widow and a daughter of Samuel Fuller and with 2 leading actors (Anthony Eisley who plays Capt. Griff passed away in 2003), although Constance Towers interview is only audio and too short. Criterion unofficially announced plans to revisit this film and Shock Corridor in the near future, so until that time we recommend either new VCI disc if you can find cheap or French Wild Side Vidéo for open matte picture. *** ON THE WILD SIDE DVD: The Region 2 looks very good, it is much sharper and has less artifacts (and damage too) than the Criterion. The Wild-Side has two major drawbacks though: non removable (but not very intrusive) white French subtitles. These subs are player generated and can be removed by some enterprising individual. On most computers you can watch both movies without subtitles.
Here
is a translation of what Manuel Chiche, Director of Wild Side Vidéo,
wrote in a French DVD forum about their Fuller boxset : For extras, the PAL edition's are obviously superior. Wild Side's DVD has a 3rd disc containing documentaries. The first one is entitled "Play it again Sam" and is in French. IMPORTANT ! : the second one is in English and consists of excerpts (ONLY excerpts) from the documentary "The Typewriter, the Rifle and the Movie Camera". Some movie excerpts appearing in the original documentary couldn't be shown because of rights issues (the British Film Institute hasn't given its authorization). Lastly the Wild Side has some nice animated menus. - Alain Dupont and Gary Tooze |
Menus
VCI (2007)
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(Criterion Collection - Spine # 13 -
Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Wild Side Vidéo (Coffret Fuller) - Region
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Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
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CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
Screen Captures
Wild Side Vidéo (Coffret Fuller) - Region 2 - PAL forced subtitle sample
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1) VCI (Collector's Edition) - Region 0 - NTSC TOP 2) Criterion Collection - Spine # 13 - Region 1 - NTSC - SECOND 3) Wild Side Vidéo (Coffret Fuller) - Region 2 - PAL - THIRD 4) VCI - Region 1 - NTSC - FOURTH5) Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM |
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1) VCI (Collector's Edition) - Region 0 - NTSC TOP 2) Criterion Collection - Spine # 13 - Region 1 - NTSC - SECOND 3) Wild Side Vidéo (Coffret Fuller) - Region 2 - PAL - THIRD 4) VCI - Region 1 - NTSC - FOURTH5) Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM |
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1) VCI (Collector's Edition) - Region 0 - NTSC TOP 2) Criterion Collection - Spine # 13 - Region 1 - NTSC - SECOND 3) Wild Side Vidéo (Coffret Fuller) - Region 2 - PAL - THIRD 4) VCI - Region 1 - NTSC - FOURTH5) Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM |
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1) VCI (Collector's Edition) - Region 0 - NTSC TOP 2) Criterion Collection - Spine # 13 - Region 1 - NTSC - SECOND 3) Wild Side Vidéo (Coffret Fuller) - Region 2 - PAL - THIRD 4) VCI - Region 1 - NTSC - FOURTH5) Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM |
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Report Card:
Image: |
Blu-ray |
Sound: |
Blu-ray |
Extras: | Blu-ray |
Box Covers |
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Distribution |
VCI Region 0 - NTSC |
Criterion Collection - Spine # 13 Region 1 - NTSC |
Wild
Side Vidéo Region 2 - PAL |
VCI Region 1 - NTSC |
Criterion Collection - Spine # 13 - Region A - Blu-ray |
Recommended Reading in Film Noir (CLICK COVERS or TITLES for more information)
Film Noir: An Encyclopedia Reference to the American
Style by Alain Silver, Elizabeth Ward |
The Dark Side of the Screen: Film Noir by Foster Hirsch |
Somewhere in the Night: Film Noir and the American City by Nicholas Christopher |
Film Noir Reader 4 : The Crucial Films and Themes
(Film Noir Reader) by Alain Silver |
The Art of Noir: The Posters and Graphics from the
Classic Era of Film Noir by Eddie Muller |
The Little Black and White Book of Film Noir:
Quotations from Films of the 40's and 50's by Peg Thompson, Saeko Usukawa |
Film Noir by Alain Silver |
Film Noir Guide: 745 Films of the Classic Era,
1940-1959 by Michael F. Keaney |