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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r |
(aka "Secret Things" )
directed by Jean-Claude Brisseau
France 2002
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One of the best films that I’ve seen come out of France in
the past few years is this eccentric erotic tale, named the best film of
2002 by Cahiers du Cinema. As Roger Ebert points out, w/r/t sex and cinema,
it’s “amazing how seriously the French take it.” We don’t need to look far
to find evidence of this—take the early collaborations between Brigitte
Bardot and Roger Vadim for example, widely influential to the French New
Wave filmmakers, but seen mainly as schlock to the rest of the world. Or
look at the horrific American reception of Verhoeven’s “Showgirls” and the
passionate Cahiers influenced defenders. Watching Brisseau’s “Secret Things”
for the first time and you may find an artfully made exercise in soft-core
porno, but have the courage to look deeper, and you will find a jaw-dropping
brilliance that seeks to reinvent the ways that we watch movies. Brisseau
turns Mulvey’s “gaze” on its ear, flaunting his attractive actors and
their/his/our desire to display/present/see their naked bodies and rams it
down our throat. His labyrinthine narrative resembles a blend of Beverly
Hills 90210 and Greek tragedy. |
Posters
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Theatrical Release: October 16, 2002 (France)
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
DVD Comparison:
First Run Features - Region 0 - NTSC vs. Tartan (the ciné lumière collection) - Region 0 - PAL
Big thanks to Warren Murphy and Henrik Sylow for the Screen Caps!
(First Run Features - Region 0 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Tartan (the ciné lumière collection) - Region 0 - PAL - RIGHT)
| DVD Box Covers |
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| Distribution |
First Run Features Region 0 - NTSC |
Tartan Region 0 - PAL |
| Runtime | 1:51:57 | 1:52:07 (4% PAL speedup) |
| Video |
1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio |
1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio |
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NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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Bitrate:
First Run Features
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Bitrate:
Tartan (the ciné lumière collection)
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| Audio | 2.0 Dolby Digital French |
2.0 Dolby Digital French |
| Subtitles | English (fixed) | English, None |
| Features |
Release Information: Studio: First Run Features Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details:
Chapters 12 |
Release Information: Studio: Tartan Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details:
DVD
Release Date: September 26, 2005 Chapters 16 |
| Comments |
RE: the First Run Features - Warren Murphy First of all, there seems to be some conflict regarding the OAR for this
film. IMDB first listed the OAR as 1.37:1 but now lists it as 1.66:1.
I'm not sure which is correct. The French DVD is also in 4:3, so I am
guessing that this DVD is probably in the correct ratio. If it's not the
theatrical ratio, then it is probably the director-preferred. The
framing looks correct anyhow, so this isn't a P&S transfer. As for the
DVD, this is the first one I've seen from First Run and I am not overly
impressed. The subtitles aren't optional, although they are clear and
easy to read. The transfer is kind of dull, and there seems to be too
much red on the skin tones. It does look pretty good in outdoor scenes,
but in darker indoor scenes it shows its limitations. It also seems to
be a PAL-NTSC transfer (confirmed), as the original time for the theatrical release
was 115 mins and the DVD just runs short of 112 mins. I only noticed
some occasional ghosting, otherwise it isn't too distracting. There
seems to be some edge enhancement (you'll notice in the title capture
above), something I usually don't notice, but I noticed it here.
Overall, not a great transfer but not unwatchable either. As I mentioned
above, there is a DVD from France available, but it has no English
subtitles. Regarding the Tartan (the ciné lumière collection): Henrik Sylow Apart from macro blocking, the
artifacts are at a minimum. So while the
Tartan image isn't flawless, it looks beautifully. The AR is the correct
OAR of 1.33:1. |
DVD Menus
(First Run Features - Region 0 - NTSC -
LEFT vs. Tartan (the ciné lumière collection) - Region 0 - PAL -
RIGHT)
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Screen Captures
(First
Run Features - Region 0 - NTSC - TOP vs. Tartan (the ciné lumière
collection) - Region 0 - PAL - BOTTOM)
subtitle sample (English
only)
PAL captures resized to 720px from 768px native resolution
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(First Run Features - Region 0 - NTSC - TOP vs. Tartan (the ciné lumière collection) - Region 0 - PAL - BOTTOM)
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(First Run Features - Region 0 - NTSC - TOP vs. Tartan (the ciné lumière collection) - Region 0 - PAL - BOTTOM)
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(First Run Features - Region 0 - NTSC - TOP vs. Tartan (the ciné lumière collection) - Region 0 - PAL - BOTTOM)
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(First Run Features - Region 0 - NTSC - TOP vs. Tartan (the ciné lumière collection) - Region 0 - PAL - BOTTOM)
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(First Run Features - Region 0 - NTSC - TOP vs. Tartan (the ciné lumière collection) - Region 0 - PAL - BOTTOM)
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(First Run Features - Region 0 - NTSC - TOP vs. Tartan (the ciné lumière collection) - Region 0 - PAL - BOTTOM)
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Report Card:
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Image: |
Tartan |
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Sound: |
Tie - Same 2.0 Dolby Digital track |
| Extras: | --- |
| Menu: | --- |
| DVD Box Covers |
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| Distribution |
First Run Features Region 0 - NTSC |
Tartan Region 0 - PAL |
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Gary Tooze
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Thank You!