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S E A R C H    D V D B e a v e r

(aka 'Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow')

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/direct-chair/desica.htm
Italy 1963

Stories about three very different women and the men they attract. Adelina sells black-market cigarettes in Naples, is married to the unemployed Carmine, and faces a jail sentence. She can avoid it as long as she's pregnant. Several years and seven children later, Carmine is exhausted, so jail looks inescapable as does her contempt for Carmine. In Milan, Anna drives a Rolls, is bored, and picks up a writer. She talks dreamily of running off with him until he dents her car; that gets her emotional attention. Mara, a Roman call girl, turns the head of a naive seminarian, prompting a run-in with his granny and a vow of abstinence. Mara's fizzy lover from Bologna grows impatient.

***

Vittorio De Sica's delightful anthology comedy from 1963 pairs joined-at-the-hip costars Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni in three funny stories about sex. The first finds Loren playing an impoverished woman with a jail sentence hanging over her head. A unique loophole in the law, however, keeps her out from behind bars: pregnant women and new mothers cannot be incarcerated. Forestalling her date with the pokey, this incredibly fecund felon keeps bearing children. Her lucky but exhausted accomplice is played by Mastroianni, who can't resist her siren call between deliveries. The middle vignette finds the two actors playing secretive lovers having an affair. Shot mostly from within and around his car, the pair self-consciously quibbles and keeps having comic mishaps that slow their progress. The last story is the cheekiest, featuring Loren as an expensive hooker whose date with a--shall we say "anxious"--Mastroianni is repeatedly broken up by a neighboring seminarian whose commitment to chastity has been rocked since seeing her. This tale includes Loren's famous striptease.

Excerpt of Tom Keogh's review located HERE

Posters

Theatrical Release: December 19th, 1963

Reviews                                                                                       More Reviews                                                                                DVD Reviews

 

Comparison:

NoShame Films - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Lorber Films - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

NoShame Films - Region 1 - NTSC LEFT vs. Lorber Films - Region 'A' - Blu-ray RIGHT

Box Cover

 

Distribution NoShame Films - Region 1 - NTSC Lorber Films - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime 1:53:56  1:58:23.137
Video 2.35:1 Original Aspect Ratio
Average Bitrate: 7.18 mb/s
NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s

1080P Single-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 23,504,800,182 bytes

Feature: 21,379,534,848 bytes

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

Total Video Bitrate: 20.99 Mbps

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.

Bitrate: DVD

Bitrate: Blu-ray

Audio Italian (Dolby Digital 2.0), DUB: English (Dolby Digital 2.0)   Dolby TrueHD Audio Italian 379 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 379 kbps / 16-bit (AC3 Embedded: 1.0 / 48 kHz / 160 kbps)
Subtitles English, None English, None
Features

Release Information:
Studio: NoShame Films

Aspect Ratio:
Original aspect Ratio 2.35:1

Edition Details:

• Poster and still gallery
• Original U.S. theatrical trailer
• Collectible booklet with talent bios and reprint of the original Japanese press booklet

DVD Release Date: April 26th, 2005

Keep Case
Chapters: 12

Release Information:
Studio: Lorber

1080P Single-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 23,504,800,182 bytes

Feature: 21,379,534,848 bytes

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

Total Video Bitrate: 20.99 Mbps

Edition Details:

• Still gallery
• Theatrical trailer
• DVD of Vittoprio D. (1:35:00)

Blu-ray Release Date: May 17th, 2011
Standard Blu-ray Case inside cardboard case
Chapters: 12 

 

 

Comments:

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Lorber - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - May 11': the reasonableness of the 1080P upgrade is exemplified by the interlaced transfer of the DVD. This wouldn't be as impressive to those with higher, more modern film, expectations but as far as being the best home theater representation the Blu-ray is easily the #1 available at present.  The hi-def caps are somewhat soft and grainy with noise prevalent on the single-layered rendering. Colors are bright(er), for the most part, and the image quality is consistent with negligible damage. Even with the modest bitrate it certainly provides a far better presentation than the SD NoShame disc.

Audio - while lossless (TrueHD) - is original mono with no robust qualities at all (379 kbps). Although it lacks in depth and range it supports the film's dialogue well enough for an enjoyable spin. There are alternate English subtitles on the region 'A'-locked Blu-ray disc.

Extras on the Blu-ray are slim with three trailers and Stills gallery but Lorber have thoughtfully provided a second disc DVD with the documentary 'Vittorio D." described as "Seventy years after his first film (Red Roses, 1939) and 35 after his death, Vittorio De Sica remains a celebrated, forgotten and perhaps unknown giant of Italian cinema. His irrepressible humanity, versatility as an actor and intransigence as a filmmaker remain in the shadows. This original and different portrait is created through stories from De Sica’s children – Emy, Christian and Manuel – alongside artists such as Woody Allen, Clint Eastwood, John Landis, Ken Loach and Mario Monicelli." This is an excellent addition to the package and pushes the Blu-ray for solid consideration. We, indeed, recommend.

***

ON THE NO SHAME DVD: This anamorphic image is tight to the frame edges but is once again not progressive. It is advertised as "Remastered in high definition from the restored original 2P negative" and looks very strong aside from the 'trailing effect' in many horizontal pans. Colors are excellent and I see no evidence of manipulation. I would say that this DVD looks superior to NoShame's Boccaccio 70' release and like that issue the included liner notes booklet (in this case 30 pages) is quite extensive.

Again I wasn't impressed by the English DUB, but I suppose it has some limited value for those incapable of reading subtitles or understanding Italian. The original Italian track is clear and defined. The poster and stills gallery is quite elaborate. This is a good release and NoShame continue to delight Italian film fans with their selection of transfers. We recommend this cute and sexy comedy by De Sica. We hope NoShame continue releasing these gems for English language NTSC audiences.

Gary W. Tooze


Menus

 

NoShame Films - Region 1 - NTSC LEFT vs. Lorber Films - Region 'A' - Blu-ray RIGHT


 

DVD of Vittorio D. documentary included with Lorber Blu-ray

 


CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

 

Subtitle Sample

 

NoShame Films - Region 1 - NTSC TOP vs. Lorber Films - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 


 

Screen Captures

 

NoShame Films - Region 1 - NTSC TOP vs. Lorber Films - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 


NoShame Films - Region 1 - NTSC TOP vs. Lorber Films - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 


NoShame Films - Region 1 - NTSC TOP vs. Lorber Films - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 


NoShame Films - Region 1 - NTSC TOP vs. Lorber Films - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 


NoShame Films - Region 1 - NTSC TOP vs. Lorber Films - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
 

NoShame Films - Region 1 - NTSC TOP vs. Lorber Films - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
 


NoShame Films - Region 1 - NTSC TOP vs. Lorber Films - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
 

More Blu-ray Captures


Recommended Books on Italian Cinema (CLICK COVERS or TITLES for more information)

 

DVD Box Cover

 

Distribution NoShame Films - Region 1 - NTSC Lorber Films - Region 'A' - Blu-ray




 

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