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S E A R C H    D V D B e a v e r

Directed by Curtis Harrington
USA 1985

 

From cult filmmaker Curtis Harrington (Night Tide, Queen of Blood, Whoever Slew Auntie Roo?) and producers Golan-Globus (Runaway Train) comes this torrid tale of deception, desire…and double agents. Dutch goddess Sylvia Kristel (Emmanuelle Trilogy, The Nude Bomb) is the ultimate spy-vamp, Mata Hari. There has been no name more notorious, no eye more lethal, in the history of international seductresses. The daughter of a sacred dancer, Mata Hari tours the capitals of Europe with her hypnotically profane version of Java’s ritualistic choreography. It is her destiny to beguile men and women alike, in an era when the shadow of World War I endangers every liaison. When she takes as lovers two former friends, a German and a Frenchman, now enemies by the war, she becomes a pawn in their deadly cat-and-mouse intrigues. From the Folies Bergère in Paris to the sinister Fraulein Doktor’s office in Berlin to an orgiastic party in Madrid, Mata Hari weaves her spell between enemy camps and between satin sheets leaving behind her broken hearts…and lifeless bodies. The stellar cast include Oliver Tobias (The Stud, Arabian Adventure), Christopher Cazenove (Heat and Dust, Aces: Iron Eagle III), Gottfried John (Goldeneye, The Ogre) and Vernon Dobtcheff (The Day of the Jackal, Jude).

***

Based loosely on the real-life story of the World War I spy. The exotic dancer uses her contacts in European high society, along with her seductive charm, to collect military secrets during the war. She successfully plays both sides against each other until at last her deceptions catch up with her.

Posters

Theatrical Release: April 5th, 1985

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Review: Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

Box Cover

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Bonus Captures:

Distribution Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime 1:48:39.221        
Video

1.85:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 36,940,541,087 bytes

Feature: 34,928,916,480 bytes

Video Bitrate: 38.92 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

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

Bitrate Blu-ray:

Audio

DTS-HD Master Audio English 1594 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1594 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Commentary:

Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps

Subtitles English, None
Features Release Information:
Studio:
Kino

 

1.85:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 36,940,541,087 bytes

Feature: 34,928,916,480 bytes

Video Bitrate: 38.92 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Edition Details:

• NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historians David Del Valle and Nathaniel Bell
• Image Gallery (13:16)
• Theatrical Trailer (1:43)


Blu-ray
Release Date: August 30th, 2022
Standard
Blu-ray Case inside slipcase

Chapters 9

 

 

Comments:

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

ADDITION: Kino Blu-ray (August 2022): Kino have transferred Curtis Harrington's Mata Hari to Blu-ray. It has that thick, noisy, look of the 80's film stock. It's not poor on a dual-layered disc with a max'ed out bitrate - looking authentic if highly visible textures in the darker backgrounds. It looks quite pleasing - only one specific capture of damage (see below.) So, 1080P: and looking quite decent on my system. Kudos to Harrington's visual input.

NOTE: We have added 60 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Kino use a DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel track (24-bit) in the original English language. Mata Hari has only a few aggressive moments (latter gunfire) that come through with modest depth. The score is by Wilfred Josephs (Cash on Demand, Fanatic, The Deadly Bees, The Uncanny, notable for TV series music in I Claudius and The Prisoner) and it augments the wonderful 'look' of Mata Hari. Kino offer optional English subtitles on their Region 'A' Blu-ray.

The Kino Blu-ray offers a new commentary by Film Historians David Del Valle and Nathaniel Bell (has the Face book page for Curtis Harrington.) I love listening to David - who doesn't hold back here - discussing the director's limited options having to deal with a poor cinematographer and weak screenwriter. They relate how Harrington had high standards in terms of sets. They talk about Harrington's book "Nice Guys Don't Work in Hollywood: The Adventures of an Aesthete in the Movie Business". They talk about the real Mata Hari - Margaretha Geertruida MacLeod - also Dutch - like Sylvia Kristel who was kind of born to play this part. They admit that this probably had 10-15-minutes missing from the 'International release' cutting out more explicit material (that may never be available.) David was friends with Harrington at the end of his life and relates many interesting details about Mata Hari - and much more. Nathaniel talks about Harrington as a film critic and his high aspirations of cinema - essentially feeling he was a generation too late. They talk about Harrington's Whoever Slew Auntie Roo? - considering it his best film. Of course they mention about Sylvia Kristel as a painter - a lady of taste and culture, the actress Gaye Brown and her small role in A Clockwork Orange, Golan-Globus, and much more.  It's fabulolus. Kino also include an image gallery and a theatrical trailer.   

Curtis Harrington's Mata Hari is considered an 'erotic biographical film' about the infamous World War I spy - and has the strong appeal of Sylvia Kristel - the queen of soft-core, mainstream, sexy films (she was in five of the seven Emmanuelle films.) Kristel was cast in Roman Polanski's 1976 film The Tenant but she was replaced by Isabelle Adjani, after one day of shooting. The costumes in Mata Hari are outrageously rich and visually it looks like a very impressive production. It's actually not as poor as come critics make out complaining about Kristel acting. I don't think that is her strongest attribute in the film. Anyway, yes - lots of sex and frontal nudity - and a well realized production although director Harrington was unhappy with the final product as it was far off his artistic vision. The Kino Blu-ray has a very strong a/v for the format and a new, very entertaining, commentary. For Sylvia Kristel and Curtis Harrington this is kind of a must-own.

Gary Tooze

 


Menus / Extras

 


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Examples of NSFW (Not Safe For Work) CAPTURES  (Mouse Over to see- CLICK to Enlarge)

 

 


Example of frame-specific Damage

 

(CLICK to ENLARGE)
 

 


 

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Distribution Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray


 


 

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