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Directed by Christopher Menaul
USA / UK 19
95

 

A compelling tale of passion's dark secrets - critics applauded Feast of July as one of the best films of the year! A mysterious young beauty, Bella Ford (Embeth Davidtz, Army of Darkness), searches hopelessly for the lover who betrayed her. Weary and alone, she is offered shelter by the Wainwright family, who help her find new hope... and whose three handsome sons battle for her affections. But just as she is ready to begin her new life, her former lover unexpectedly reappears to haunt her with the secrets – of their past. From Merchant Ivory Productions, the award-winning creators of Howards End and The Remains of the DayFeast of July is passionate and powerful entertainment. Directed by TV veteran Christopher Menaul (Prime Suspect) and co-starring Ben Chaplin (The Thin Red Line).

***

Based on the novel by H.E. Bates, this period drama stars Embeth Davidtz as Bella Ford, a woman living in rural England during the Victorian era. Bella fell victim to Arch Wilson (Greg Wise), a unprincipled man who claimed to be from the nearby village. He seduced her only to vanish without a trace when she became pregnant. When she is outcast after her child is stillborn, a kindly villager named Ben Wainwright (Tom Bell) allows her to stay with his family in exchange for helping with the chores. However, the presence of a young and beautiful woman in the house creates a certain amount of tension between Ben, his wife (Gemma Jones), and sons Jedd (James Purefoy), a soldier; Matty (Kent Anderson), a shoemaker; and Con (Ben Chaplin), a homebody and social misfit. Con takes a shine to Bella and eventually proposes marriage; Bella accepts, but matters become complicated when she discovers that the dastardly Arch has returned to the village. Ismail Merchant served as executive producer..

Excerpt from B+N located HERE

Posters

Theatrical Release: October 13th, 1995

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

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Distribution Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime 1:56:12.715  
Video

Disc Size: 19,399,289,532 bytes

Feature Size: 19,019,827,200 bytes

Average Bitrate: 18.76 Mbps

Single-layered Blu-ray MPEG-4 AVC Video

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

Bitrate:

Audio

DTS-HD Master Audio English 1558 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1558 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit)
Commentary:

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

Subtitles English, None
Features

Release Information:
Studio: Kino

Aspect Ratio:
Original Aspect Ratio 2.35:1

Disc Size: 19,399,289,532 bytes

Feature Size: 19,019,827,200 bytes

Average Bitrate: 18.76 Mbps

Single-layered Blu-ray MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Edition Details:
Audio Commentary by director Christopher Menaul and associate producer Jane Cussons
Trailer (1:13) and trailers for 2 other films


Blu-ray Release Date: May 8th, 2018
Standard
Blu-ray Case
Chapters: 24

 

 

Comments:

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

Kino bring us the Merchant-Ivory production of Feast of July, on a single-layered Blu-ray disc. It is presented here in the 2.35:1 aspect ratio and the transfer has a modest bitrate but looks very thick and film-like in most sequences. There is some impressive cinematography by DoP Peter Sova (1998's The Proposition, Barry Levinson's Diner) with great lighting and landscapes. The image quality is consistent, supporting the film's many dark scenes without digitization issues. The captures below should give you a good idea - I had no distractions with the video.

Feast of July is brought to us with a DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel (16-bit) track. Various nature noises, rain and the dialogue are all clear and consistent. Notable is the poetic score by Zbigniew Preisner (composed music used in Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life, Krzysztof Kieslowski's Blue, The Decalogue, The Double Life of Veronique, Paolo Sorrentino's The Great Beauty, Agnieszka Holland's Olivier, Olivier and many others), there is also music compoaed by Rachel Portman, Labinsky and some may recognize the traditional La Tempest and Greensleeves. The lossless seems flawless. There are optional English subtitles on this Region 'A'
Blu-ray disc.

I really enjoyed the new audio commentary by director Christopher Menaul and associate producer Jane Cussons who are remembering the production 25 years later. They discuss the casting, the locations (West Midlands and Shropshire, England plus some shots taken in Wales, London etc.), the Preisner score (done in Poland) and many of the hurdles of the shoots. They keep a good pace and I was very keen on listening. There is also a video-advert trailer for Feast of July and for 2 other films.

Feast of July is a wonderful, atmospheric, classic with mystery, crime and love penetrating the narrative. It's a beautiful film and Kino have given us a solid
Blu-ray package here with a reasonable transfer of audio and 1080P video, and a rewarding commentary. Absolutely recommended!

Gary Tooze and Colin Zavitz


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Distribution Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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