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A view on Blu-ray by Brian Montgomery

 

That Kind of Girl (Flipside Spine # 008) [Blu-ray]

(aka "Teenage Tramp" or "Adam und Eva")

 

(Gerry O'Hara, 1963)

 

 

 

 

Also Offered as a Dual Format edition - October 24th, 2011:

 

 

Review by Brian Montgomery

 

Theatrical: Compton-Cameo Films

Blu-ray: BFI Video

 

Disc:

Region: FREE! (as verified by the Momitsu region FREE Blu-ray player)

Runtime: 1:16:43.932

Disc Size: 31,902,325,256 bytes

Feature Size: 18,676,413,440 bytes

Video Bitrate: 18.10 Mbps

Chapters: 12

Case: Standard Blu-ray case

Release date: January 25th, 2010

 

Video:

Aspect ratio: 1.33:1 matted to 1.78

Resolution: 1080p / 23.976 fps

Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Audio:

LPCM Audio English 2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit

 

Subtitles:

English, None

 

Extras:

• The People at No.19: an intense and effective melodrama which explores the themes of adultery, sexual hygiene and pregnancy from the perspective of an earlier era (18:14)

• No Place to Hide: a snapshot of the 'Ban the Bomb' march from Aldermaston to London (9:20)

• A Sunday in September: a compelling documentary, from the director of Black Beauty, about a nuclear disarmament demonstration in London with Vanessa Redgrave, Doris Lessing and John Osbourne (28:00)

• Robert Hartford-Davis interview: That Kind of Girl's producer discusses his film career and production methods (14:00)

• Extensive illustrated booklet featuring essays from novelist Cathi Unsworth and director Gerry O'Hara

 

 

The Film:

In 1960s London, a beautiful continental au pair finds herself wrestling with the affections of an earnest peace-protester, a dashing young toff and a roguish older man. But fun and freedom turn to shame and despair when she finds that her naivety has put her lovers, and their partners - including the well-meaning Janet (played by Big Zapper's Linda Marlowe, in her first role) - at risk. Stylishly shot in crisp black and white, and set against a backdrop of smoky jazz clubs, 'Ban the Bomb' marches, and evocative London locations, this finely tuned cautionary tale was the directorial debut of Gerry O'Hara (All the Right Noises, The Brute), and is presented in a new High Definition transfer.

Excerpt of review from BFI located HERE


 

 

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

The BFI's "That Kind of Girl" sports an all around excellent picture. The MPEG-4 AVC Video/1080p transfer does an outstanding job bringing out the subtle nuance with the blacks and grays. We get a good deal more depth with the gray scale then we likely would with the standard edition. While the image can appear ever so slightly soft at times, but for the most part, the level of clarity is more than acceptable. The close ups in particular reveal a level of clarity that can only be found in 1080p. Although the film has been restored, there are still some very minor instances of damage and every once in a while, a vertical line running down the center of the screen. The grain level is quite nice but for whatever reason, tends to be a bit exaggerated when paused. Indeed, the image captures below do not do the film justice. In motion, it's even better than the captures would indicate. Overall, its a really lovely release.

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Audio & Music:

Like most of their Blu-ray releases as of late, the BFI has chosen to use a Linear PCM 2.0 audio master. For a film that has as much of the early '60s mod sounds as this one does, the songs sound quite good in this lossless offering. The dialogue is always crisp and clear and I found no noticeable instances unwanted background noise. The subtitles on the disc are always clear and easy to follow.

 

 

Extras:

Included in the disc is a plethora of extras, all in HD. While the short films are only peripherally related to the main feature, they are all interesting in their own way. On the discm we get three short films, the first of which, "The People at No.19", was first found in the BFI's "The Joy of Sex Education". The film is an 18 minute long melodrama about a woman who discovers that she has syphilis and blames her husband for the infection, but as she soon discovers, it's not so cut and dry. Second, in keeping with the anti-nuclear missile scenes in the film, the disc contains "No Place to Hide", a shock documentary concerning the effects of nuclear war and the Aldermaston march in 1959. In a similar vein, there's also "A Sunday in September", a nearly half an hour long profile of another march to ban nuclear weapons. Next, there's a 14 minute long interview with producer Robert Hartford-Davis, discussing the making of the film. Finally, there's an illustrated booklet that's up to the usual high standards of the BFI, containing a pair of new essays on the film (including one by O'Hara) and biographies of all the principles.

 

 

Bottom line:

While so far the BFI's Flipside series has been nothing short of a revelation, this ranks as my least favorite in the series. The film was fun enough for the first half, but the focus on syphilis in the second half felt artificial and tacked on to support the rigid sexual morality that was frequently cited: No premarital sex is safe. Regardless of how I felt about the film itself, I must admit that this is a very impressive package from the BFI and well worth the purchase for those interested.

Brian Montgomery
January 24th, 2010

 

 

 

Also Offered as a Dual Format edition - October 24th, 2011:

 


 




 

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