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A view on Blu-ray by Gary W. Tooze

Camille 2000 (Theatrical Version) [Blu-ray]

 

(Radley Metzger, 1969)

 

The 'Extended version' is also available:

 

Review by Gary Tooze

 

Production:

Theatrical: Spear Productions

Video: Cult Video

 

Disc:

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

Runtime: 1:59:16.858

Disc Size: 23,775,360,905 bytes

Feature Size: 16,363,382,784 bytes

Video Bitrate: 16.99 Mbps

Chapters: 33

Case: Standard Blu-ray case

Release date: June 27th, 2011

 

Video:

Aspect ratio: 2.35:1

Resolution: 1080p / 23.976 fps

Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Audio:

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

 

Subtitles:

None

 

Extras:

• Commentary by Radley Metzger and Michael Bowen

• On the Set of Camille 2000 (30:36 in 1080P)

• The Restoration of Camille 2000 (6:28 in 1080P)

Sylviana's Bare Striptease (2:47 in 1080P)

• Outtakes of Camille 2000 (11:21 in 1080P)

• Cube Love Scene Alternative Take (1:52 in 1080P)

• Trailers (Score, Camille 2000, The Lickerish Quartet)

 

Bitrate:

 

 

Description: A child of the sixties sexual revolution, beautiful, sensuous Marguerite (Daniele Gaubert) is addicted to sex and money. She is kept by a wealthy man, has a string of young lovers and hosts wild orgies in her luxurious villa. When she falls in love with the handsome bachelor Armand (Nino Castelnuova), he insists on absolute fidelity. Known by her reputation, Armand s controlling father soon intervenes, triggering a tragic turn of events. From Radley Metzger, the essential director of elegant erotic art house, comes the dazzling new 2000 version of Alexandre Dumas The Lady of the Camellias.

 

 

The Film:

Well, Daniele Gaubert is presented in the nude all right, but with about as much erotic effect as an Arid ad. She has a lot of love scenes with Nino Castelnuovo. The way they make love is interesting. Their key technique is to assume the conventional configuration and then . . . not move! Mostly, they're looking at themselves in the mirrors. There are mirrors all over her bedroom. No matter where they look, they see themselves in the mirror. Danielle and Nino aren't too bright, I guess. They're just about to start making love when their eyes wander, and they get interested in that beautiful couple up on the ceiling, I kept wanting to shout: "That's YOU, dummy!"

Excerpt from Roger Ebert at the Chicago Sun Timese located HERE

With Camille 2000, Metzger began to let his experimental impulses emerge. The film's opening credit appears on a clapboard while a crew member reads the title ("take one") and snaps the cast into action, giving the impression that the entire film springs naturally from its starting point, that it's some sort of improvisational, one-take lark. Camille turns one of George Cukor's finest melodramas (both are based on Alexandre Dumas's novel) into a Mediterranean burlesque on the philosophy of hedonism, a Bonjour Tristesse for the languid Blowup jetset, complete with a definitive lounge-lizard score. (And, like with the party quip of Alley Cats, Metzger winks at his own mystique when one character observes the cross-section of society at an opera performance: "the cream of international society… and a bit of the scum.")

Excerpt from Slant Magazine located HERE

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

Cult Epics should get on-board with 'seamless branching' and put both the Extended and Theatrical editions on the same Blu-ray as opposed to having them on two separately sold packages. I think their 'Score' BD was the same deal. The image here is pretty good - muted palette colors but decent contrast and detail showing some depth. There are still plenty of frame specific speckles. Noise exists but its is rare.  This is only single-layered with a modest bitrate but the image quality is impressive at times. This has had some restoration and it shows with a relatively clean image with a bit of gloss. I think most viewers will be pleased.

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Audio :

No boost going on here - its a mono stereo track without any lossless treatment. Cult Video lost an opportunity but I suppose the audio is a lesser part of the presentation. Dialogue is reasonably consistent. There is original music by Piero Piccioni but, obviously, without any range or significant depth. There are no subtitles and my Momitsu has identified it as being a region FREE disc playable on Blu-ray machines worldwide.

 

Extras :

Supplements are fairly extensive with a commentary by director Radley Metzger and Michael Bowen. Bowen describes Metzger as the supreme stylist in erotic film. It's not a bad discussion at all - for those that are keen enough to indulge. There are a number of featurettes culled from unused footage including the 1/2 hour On the Set of Camille 2000 and 10-minutes of Outtakes of Camille 2000 plus the Cube Love Scene Alternative Take. Even though all are in 1080P - the quality is less than stellar (un-restored) and this is especially true of the 3-minutes of Sylviana's Bare Striptease which is unwatchable in spots. There is 6-minutes of restoration which focuses more on the pre-restored look and 3 trailers (Score, Camille 2000, The Lickerish Quartet.)

 

 

BOTTOM LINE:
This is no where near as bad as Ebert makes out - in fact, I was very keen on the fashion and architecture of Camille 2000. Say what you will about Metzger's films - they have a strong unique feel and it tends to grow on you. I think The Image was steamier but Camille 2000 carries a strong visual appeal in the artistic sense (I don't mean nudity!). It's never simply gratuitous nakedness and I expect some to appreciate the overall film value here. Hopefully you will know what to expect. 

Gary Tooze

June 22nd, 2011

The 'Extended version' is also available:


 

About the Reviewer: Hello, fellow Beavers! I have been interested in film since I viewed a Chaplin festival on PBS when I was around 9 years old. I credit DVD with expanding my horizons to fill an almost ravenous desire to seek out new film experiences. I currently own approximately 9500 DVDs and have reviewed over 3500 myself. I appreciate my discussion Listserv for furthering my film education and inspiring me to continue running DVDBeaver. Plus a healthy thanks to those who donate and use our Amazon links.

Although I never wanted to become one of those guys who focused 'too much' on image and sound quality - I find HD is swiftly pushing me in that direction.

Gary's Home Theatre:

60-Inch Class (59.58” Diagonal) 1080p Pioneer KURO Plasma Flat Panel HDTV PDP6020-FD

Oppo Digital BDP-83 Universal Region FREE Blu-ray/SACD Player
Momitsu - BDP-899 Region FREE Blu-ray player
Marantz SA8001 Super Audio CD Player
Marantz SR7002 THX Select2 Surround Receiver
Tannoy DC6-T (fronts) + Energy (centre, rear, subwoofer) speakers (5.1)

APC AV 1.5 kVA H Type Power Conditioner 120V

Gary W. Tooze

 

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