Review by Gary Tooze

 

Production:

Theatrical: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Video: Twilight Time

 

Disc:

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

Runtime: 1:44:15.248

Disc Size: 22,984,343,398 bytes

Feature Size: 22,972,778,496 bytes

Video Bitrate: 25.03 Mbps

Chapters: 11

Case: Standard Blu-ray case

Release date: December, 2011

 

Video:

Aspect ratio: 2.35:1

Resolution: 1080p / 23.976 fps

Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Audio:

DTS-HD Master Audio English 1579 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1579 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit)
DTS-HD Master Audio English 1057 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 1057 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 1.0 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 24-bit)

 

Subtitles:

None

 

Extras:

• Isolated Score Track

• Julie Kirgo liner notes

 

Bitrate:

 

 

Description: Agnes, a lonely teenage girl, and her father befriend an escaped convict, named Joseph, who arrives at their farm in Brittany, France. When Joseph develops an attraction to Agnes, her father threatens to break up the union.

 

 

The Film:

“Movie-making at its best…spellbinding. Something very fine, the likes of which are rare in this era.” — New York Daily News

“The blazing Miss Gozzi graduates to a woman's love through joy, homicidal rage, and searing pain, hardly making a move that does not register on the heart.” — Time Magazine

Rapture (1965) is a dark fairy tale: set against the rugged beauty of the Brittany seacoast, it tells the story of a young girl (Patricia Gozzi) whose lonely isolation under the watchful eye of her stern and bitter father (Melvyn Douglas) is abruptly shattered by the arrival of a seductive fugitive from the law (Dean Stockwell). With stunning CinemaScope images from director John Guillermin and cinematographer Marcel Grignon, this tumultuous coming-of-age fable also features a deliriously romantic score by Georges Delerue, available here as an isolated track.

Enjoy the extensive Julie Kirgo liner notes and film art packaged with the Blu-ray disc.

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

Like the Blu-ray of Fright Night by Twilight Time this is also limited to 3,000 copies. Unfortunately there are some sequences with edge-enhancement halos (see sample below) and while not blanketed across the entire transfer does give evidence of making the image quality appear unnaturally thin. If you can get past that - it actually looks okay - reminding me of the richly-layered black-and-white BFI transfer of The Innocents.  This is only single-layered with an acceptable bitrate. Daylight scenes are impressive but perhaps due to the manipulation (or maybe it is on the source print) it is fairly flat. This Blu-ray has some good grain showing through and I generally like it if the EE was less visible. Most probably won't be dissuaded. I had never seen the film before and was glad this Blu-ray gave me the opportunity.

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Zoomed-in: Edge Enhancement halos visible

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Audio :

No boost going on here - Twilight Time supply a DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel stereo at 1579 kbps that gets the job done with no muss or fuss. The original music by Georges Delerue adds a whole intriguing layer onto the film but doesn't test the lossless rendering much. There were no fatal flaws that I cold detect and there are no subtitles offered. My Momitsu has identified it as being a region FREE disc playable on Blu-ray machines worldwide.

 

Extras :

The only supplements are access to the Isolated Score via an uncompressed transfer and the box has some excellent Julie Kirgo liner notes.

 

 

BOTTOM LINE:
I found Rapture a very interesting film. This has an international cast and a notable sensitivity. It is unusually realized but it suits the film experience perfectly. Many may find this strange but I'll bet an equal number are swallowed by its haunting charms. I'd certainly give a more enthusiastic endorsement if not for the EE but the Blu-ray at least allowed me to see a perfectly 'fresh' film - WOW - and for that I am grateful and encourage those seeking same - to indulge. 

Gary Tooze

December 12th, 2011