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Accattone [Blu-ray]
(Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1961)
Criterion's Pasolini 101 9 film Blu-ray boxset has Accattone and is reviewed HERE
Review by Gary Tooze
Production: Theatrical: Cino del Duca Video: Masters of Cinema Spine #31
Disc: Region: B-locked (as verified by the Momitsu region FREE Blu-ray player) Runtime: 1:56:37.041 Disc Size: 49,509,787,731 bytes Feature Size: 36,331,849,728 bytes Nishi-Ginza Station Size: 8,925,911,040 bytes Video Bitrate: 34.99 Mbps Chapters: 18 Case: Transparent Dual-Format Blu-ray case Release date: March 26th, 2012
Video: Aspect ratio: 2.35:1 Resolution: 1080p / 23.976 fps Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Audio: LPCM Audio Italian 2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit Commentary: LPCM Audio English 2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit
Subtitles: English, none
Extras:
• Pasolini’s 1965
feature-length documentary Comizi d’amore [Love Meetings],
on the complementary theme of Italian attitudes towards sex,
presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.66:1 (1:31:56 in
1080P) DVD of the Feature
Bitrate:
Description: The debut feature of Italian filmmaker-novelist-poet-provocateur Pier Paolo Pasolini (Salò, or: The 120 Days of Sodom; The Gospel According to Matthew; The Decameron), Accattone rocked the cinema world with its depictions, at once raw and elegant, of the underside of Roman street life – and, in the process, seemed to announce a new direction for Italian films: a neo-neorealism.
The Film: Ironically, it was this unwillingness to editorialise by condemning his characters’ shortcomings that often led to Pasolini’s films being criticised, particularly for their sexual politics. However, it’s a mistake to assume that this lack of explicit judgement amounts to endorsement. Rather, it is reflective of a humanism that lends his lowlifes’ stories a dimension of tragic complexity and prevents his films from becoming trite moral lectures or didactic Marxist tracts. Instead, the overall tone created is one of quiet despair at the ways in which the cynicism that informs the choices people make railroads them into a life where they are forced to fight like rats for dominance and survival. Excerpt from Themeroc at Eye For Film located HERE
The seamy side of the sub-proletariat of Rome, a world of prostitutes, layabouts and petty thieves in which Franco Citti's Accattone, not quite making the grade as a pimp, finds himself trapped between the alternatives of working for starvation wages, or trying - with the police already on his tail - for easy pickings as a thief. Treating a social milieu Pasolini knew at first hand, his first film as a director was misunderstood by many critics when it was first released as a return to the canons of Italian neo-realism of the '40s and '50s. In fact, its editing style, use of close-ups, dialogue in the Romanesco vernacular - not to mention the Bach score - all betray an originality much more of a piece with Pasolini's later work than with neo-realism. And the character of Accattone himself, self-destructive and conscious of his situation within a class from which he cannot escape, embodies many of the contradictions in Pasolini's lifetime of coming to terms with Marxism and Catholicism. Excerpt from TimeOut London located HERE
Criterion's Pasolini 101 9 film Blu-ray boxset has Accattone and is reviewed HERE Image : NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc. The Masters of Cinema transfer of Accattone is immaculate on Blu-ray. Contrast supports impressive detail. There is no distracting noise and the visuals have a pleasing film-like thickness. I can't imagine this film looking much better on digital - it is clean, tight and also shows some desirable depth. It's hard not to comment on Franco Citti - embodying Pacino's Michael Corleone with every close-up. The transfer of Comizi d’amore [Love Meetings] shows some healthy grain - both are 1080P and have maximized bitrate filling the entire dual-layered Blu-ray disc (49.5 of the 50 Gig) sharing it with only an audio commentary and a trailer. Full marks indeed!
CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
Love Meetings
Audio :The linear PCM stereo track at 2304 kbps is in original Italian and sounds clean with some sync issues with Franco Citti's DUB'ed voice. But this seems commonplace for Italian films and wasn't an issue in my viewing. There is a bit of depth with all the Bach but nothing of a notable nature. Still sounds incredible. There are optional English subtitles for both films and m y Momitsu has identified it as being a region B-locked.
Extras : The Masters of Cinema package has quite a lot going for it with a feature-length audio commentary on Accattone by critic Tony Rayns - dishing out more of his professionally researched information highlighting important details. MoC have included Pasolini’s 1965 1.5-hour documentary Comizi d’amore [Love Meetings], on the complementary theme of Italian attitudes towards sex in HD adhering to the original 1.66:1 aspect ratio. This is charming and makes for wonderful viewing. There are also original Italian theatrical trailers for both films in 1080P and the package includes a 36-page booklet featuring a translation of Pasolini’s 1958 poem “To a Pope”; excerpts from a 1969 interview with Pasolini on Accattone and Comizi d’amore by Oswald Stack; a 1975 essay on the film by Pasolini; Pasolini’s original 1964 treatment for Comizi d’amore; and rare archival imagery. Being a dual-format package it also contains a DVD of the feature.
BOTTOM LINE: Gary Tooze March 20th, 2012
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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.
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