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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

H D - S E N S E I

A view on Blu-ray by Gary W. Tooze

Kiss of the Damned [Blu-ray]

(Xan Cassavetes, 2012)

Magnolia - Region 'A' - Blu-ray LEFT (and BOTTOM) vs. Eureka - Region 'B' - Blu-ray RIGHT

Alternate Cover Version:

Review by Gary Tooze

Production:

Theatrical: Deerjen Films

Video: Magnolia / Eureka (UK)

Disc:

Region: 'A' / Region 'B' (as verified by the Oppo Blu-ray player)

Runtime: 1:35:27.722 / 1:35:27.722

Disc Size: 29,982,208,474 bytes / 34,223,380,802 bytes

Feature Size: 21,895,151,616 bytes / 23,098,374,144 bytes

Video Bitrate: 24.98 Mbps / 26.99 Mbps

Chapters: 13 / 12

Case: Standard Blu-ray case (both)

Release date: July 23rd, 2013 / January 27th, 2014

Video: (both)

Aspect ratio: 2.40:1

Resolution: 1080p / 23.976 fps

Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

Audio:

DTS-HD Master Audio English 1870 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1870 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit)
DTS-HD Master Audio English 1627 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1627 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Commentary: Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps

DTS-HD Master Audio English 1813 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1813 kbps /
16-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit)
Commentary: LPCM Audio English 1536 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1536 kbps / 16-bit

Subtitles:

English (SDH), Spanish, none

English, none

Extras:

• Commentary by writer / director Xan Cassavetes

• Interview with Joséphine de La Baume as Djuna (9:50)

• Interview with Roxane Mesquida as Mimi (7:13)

• AXS TV Interviews - Milo Ventimiglia (5:17) + Roxane Mesquida (6:48)

• Theatrical trailer (5:02)

BD-Live / Bookmarkable

• Commentary by writer / director Xan Cassavetes
• Interview with Xan Cassavetes (7:51)
• Interview with Joséphine de La Baume as Djuna (9:50)
• Interview with Roxane Mesquida as Mimi (7:13)
• AXS TV Interviews - Milo Ventimiglia (5:17) + Roxane Mesquida (6:48)
• Redband trailer (2:31)
• Greenband trailer (2:30)

Bitrate:

Magnolia - Region 'A' - Blu-ray TOP vs. Eureka - Region 'B' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

Description: Beautiful vampire Djuna tries to resist the advances of the handsome, human screenwriter Paolo, but eventually gives in to their passion. When her seductive and highly volatile sister Mimi unexpectedly comes to visit, she threatens Djuna's new relationship, and the whole vampire community becomes endangered.

The Film:

Writer-director Xan Cassavetes, daughter of John Cassavetes and Gena Rowlands, shifts gears from documentary to feature work with this offbeat horror opus, overtly inspired by the work of Dario Argento, Mario Bava, and others of the same ilk. Set in New England, it tells the story of two sisters. Both are French vampires - one evil, the other benevolent. Milo Ventimiglia plays a screenwriter who falls hard for the good sibling (Joséphine de la Baume) which incites the anger of the other sister (Roxane Mesquida). That young woman then decides to unleash fury on the local town. The cast also includes Riley Keough, Michael Rapaport and Caitlin Keats); this marked Cassavetes' first directorial assignment following her 2004 documentary Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession.

Excerpt from MRQE located HERE

Like a lot of the retro-horror films that have popped up on the art-house and festival circuits over the past several years, Xan Cassavetes’ Kiss Of The Damned is more about mood and texture than plot. Milo Ventimiglia plays a screenwriter who becomes captivated by Joséphine de la Baume, and though she says she can’t date him because, “I have a skin condition where I can’t be exposed to sunlight”—hint, hint—he can’t stop thinking about her, or she about him. So after she owns up to being a vampire, he chooses to let her bite him, and get initiated into the rituals and culture of bloodsuckers. And that’s pretty much the entire movie, save for one complication: de la Baume gets a visit from her boorish sister Roxane Mesquida, who crashes at the couple’s elegant mansion and starts interfering with their high-class vampire lives, accusing them of being sellouts who’ve lost touch with their animal nature.

Excerpt from The Onion A.V. Club located HERE

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

Kiss of the Damned looks brilliant on Blu-ray from Magnolia. The 1080P image quality showcases the precise use of light and contrast in the film. It varies from bright and clear to shadowy and moody without noise or artifacts of any kind. Detail is very impressive in the many close-ups and colors shift without digital embellishment. This advances into dual-layered territory with a receptive bitrate for 1.5 hour feature. This Blu-ray has some extremely well-realized scenes that have a strong visual presence. Even with that the effects are restrained and the textured appearance establishes moods in an exceptional way. Thumbs up for the video transfer which handles Kiss of the Damned's Blu-ray presentation highly effectively.

Same strong transfer on the Region 'B' Eureka - technically a slight superiority over the Magnolia - but not enough to show a demonstrative difference, IMO. Again - looks superb.

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

Magnolia - Region 'A' - Blu-ray TOP vs. Eureka - Region 'B' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

More Blu-ray captures

Audio :

Magnolia gives us the option of a DTS-HD Master 5.1 surround track at 1870 kbps or a DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel stereo track at 1627 kbps. The surround is quite adept - plenty of chilling, crisp, separations and depth notable in the score by Steven Hufsteter (Repo Man) that benefits from the lossless. There are optional English and Spanish subtitles and my Oppo has identified it as being a region 'A'-locked.

Again, little to no difference in the 5.1 track and Eureka have passed on the 2.0 channel option. The UK Blu-ray has optional English subtitles and is region 'B'-locked.

Extras :

Supplements include and interesting commentary by writer / director Xan Cassavetes discussing the production and performers. Included are 1/2's hours worth of interviews with actors Joséphine de La Baume (Djuna), Milo Ventimiglia (Paolo) + Roxane Mesquida (Mimi). There are also trailers and the disc is BD-Live and bookmarkable.

Almost exactly the same - Eureka add an, 8-minute, interview with Xan Cassavetes and include all the rest, and the commentary and trailers.

Magnolia - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

Eureka - Region 'B' - Blu-ray

BOTTOM LINE:
This may be a lot of style over substance, which is probably intentional, but I liked it nonetheless. Kiss of the Damned is sexy and sleek - perhaps cloning some of recent trends - but there are plenty of positives here with great framing and many inventive shots. The Blu-ray supports some excellent a/v. Those remotely keen on the genre should give this a spin - I found it surprisingly appealing and we recommend!

Same release - more or less - just region 'B'-friendly. I still liked the film's tension and visuals. Those keen on the topic - with a different slant - should indulge.

Gary Tooze

July 15th, 2013

January 16th, 2014

Alternate Cover Version:

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 5000 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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