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A view on Blu-ray by Gary W. Tooze

The Girl Who Knew Too Much [Blu-ray]

 

(Francis D. Lyon, 1969)

 

 

Review by Gary Tooze

 

Production:

Theatrical: United-Westco

Video: Olive Films

 

Disc:

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

Runtime: 1:37:29.510

Disc Size: 21,628,938,914 bytes

Feature Size: 21,481,537,536 bytes

Video Bitrate: 27.00 Mbps

Chapters: 8

Case: Standard Blu-ray case

Release date: May 28th, 2013

 

Video:

Aspect ratio: 1.78:1

Resolution: 1080p / 23.976 fps

Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Audio:

DTS-HD Master Audio English 921 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 921 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 1.0 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 16-bit)

 

Subtitles:

None

 

Extras:

• None

 

Bitrate:

 

 

Description: Adam West (Batman) plays Johnny Cain, a suave retired CIA agent and nightclub owner. After the murder of a crime boss at his nightclub, Cain is pressured by both the CIA and the crime syndicate to take on the case that may be a threat to the national security. He reluctantly agrees and soon realizes that he got much more than he bargained for, as the case becomes a conspiracy between the communists and the underworld involving a stolen Tibetan statue worth $500,000. With the help of his tough-as-nails detective friend (Nehemiah Persoff) and his beautiful ex-mistress (Nancy Kwan), he manages to stay one step ahead of the villains as he races against time to stop the communist's evil plan. Directed by Francis D. Lyon (The Great Locomotive Chase).

 

 

The Film:

Johnny Cain (Adam West) is a suave, smooth-talking nightclub owner who helps the CIA undermine a conspiracy between the communists and the underworld in this routine mystery. With tips from his piano-playing pal, Lucky (Buddy Greco), he manages to stay one step ahead of the villains as he races against time to stop their evil plan. Nancy Kwan, Nehemiah Persoff, and Robert Alda also appear in this feature in which the promotional posters tried to capitalize on West's television success in Batman.

Excerpt from MRQE located HERE

Although unrelated to Mario Bava's earlier Italian film La Ragazza che sapeva troppo (the English title of which is also "The Girl Who Knew Too Much"), Lyon's film pays homage to Bava's in several important respects. The chief cast of the Italian film play bit parts or cameos in the US film – Letícia Román is a flower-seller in the underground scene, and actor Dante DiPaolo appears as Dr. Hims. Neither has a speaking part, although Roberto Calvi (who plays a tramp) speaks English briefly.

Excerpt from Wikipedia located HERE

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

The Girl Who Knew Too Much (not Bava's La Ragazza che sapeva troppo) gets transferred to Blu-ray courtesy of Olive Films. This is in 1.78:1, single-layered, bare-bones and the image is nothing special. Visually it is clean with solid detail. The black levels are quite acceptable - if not stellar. There is a bit of depth exported here and there but there is nothing impressive about the video presentation. Colors are reasonably tight and some standout as notable (ex. Greco's green turtleneck and yellow sweater). The source appears in good shape and there is no sign of digital manipulation but nothing here to 'wow' you.

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Audio :

Nothing much to say on the audio front - a DTS-HD Master mono track at 921 kbps exports Joe Greene's score and Buddy Greco's lounge crooning -both flat and unremarkable. There are few effects and dialogue is consistent.  There are no subtitles and my Momitsu has identified it as being a region 'A'-locked.

 

Extras :

No supplements - not even a trailer which is the bare-bones route that Olive are going with most releases.

 

 

BOTTOM LINE:
The Girl That Knew Too Much was so bad it was kind of humorous. Its only appeal that I see is in nostalgia. Every time Adam West talks (with those Shatner-esque pauses) I thought of Batman. The Blu-ray is competent but the film doesn't have much appeal except if you crave this type of... mess. 

Gary Tooze

May 30th, 2013

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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