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Kiss Me, Stupid [Blu-ray]
(Billy Wilder, 1964)
Review by Gary Tooze
Production: Theatrical: The Mirisch Corporation Video: Olive Films
Disc: Region: 'A' (as verified by the Oppo Blu-ray player) Runtime: 2:04:49.523 Disc Size: 24,038,112,341 bytes Feature Size: 23,523,520,512 bytes Video Bitrate: 21.99 Mbps Chapters: 8 Case: Standard Blu-ray case Release date: February 17th, 2014
Video: Aspect ratio: 2.35:1 Resolution: 1080p / 23.976 fps Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio English 1774 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1774 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Subtitles: • None
Extras: • Trailer (2:35)
Bitrate:
Description: Billy Wilder’s comic gem Kiss Me, Stupid
stars Dean Martin (Some Came Running, Bells Are
Ringing), Ray Walston (South
Pacific, TV’s “My Favorite Martian”) and Kim
Novak (Vertigo,
Pal Joey).
The Film: Dean Martin stars in this once-controversial comedy as Dino, a Las Vegas crooner, alcoholic, and celebrity playboy. Dino requires women like oxygen -- a companionless night leaves him with a headache. Ray Walston is Orville, a provincial piano teacher, aspiring songwriter, and jealous husband. Orville violently obsesses over his wife Zelda's (Felicia Farr) fidelity -- any man she encounters becomes his sworn enemy. When a chance detour brings Dino to Orville's hometown of Climax, NV, it is the perfect opportunity for the piano teacher and his songwriting partner, Barney (Cliff Osmond), to pitch their tunes. Yet, Orville predictably fears the possible combination of Dino's libido with Zelda's childhood crush on the singer. Before the two can meet, Orville deceitfully bullies Zelda out of their house and Barney hires local roadhouse prostitute Polly the Pistol (Kim Novak) to pose as Orville's wife. Zelda turns to drink for solace, ending up at the exact bar where Polly plies her trade and, eventually, in the call girl's empty trailer. By the next morning, Orville is with Polly and Dino (looking for a prostitute) finds his way to Zelda -- and husband, wife, hooker, and Barney will all reap the benefits of infidelity. Excerpt from MRQE located HERESome have called Kiss Me, Stupid ahead of its time. Actually, the movie's supposedly sophisticated vulgarity is firmly rooted in the smug ring-a-ding-ding of the Kennedy era. The extended opening credit sequence is a Rat Pack classic, with Dean Martin onstage at the Sands, surrounded by a deadpan harem of statuesque showgirls as he staggers through " 'S Wonderful." No less than Gloria Swanson in Sunset Boulevard, Martin gamely plays a comic version of himself as well as a generic star. Referred to as Dino, he's a randy boozer subject to migraines if he doesn't have a new woman every night. Excerpt from J. Hoberman located HERE
Image : NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc. Kiss Me, Stupid has another modest Blu-ray transfer from Olive Films. This is only single-layered and the visuals can look a bit thin and frail at times. Actually the layered contrast is very appealing with decent, but not piercing, black levels. There is a touch of grain texture and some sneaking depth. Detail is adequate - as visible in a few close-ups. I would guess that this is quite a step beyond SD and probably about as good as the film will get on the Blu-ray format. There were no notable speckles or damage - it was quite clean.
CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
Audio :Olive use a DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel mono track at 1774 kbps. It holds up well. The score by André Previn (Dial 1119, Cause For Alarm!, The Fastest Gun Alive, Elmer Gantry, Long Day's Journey Into Night) is augmented by Gershwin's 'S Wonderful and Sophia, performed by Dino, plus a number of other Gershwin tunes. It sounds solid enough via the lossless - perhaps a shade squeaky in the higher end. The piano is, at times, surprisingly crisp. There are no subtitles and m y Oppo has identified it as being a region 'A'-locked.
Extras : The only supplement is a trailer which is the bare-bones route that Olive are going with the majority of their releases.
BOTTOM LINE: Gary Tooze February 11th, 2015 |
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.
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