The Voyeur Blu-ray - Katarina Vasilissa

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

(aka "The Voyeur" )

directed by Tinto Brass
Italy 1994

When his wife Silvia (Polish model Katarina Vasilissa) leaves him, Dodo (Francesco Casale), a professor of French literature, finds himself alienated from those around him; becoming a passive viewer of life lead to the fullest by those around him including his bedridden father (Brass regular Franco Branciaroli) who has a scantily-clad nurse to attend to him. Dodo's agonizing over his wife's contempt for him and the identify of the mysterious lover who has usurped him is countered with lighter vignettes (mostly lighter, though one moment has one of Brass' starlets showing her infibulation scars which feels exploitative though we must commend the actress for not feeling ashamed considering how psychologically and physically damaging this cultural practice can be) in which Dodo winds up the voyeur instead of a participant which insure a positive reaction from Dodo to his wife's faithlessness in the Brass tradition.

Produced with glossy cinematography and the alternately sensual and bubbly music of Riz Ortolani (who recycles some of his previous Brass score for PAPRIKA), Brass manages to infuse the film with his brand of naughty and explicit yet irreverent and light-hearted brand of erotica (the nude beach scene seems like something Fellini might have come up with had he been commissioned to direct a Penthouse video) into a respectful adaptation of Alberto Moravia's acclaimed novel. Brass reportedly wanted to adapt the novel for years with Moravia's approval but was sidelined repeatedly by other projects. Moravia's widows - authors Elsa Morante and Dacia Mariani - did not want to option the work to Brass but a producer who had optioned the work gave them the option of whether or not to credit Moravia and his work if they disapproved of the film (which is why there is no reference to the source in the credits). Dodo is typical of both Moravia's and Brass' heroes who intellectualize and philosophize pleasure and seek to understand the mysterious behavior of the women in their lives (c.f. Moravia's CONJUGAL LOVE and A GHOST AT NOON; the latter the source novel for Jean-Luc Godard's CONTEMPT). Brass also does his typical Hitchcockian cameo (here as another university lecturer with a lecherous expression) and like some of Hitchcock's trailers, the trailer for this film includes original footage of Brass (seen reading Moravia's novel) not shot for the film but setting the right tone.

Eric Cotenas

Theatrical Release: January 25th, 1994

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Comparison:

Cult Epics (Director's Cut) - Region 0 - NTSC vs. Cult Epics (Special Edition) - Region 0 - NTSC vs. Cult Epics Region 'A' - Blu-ray

Big thanks to Eric Cotenas for the DC Review!

1) Cult Epics (Director's Cut) - Region 0 - NTSC LEFT
2) Cult Epics (Special Edition) - Region 0 - NTSC MIDDLE

3) Cult Epics - Region 'A' - Blu-ray RIGHT

Box Covers
Distribution	Cult Epics (Director's Cut) Region 0 - NTSC	Cult Epics (Special Edition) Region 0 - NTSC	Cult Epics - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:38:42 (4% PAL speedup)	1:38:42 (4% PAL speedup)	1:43:05.012
Video	1.78:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 6.21 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	1.78:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 6.43 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	1.78:1 1080P / 23.976 fps Single-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 23,114,470,994 bytes Feature: 16,589,426,688 bytes Video Bitrate: 20.00 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate: DC
Bitrate: SE
Bitrate Blu-ray
Audio	Italian (Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo)	Italian (Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo), DUB: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo)	Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB Dolby Digital Audio Italian 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB
Subtitles	English, none	English, none	English, none
Features	Release Information: Studio: Cult Epics Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1.78:1 Edition Details: • Interview with Tinto Brass (2007) (23:49; 4:3) • Theatrical Trailer (1:38; 16:9) • Private Trailer (1:03; 16:9) • Cheeky Trailer (3:21; 16:9) • Frivolous Lola Trailer (2:11; 4:3 letterbox) • All Ladies Do It Trailer (3:15; 4:3 letterbox) • Miranda Trailer (2:52; 4:3 letterbox) • The Key Trailer (2:58; 4:3 letterbox) DVD Release Date: February 26, 2008 Amaray Chapters 12	Release Information: Studio: Cult Epics Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1.78:1 Edition Details: • Interview with Tinto Brass (2007) (23:49; 4:3) • Theatrical Trailer (1:38; 16:9) • Private Trailer (1:03; 16:9) • Cheeky Trailer (3:21; 16:9) • Frivolous Lola Trailer (2:11; 4:3 letterbox) • All Ladies Do It Trailer (3:15; 4:3 letterbox) • Miranda Trailer (2:52; 4:3 letterbox) • The Key Trailer (2:58; 4:3 letterbox) • Sneak Peek of Kick the Cock (The New Maid) - 1:03 DVD Release Date: April 27th, 2010 Keep Case Chapters 12	Release Information: Studio: Cult Epics 1.78:1 1080P / 23.976 fps Single-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 23,114,470,994 bytes Feature: 16,589,426,688 bytes Video Bitrate: 20.00 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • Interview with the Director (2007 - 23:51) • Photo Video Gallery (1:58) • HD Trailers! (3:23) Blu-ray Release Date: November 10th, 2015 Standard Blu-ray case Chapters: 12

Comments:

NOTE: These Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Cult Epics - Region 'A' - Blu-ray November 15': Quite the color -shift - we lose the heavy green bias of the DVDs - replaced with a blue-er 1080P image. It's single-layered and still has the inherent softness - less textured than I'd like but I suspect this is as good as it will likely get - never dynamically crisp but a definite bump over the SDs. It's brighter, more realistic flesh-tones - audio is still lossy (standard Dolby) and offers in both English or Italian with optional subtitles. Supplements include the same 25-minute interview with Brass - but it is stretched from 4:3 to 1.78 and looks pretty silly. There is a gallery of still and a handful of Brass/Cult Epic trailers.

It is the uncensored Director's Cut (as they all are) but this is the only one in NTSC (theatrical) running time - without the PAL speedup.

The price seems high for value but if you want titillation in the form of bent over females, super-tight shorts, exhibitionism and lots of playful nudity - Brass has cornered the soft-porn market and this may be one of his more cerebral efforts.

***

ADDITION: Special Edition (April 2010): Only a slight differences in the "Director's Cut' vs. the newer 2010 'Special Edition'. Yes, although VOB files have different dates - it is the same PAL-NTSC, interlaced video transfer and same running time but an English DUB has been added. That is all regarding the feature presentation.

All the same extras (see below) but we also get a minute long sneak peek to the Tinto Brass' (?) "Kick the Cock" (The New Maid) - presently unlisted at IMDb - I highly doubt it is the 1901 silent film. The clip (that's all it is - no intro or title card) unimaginatively involves an old man watching a naked maid through the window as she toys with a zucchini.

Same menus but a different cover.

Gary W. Tooze

***

ON THE DIRECTOR's CUT DVD package: Although a PAL-NTSC conversion, the transfer is otherwise immaculate. This is the first English-friendly edition of the uncut Italian language version (the English version - available from Cult Epics labeled "The Producer's Cut" - is 8 minutes shorter) with English subtitles. The image is gorgeous (the disc is dual-layered with the film itself taking up 4.51 GB) but ghosting is more apparent on progressive monitors than on interlaced TVs as cinematographer Massimo De Venanzo (who replaced Brass' regular cinematographer Silvano Ippoliti from MONELLA through TRASGREDIRE after assisting him on Brass' COSI FAN TUTTE [1992]) keeps the camera panning and zooming across bodies, landscapes, and colorful sets. Despite the conversion artifacts, this is the only English-friendly game in town for the uncut version (the British release is the shorter dubbed version which is even further cut by 8 seconds by the BBFC).

Besides trailers for other Tinto Brass titles carried by Cult Epics, and a still gallery (still photographer Gianfranco Salis is another Brass regular), a 2007 English-language interview with Brass is also included in which he relates his desire to adapt the story, difficulties in getting it off the ground initially, and the production itself.

- Eric Cotenas

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Cult Epics (Director's Cut) - Region 0 - NTSC LEFT vs. Cult Epics (Special Edition) - Region 0 - NTSC RIGHT