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The Bitch [Blu-ray]
(Gerry O'Hara , 1979)
Review by Gary Tooze
Production: Theatrical: Brent Walker Film Productions Video: Kino Lorber
Disc: Region: 'A' (as verified by the Oppo Blu-ray player) Runtime: 1:32:44.559 Disc Size: 22,821,990,617 bytes Feature Size: 18,605,955,072 bytes Video Bitrate: 23.40 Mbps Chapters: 8 Case: Standard Blu-ray case Release date: March 14th, 2017
Video: Aspect ratio: 1.78:1 Resolution: 1080p / 23.976 fps Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio English 1564 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1564 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit) Commentary:
Dolby Digital Audio English 256 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 256 kbps
Subtitles: English, None
Extras:
• Audio Commentary by Film Historians David Del Valle and
Nick Redman
Bitrate:
Description: She s a Woman who always gets what She wants... they call her The Bitch! Film and television icon Joan Collins (TV's Dynasty, The Stud) reprises her role as the beautiful Fontaine, a high-living, pleasure-seeking divorcee who meets her match in the first class cabin on a flight to London. Unbeknownst to Fontaine, the elegant Italian hunk, Nico (Michael Coby, Convoy Buddies) she s lustfully pursuing is not just interested in fooling around, but has secretly involved her in an international robbery and the mafia. With the Mob now pursuing both Fontaine and Nico, they find themselves delving deeper and deeper into danger. But Fontaine is not ready to give up her life and she sets out to prove that she can beat anyone at his or her own game. Cult director, Gerry O Hara (All the Right Noises) directs this erotic thriller based on the steamy best seller by Jackie Collins (Lucky, Poor Little Bitch Girl). The supporting cast includes Sue Lloyd (Corruption), Ian Hendry (Get Carter) and John Ratzenberger (TV s Cheers).
The Film:
Joan Collins stars as Fontaine Khaled in this sleek and sleazy sequel to her sister Jackie Collins's The Stud. Fontaine is the owner of a high class London nightclub, but after having an extramarital affair, her marriage falls apart and she stands to lose her nightclub. As a result, she hits the jet-set circuit, plying her allure for erotic dividends. She also involves herself in smuggling and in rigged horse races, trying any means necessary to obtain the funding to rescue her beloved nightclub from foreclosure.
A sequel another Joan and Jackie Collins vehicle, ‘The Stud’, which I’m told is exponentially better than this flick – however zero to the tenth power is still zero, our films continues the exploits of Fontaine Khaled (Collins) who is – hell, I don’t what she is. I suppose we’d have to watch the first movie or read the book (as if) to find out what Fontaine’s career is or was. But when we meet Fontaine again, she is laid up in the sack with a dude in New York, then they take a shower together and we get a glimpse of our then forty six year old star nude. Then we get to the definite highlight of this film which is the opening credits and quite possibly one of the cheesiest disco songs I’ve ever heard in ‘The Bitch – uh huh, God helps the guy who get The Bitch!’ ‘The Bitch – uh huh, Nobody’s safe around The Bitch!’ Sing it with me y’all. Excerpt from FilmCriticsUnited located HERE
Image : NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc. The single-layered Kino Lorber Blu-ray of The Bitch looks grainy and consistent in 1080P. A soft lens may have been used - but Joan, in her 40's at the time, still looks attractive. It's in the 1.78:1 aspect ratio and some colors are bright and deep. Contrast can appear a bit muddy. The source is clean, and I noticed only a small amount of compression artifacts. This Blu-ray gave me a very watchable, if unremarkable, viewing in regards to the picture quality. It probably looked similar theatrically.
CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
Audio :Kino Lorber use a DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel track at 1564 kbps (16-bit) in the original English language. There are no notable effects in the film - it has disco/dance music by The Stylistics, Blondie, Leo Sayer and others but the problem is that the 'theme' running through the film is incredibly irritating. The dialogue was sometimes harder to distinguish - which would probably on-par with the production. There are optional English subtitles offered and my Oppo has identified it as being a region 'A'-locked.
Extras : Kino include another informative audio commentary - this one by film historians David Del Valle and Nick Redman giving insight and having some fun with The Bitch., and the lead as a sexual predatory woman. I found it rewarding and added to the package value. They admit that it's all about Joan Collins as was 'The Stud' which should have been titled 'The Bitch' and this should have been 'The Bitch 2'. There is also an 18-minute interview with director Gerry O'Hara and trailers for both The Bitch and The Stud.
BOTTOM LINE: Gary Tooze March 17th, 2017
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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 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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