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Seduction aka "La seduzione" [Blu-ray]
(Fernando Di Leo, 1973)
Review by Gary Tooze
Production: Theatrical: Daunia Video: Raro
Disc: Region: FREE (as verified by the Oppo) Runtime: 1:40:28.647 Disc Size: 23,992,649,492 bytes Feature Size: 17,246,263,296 bytes Video Bitrate: 20.00 Mbps Chapters: 16 Case: Standard Blu-ray case inside cardboard slipcase Release date: July 18th, 2017
Video: Aspect ratio: 1.93:1 Resolution: 1080p / 23.976 fps Video codec: VC-1 Video
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio Italian 786 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 786 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps / 16-bit) DTS-HD Master Audio English 780 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 780 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps / 16-bit)
Subtitles: English (only for Italian track), none
Extras: • Erotic Notes Documentary (31:48) • Credits8 - page liner notes
Bitrate:
Description: Maurice Ronet (Purple Noon) stars as Giuseppe Lagana, a European playboy who returns to his home in the Sicilian town of Catania to settle his deceased father's affairs. He reunites with an old friend, Caterina (Lisa Gastoni), and a mid-life romance is kindled from the sparks of their youthful attraction. But Giuseppe finds he is not immune to the sexual magnetism of Caterina's teenage daughter, Graziella (Jenny Tamburi). Soon Giuseppe's paternal affection evolves into adult passion, and he and Graziella are engaged in a tempestuous affair, willfully ignoring the consequences should Caterina discover them. Though best known for his bloody poliziotteschi, Fernando Di Leo (Shoot First, Die Later) proved himself just as adept at the erotic thriller, savoring the irresistible charm of the modern Lolita, while masterfully building tension around a love affair that, by its very nature, is destined to end tragically.
The Film: La seduzione, internationally released as Seduction, is a 1973 Italian erotic-drama film directed by Fernando Di Leo. The film is based on the novel Graziella by Ercole Patti. Originally the character of Graziella was planned to be played by Ornella Muti, but she was eventually dropped because considered too attractive for the role. At the time of its release, the newspapers widely reported the news of a man who died of a heart attack watching the movie. Excerpt from Wikipedia located HERE
Image : NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc. About the first 10-13 minutes of this Blu-ray presentation of Seduction look unnaturally soft, flat and waxy. It then changes to be reasonably strong, visuals tighten and it is consistently more pleasing for the rest of the film where the image is bright, colors rich and there is depth. Raro claims it is a 'new transfer from original 35mm negative print'. It is on a single-layered disc with a modest bitrate and is in the unusual aspect ratio of 1.93.75:1. The image has black bars on the side edges slightly limiting resolution. So Raro's Blu-ray, like much their previous BD releases, has erratic issues, but nothing fatal. There is some frame-specific damage (see last capture) but I still found this unusual film watchable, although the variance in quality is noticeable.
CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
Damage sample
Audio :There are DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel tracks (16-bit) in both Italian and an English DUB with the option for English subtitles - but only for the Italian track. The English track reverts to Italian a few times - but English subs appear when the dialogue is not English. It's like the DUB was missing some sequences. Both tracks seem to have highs and lows - a bit unbalanced. The, often lilting and romantic, score is by Luis Bacalov (Il Postino, A Bullet for the General, Shoot First, Die Later, Django Unchained, City of Women) and is fairly subtle throughout the film which, unsuitably, opens with Rosa Balistreri singing Mi Votu e mi Rivotu. M y Oppo has identified it as being a region FREE.
Extras : There is a 1/2 hour documentary on Eroticism in Film, in Italian with English subtitles. It is by Nocturno Cinema and has Fernando Di Leo and some of the cast discussing the film's nudity and sex-related themes and Italian erotic cinema of the period. There is also a digital text page of credits and the package has 8 - page liner notes booklet with an essay.
BOTTOM LINE: Gary Tooze July 4th, 2017
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