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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r |
Directed by Seth Holt
UK 1965
Accused of drowning his little sister in the bath, 10-year old Joey (William Dix) is sent away to an institution for therapy even though he claims the Nanny (Davis) is responsible. When he returns home, suspicion is quickly aroused again as his mother (Wendy Craig) is poisoned and his aunt suddenly dies. But Joey continues to insist the Nanny is responsible, turning life into a deft cat-and-mouse game between the equally shady woman and her young charge. *** A spirited pot-boiler from the almost forgotten ex-editor Seth Holt (his Station Six Sahara is a stunner that deserves revival), with Davis as Nanny to a houseful of neurotics. In particular, there is a 10-year-old boy (Dix), just released from a psychiatric hospital, who believes Davis wants to murder him. Made for Hammer Films (with whom Davis subsequently starred in The Anniversary), it capitalises on the star's performance in What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?; and while no one will have any trouble figuring out what's going on, Holt's atmospheric direction and Davis' performance keep one thoroughly hooked. |
Posters
Theatrical Releases: 1965
Comparison:
20th Century Fox - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Shock - Region FREE - Blu-ray
1) 20th Century Fox - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT2) Shock - Region FREE - Blu-ray - RIGHT |
Box Covers |
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The Nanny is a lso sold individually on DVD: |
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Distribution | 20th Century Fox - Region 1 - NTSC |
Shock Region FREE - Blu-ray |
Runtime | 1:32:53 | 1:33:05.580 |
Video |
1.85:1 Original Aspect Ratio
16X9 enhanced |
1.85:1 Disc Size: 19,497,840,043 bytes Feature Size: 19,322,720,256 bytes Total Bitrate: 24.67 MbpsSingle-layered Blu-ray MPEG4 - AVC |
Bitrate: Blu-ray | ||
Audio | English (original) | LPCM Audio English 1536 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1536 kbps / 16-bit |
Subtitles | English (CC), Spanish, None | None |
Features |
Release Information:
The Nanny
• Restoration Comparison
• Trailer
• TV Spots
• 4 different galleries (Pressbook, Poster, Stills and Lobby Cards)
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Release Information: 1.85:1 Disc Size: 19,497,840,043 bytes Feature Size: 19,322,720,256 bytes Total Bitrate: 24.67 MbpsSingle-layered Blu-ray MPEG4 - AVC
Edition Details:
Standard (thicker) Blu-ray Case Chapters:12 |
Comments: |
NOTE:
The below
Blu-ray captures were
obtained directly from the
Blu-ray
disc.
ADDITION: Shock - Region FREE -
Blu-ray
Shock go linear PCM with the audio (16-bit) and it benefits the Richard Rodney Bennett's (Equus, Billy Liar, The Man Who Could Cheat Death) score adding a layer of depth to the mysterious and suspenseful aura. There are no subtitles offered, nor any extras either and the disc is Region FREE. This becomes one of those 'law of diminishing returns' situations. There are no extras, no subtitles but solid HD-level a/v. Would seem to be suited more to David and Hammer fans. To that group, we give our endorsement of this product for its new format presentation. *** ON THE WARNER BOXSET: The 5 main features (6 discs) of this boxset are housed in individual slim keep cases (see images above and below) and are also sold separately although a substantial savings (in the neighborhood of double) can be accrued by purchasing The Bette Davis Centenary Celebration Collection package REVIEWED HERE as opposed to individually. Technical specifications of the discs: All six DVDs are coded for regions 1 in the NTSC standard and the five feature films are dual-layered and progressively transferred. The widescreen features are anamorphic. Each have original English audio and options for English (CC), or Spanish subtitles in a yellow font (for the black and white films) and white with a black border for The Virgin Queen (the only color film). Each film is supplemented by different extra features (listed above).
Image:
The aberration here is, obviously,
Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte being
moved from 1.66 (original Studio Classics DVD) to 1.85:1 and having
some, unnecessary, brightness boosting. I, personally, feel it is a step
back (see full comparison
HERE). From memory, All About Eve looks about the same as
the older edition - not especially sharp but decent contrast levels. I
wouldn't say it's a vast improvement anyway. The Virgin Queen
shows superiority over the, corresponding, Region 2 - PAL release (see
full comparison
HERE), and although I don't own it, I expect the same for the
PAL The Nanny as this new transfer looks quite strong with
excellent detail. Lastly, we come to a Shelly Winters film,
Phone Call from a Stranger, an odd
inclusion into this set, with Davis in a more minor onscreen role later
in the film. Regardless, I like this
noirish film and it has a very strong visual appearance - very
good detail. The screen captures below should give you a good idea of
how these discs will look.
Audio - All original (to my knowledge) with the The
Virgin Queen having a 4.0 channel and
Hush... Hush, offering both 2.0 and
mono - dialogue was always clear
and consistent. I noted no excessive
gaps, pops or hisses and there are optional English or Spanish subtitles
for each production.
Extras -
Aside from the plethora on the 2-disc All About Eve with
2 (count'em 2!) separate commentaries (I only sampled and both appeared
informative) and mucho featurettes for that 'star attraction' film, each have
some minor fluff including restoration comparisons (that show me VERY little, to
be honest), isolated score tracks, trailers, TV Spots, galleries - i.e
pressbook, poster, stills and lobby Cards - and such things as a vintage
promotional short narrated by Joseph Cotten (?!?!). There are decent, if short
featurettes on (Hush,. Hush Sweet Joan: The Making of Charlotte) and a
longer one on The Virgin Queen (Virgin Territory: The Making of the
Virgin Queen) plus 'Dern Remembers' but overall I'd prefer one decent
commentary on each film and I especially like, and perhaps feel spoiled by, the
Warner Night at the Movies style on
The
Bette Davis Collection, Vol. 3. I encourage Fox to adapt similar or
perhaps spread the supplements a little more uniformly. I know I should be
happier than I am as it's great to have this package with all the frills, but I
am just a little under-whelmed.
Overall impression:
As they are released so close together a comparison with
The Bette Davis Collection, Vol. 3
seems appropriate and I enjoyed the films,
presentations and supplements more in the Warner's release than this Fox package.
Tack onto that - 4 of the 5 here have been on DVD previously, albeit 2
of which on PAL, with no dramatically huge image improvements. I'm kind
of chuffed to have
Phone Call from a Stranger on DVD though. Some may wish to get
that and The Nanny depending on how keen they might be...
although dollar-wise it's like the 'Value-Meal' getting the whole
package and the stuff you may not be desperate to possess for only
pennies more. If I sound overly
negative I shouldn't - this boxset will make Davis fans very happy -
nice vintage art covers and menus to boot.
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Menus
20th Century Fox - Region 1 - NTSC
Shock - Region FREE - Blu-ray
Keep Case Cover
The Nanny is a lso sold individually: |
CLICK EACH
BLU-RAY
CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
1) 20th Century Fox - Region 1 - NTSC -TOP2) Shock - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM |
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1) 20th Century Fox - Region 1 - NTSC -TOP2) Shock - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM
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1) 20th Century Fox - Region 1 - NTSC -TOP2) Shock - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM
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1) 20th Century Fox - Region 1 - NTSC -TOP2) Shock - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM
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