Ninety Degrees in the Shade Blu-ray

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

("90 Degrees in the Shade" or "Tricet jedna ve stinu" or "Ninety Degrees in the Shade" or "31 Degrees in the Shade")

Directed by Jirí Weiss
Czechoslovakia | UK 1965

A rare Anglo-Czech co-production, 90° in the Shade is a fascinating, little-seen drama directed by Jirí Weiss (Romeo, Juliet and Darkness) and co-written by David Mercer (Morgan: A Suitable Case for Treatment).

Set at the height of summer, the film concerns shop assistant Anne Heywood (The Fox), and two men who will affect her life: James Booth (The Man Who Had Power Over Women), the married man with whom she is having affair, and Rudolf Hrusínský (The Cremator), an auditor who has family problems of his own.

Filmed simultaneously in English and Czech versions, Indicator is proud to present both cuts on Blu-ray for the first time ever.

***

It is a British-Czech production, made at the Barrandov Studios in Prague, with a mixed cast of British and Czech actors and a Czech director, Jiri Weiss. The screenplay is by a Briton (David Mercer) and, though the characters are Czech and the locale is Prague, the dialogue is in unvarnished English, either straight from the British mouths or dubbed. That, in itself, should be sufficient to indicate the low degree of audience interest likely to be excited by this small item at the Cinema Rendezvous. And when I tell you further that the story is of the devastating tragedy that comes to a young woman because she has assisted her lover, a store manager, in pilfering from the wine and whisky stock, I think you will sense why I reckon that audience reaction is also likely to be cool. Maybe the stern moral precept of this tale of gathering woe that comes of stealing from a state store may be awesome to the politically controlled Czechs.

Excerpt from the NY Times located HERE

Posters

Theatrical Release: June 1965 (Berlin International Film Festival)

Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews

Review: Indicator - Region FREE - Blu-ray

Box Cover		CLICK to order from:
Distribution	Indicator - Region FREE - Blu-ray
Runtime	English: 1:30:32.885 / Czech: 1:22:53.176
Video	2.35:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 43,159,982,414 bytes English: 19,212,555,840 bytes Video Bitrate: 25.01 Mbps Czech: 15,481,476,480 bytes Video Bitrate: 22.01 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate English version Blu-ray:
Bitrate Czech version Blu-ray:
Audio	LPCM Audio English 768 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 16-bit Commentary: Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps Czech version: LPCM Audio Czech 768 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 16-bit
Subtitles	English (SDH for English version an standard English for Czech version), None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Indicator 2.35:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 43,159,982,414 bytes English: 19,212,555,840 bytes Video Bitrate: 25.01 Mbps Czech: 15,481,476,480 bytes Video Bitrate: 22.01 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • Audio commentary with film historian Michael Brooke (2019) • Degrees of Separation (2019, 21:57): a demonstration of the differences between the two versions of the film • The Rape of Czechoslovakia (1939, 17:37): documentary film by director Jirí Weiss on the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia • The Other RAF (1942, 7:56): documentary by Weiss on the Russian Air Force • 100,000,000 Women (1942, 7:59): documentary edited by Weiss on the role of Soviet women in the Second World War • Before the Raid (1943, 34:32): dramatised account of Norwegian fishermen outwitting occupational forces during World War II, directed by Weiss and written by acclaimed author Laurie Lee • • The IWM Interview with Jirí Weiss (1990, 25:10): archival audio recording, made by the Imperial War Museum, featuring the director discussing his WWII filmmaking experiences Limited edition exclusive 36-page booklet with a new essay by Jonathan Owen, Weiss on 90° in the Shade, Anthony Nield on Weiss’ WWII films, and film credits Blu-ray Release Date: September 23rd, 2019 Transparent Blu-ray Case Chapters 13 X 2

Comments:

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

ADDITION: Indicator Blu-ray (September 2019): Indicator have transferred two presentations of 90° in the Shade, each using unique footage: the 91 minute, the English-language version, in a new 2K restoration from the original negative by Powerhouse Films; and Tricet jedna ve stínu (83 minutes), the Czech-language version, in a High Definition remaster to Blu-ray. It is on a dual-layered disc with supportive bitrates. The black and white, 2.35:1 image is imperfect but shows some nice grain, it is horizontally stretched (CinemaScope mumps) and while I think the English release looks superior, it is not by a lot. There is depth and some film-like heaviness and I was generally pleased with the 1080P visuals feeling this was an accurate representation of the sources available.

On their Blu-ray, Indicator use linear PCM mono track (16-bit) for bother versions. It is predictably flat without undue sync DUB issues. The score is by Ludek Hulan (his only composure credit), sounding jazzy, sometime light, playing in the background. Indicator offer optional English subtitles (SDH on English version and standard English on the Czech version) on their Region FREE Blu-ray.

The Indicator Blu-ray is stacked with supplements. They add a new audio commentary by film historian Michael Brooke (on the English version only), the 'go-to guy' for all things Czech cinema. He initially discusses the rarity of Anglo-Czech co-productions mentioning four; 1967's "Hell Is Empty", Humphrey Jennings's 1943 short (36-minuites) "The Silent Village" and Jan Svankmajer's 1988 "Alice" but states that 90° in the Shade is historic as the first mutually-approved 'official' Anglo-Czech co-production. He discusses the film's stars; Anne Heywood , James Booth, Rudolf Hrusínský, Ann Todd etc., director Jirí Weiss, the writers; David Mercer, Jirí Mucha, cinematographer Bedrich Batka etc. and gives immense detail on many facets of the production including some astute analysis of the film's political layers. It's at his usual very high level. Degrees of Separation is a 22-minute demonstration of the differences between the two versions of the film, also by Brooke, with split-screen clips. He describes that although the two film's scenes are broadly similar (with soundtrack synchronized) in terms of basic narrative content, the shot selection and rhythms are, at times, strikingly different, with countless subtle changes beyond the language and being assembled from alternate takes. He gives a great overview. 1939's The Rape of Czechoslovakia is an 18-minute: documentary film by director Jirí Weiss, written by Basil Wright, on the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia. The Other RAF runs 8-minutes from 1942 and is another documentary by Weiss on the Russian Air Force and has Mikhail Gromov, Ivan Papanin, and Wilfred Pickles. 100,000,000 Women (100 miliónu zen) is in English and also from 1942. It is an 8-minute documentary edited by Weiss on the role of Soviet women in the Second World War. Interesting and some nice music in the short. Before the Raid runs 35-minutes from 1943, filmed in Scotland, and is a dramatized account of Norwegian fishermen outwitting occupational forces during World War II, directed by Weiss and written by acclaimed author Laurie Lee. There is an IWM Interview with Jirí Weiss from 1990. It is an archival audio recording, made by the Imperial War Museum, featuring the director discussing his WWII filmmaking experiences, running 25-minutes. The package contains a limited edition (3,000 copies) exclusive 36-page booklet with a new essay by Jonathan Owen, Weiss on 90° in the Shade, Anthony Nield on Weiss’ WWII films, and film credits.

Subtly fascinating story of struggling shopkeepers that delve into the existing black market and infested communistic attitudes prior to the Prague Spring in 1968 and well-realized by Jirí Weiss. It's great to have both versions on Blu-ray with plentiful extras including the commentary, new video highlighting differences and the shorts. Absolutely recommended to both British and world cinema fans.