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S E A R C H    D V D B e a v e r

Directed by Abel Ferrara
France | Belgium | Italy 2014

 

In Pasolini renegade filmmaker Abel Ferrara (Bad Lieutenant) explores the final days of another rebellious artist, Pier Paolo Pasolini. Willem Dafoe (The Florida Project) gives an incandescent performance as the subversive Italian poet and film director, chronicling his final hours on November 2, 1975 in Rome. The film follows him as he works on his controversial classic Silò, or the 120 Days of Sodom, and leads up to his brutal murder on the beach in Ostia on the outskirts of the city. Facing resistance and persecution from the public, politicians, censors and critics, Pasolini  seeks comfort from his beloved mother and friends, including actress Laura Bette (Maria de Medeiros, Pulp Fiction) and continues his work on an ambitious new novel and screenplay. Further distractions are provided by the young men of Rome, whom he cruises past in his Alfa Romeo. Shooting in the locations where he lived and worked, Pasolini is a beautiful evocation of the life and death of a profoundly influential artist.

***

Director/co-writer Abel Ferrara's biopic of Italian film director Pier Paolo Pasolini (Willem Dafoe) unfolds over the course of a single day in 1975. Having just finished shooting "Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom" in Rome, he decides to embark on another yet controversial project on the same day of his brutal murder.

Excerpt from B+N located HERE

Posters

Theatrical Release: September 4th, 2014 (Venice Film Festival)

Reviews                                                                                                       More Reviews                                                                                       DVD Reviews

 

Review: Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

Box Cover

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Distribution Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime 1:24:27.312
Video

1.85:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 36,108,540,785 bytes

Feature: 27,367,170,048 bytes

Video Bitrate: 34.99 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.

Bitrate Blu-ray:

Audio

DTS-HD Master Audio English 3821 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 3821 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
DTS-HD Master Audio English 2009 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2009 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)

Subtitles English, None
Features Release Information:
Studio:
Kino

 

1.85:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 36,108,540,785 bytes

Feature: 27,367,170,048 bytes

Video Bitrate: 34.99 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Edition Details:

• Abel Ferrara and Willem Dafoe in conversation (21:50)
•Theatrical trailer (02:15)
•Behind-the-scenes documentary (06:01)
•Booklet essay by Film historian Brad Stevens


Blu-ray Release Date:
September 17th, 2019
Standard Blu-ray Case

Chapters 11

 

 

Comments:

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

ADDITION: Kino Blu-ray (September 2019):  Abel Ferrara's "Pasolini" comes to Blu-ray on a new dual-layered disc from Kino Lorber. The transfer has a maxed-out bitrate, benefitting the image while in motion throughout the film's running time. The 1.85:1 1080p HD picture exhibits a hefty contrast, which is key since a lot of the film's pivotal moments are draped in dark and shadowy alleyways and rooms. Close-ups reveal a breadth of detail, making facial characteristics easily discernible and clear, even when bathed in shadows. More fine work from Kino.

NOTE: The BFI (UK) Blu-ray is reviewed HERE

NOTE: In Amazon's description - it mistakenly replaces "Pasolini" with the word "Gasoline". Ex. "Gasoline is a beautiful evocation of the life and death"

There are two audio options on this
Blu-ray from Kino, both 24-bit DTS-HD Master audio tracks, either in 5.1 surround or 2.0 stereo. The 5.1 surround has some effective moments of spatial separation. While the film doesn't have a typical score, it utilizes various musical excerpts, from Maria Callas' "Una Voce Pocco Fa" (from the Barber of Seville), to music from Bach and the Staple Singers. There are optional English subtitles on this Region 'A' Blu-ray from Kino Lorber.

Included here is a 22-minute conversation between director Ferrara, and star Willem Dafoe. The two talk about avoiding typical bio-pic tropes and the history of how the film came to be. I appreciate their candor, with Dafoe at one moment stating that this film is "not an educational tool" to then have Ferrara interject that "you can go to the wikipedia for all that". There is a 6-minute behind the scenes documentary in the extras section, which doesn't get too in the weeds, but is interesting to see the wonderful orgy scene being filmed. The film's trailer rounds out the disc's extras. Also appearing in this
Blu-ray package is a 12-page booklet with an essay by film historian Brad Stevens entitled, "'We're All In Danger': Abel Ferrara's Pasolini".

Ferrara's "Pasolini" is a seemingly fit way to depict the iconic auteur's final moments. The film mirrors a lot of Pasolini's passions and struggles, it is reverential without being too referential. The film definitely builds in tension, giving Pasolini's mysterious death (or murder, to be more precise) an even more operatic setting than it already had. Dafoe is, as to be expected, fantastic as the late director. Kino Lorber with its fine
Blu-ray transfer and insightful extras, is definitely worth checking out. 

Colin Zavitz

 


Menus / Extras

 


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Box Cover

CLICK to order from:

  

Distribution Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray


 


 

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