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 S E A R C H    D V D B e a v e r

Directed by Fred Coe
USA 1969

 

From childhood, slightly awkward Brooklyn teenager Natalie Miller (Patty Duke, Valley of the Dolls, The Miracle Worker) never has subscribed to her mother’s (Nancy Merchand, TV’s The Sopranos) determined belief that she will grow up to be pretty. Her best friend Betty (Deborah Winters, Kotch) is a knockout gorgeous blonde with boyfriends, which further depresses her. Then she meets handsome David Harris (James Farentino, The War Lord), who finally convinces her that she’s a worthwhile human being and not the ugly duckling she always imagined herself to be. Television veteran Fred Coe (A Thousand Clowns) directed this sweet and charming comedy-drama written by A. Martin Zweiback (Grace Quigley) and Stanley Shapiro (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels) and featuring a Grammy-nominated score by the great Henry Mancini (The Pink Panther). Patty Duke won the 1970 Golden Globe for Best Actress – Comedy or Musical for her endearing performance. The stellar cast includes Martin Balsam (After the Fox), Elsa Lanchester (Witness for the Prosecution), Bob Balaban (Cradle Will Rock) and screen legend Al Pacino (Dog Day Afternoon) in his feature film debut.

***

Since she was a child, Natalie Miller has always thought she was an ugly ducking. Despite her mother's encouragement that she will grow up to be pretty, Natalie has never believed it will happen. She rents a Greenwich Village apartment from an eccentric landlady and gets a job at the Topless Bottom Club. She rides a motorcycle to work, decorates her loft with a moose head, and rides up and down a dumbwaiter to get to her apartment. There Natalie meets David an artist, and the two have a love affair before she discovers he is married.

Posters

Theatrical Release: July 13th, 1969

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

Box Cover

CLICK to order from:
Distribution Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime 1:51:13.708        
Video

1.78:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 36,341,353,460 bytes

Feature: 34,673,344,512 bytes

Video Bitrate: 37.93 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 1555 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1555 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit)
Subtitles English, None
Features Release Information:
Studio: Kino

 

1.78:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 36,341,353,460 bytes

Feature: 34,673,344,512 bytes

Video Bitrate: 37.93 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Edition Details:

• Trailers


 Blu-ray Release Date: May 5th, 2020
 Standard Blu-ray Case

Chapters 9

 

 

Comments:

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

ADDITION: Kino Blu-ray (May 2020): Kino have transferred Fred Coe's Me, Natalie to Blu-ray. It is cited as being from a "Brand New HD Master!". The image quality shows thickness and film textures. It has some weaker looking segments usually indoors (at her parent's apartment), but beyond that the image is fairly consistent and colors show some pleasing 70'-ish funky vibrancy. It is on a dual-layered disc with a max'ed out bitrate in the slightly bastardized 1.78:1 aspect ratio, but the 1080P provides a reasonably pleasing film-like presentation.

On their Blu-ray, Kino use a DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel mono track (16-bit) in the original English language. There are few effects but a generally light, contemplative, score by Henry Mancini (Days of Wine and Roses, Oklahoma Crude, Wait Until Dark, Operation Petticoat, Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation, Experiment in Terror, Charade)  including his "Natalie" and "We" performed by Rod McKuen, and Chorus plus "Off-Ramp To Nowhere" performed by The Die-Hard Trippers. It sounds flat but consistent. Kino offer optional English subtitles on their Region 'A' Blu-ray.

The Kino Blu-ray offers only a few trailers - none for the film. The price should reflect the bare-bones status.

This is another, unjustly, less-seen film. Me, Natalie has a lot to offer - notably Patty Duke's endearing performance - made two-years after Valley of the Dolls and before a string TV movie roles. I quite liked this and encourage those who may be keen to give it a spin. The bare-bones Kino Blu-ray provides this above-average film in a HD presentation - the best it has ever looked in your home theater. Recommended!

Gary Tooze

 

Menus / Extras

 

CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, that is Al Pacino

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Box Cover

CLICK to order from:
Distribution Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray


 


 

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