The film defaults to the 2.0 track. Optional English subtitles are in a standard white font and mostly use UK spellings, with a few exceptions, such as using the word "ass" (and its derivatives) for "arse".
The PAL extras on the disc have been converted to NTSC and exhibit noticeable conversion artifacts, such as combing. The disc plays without issue on my Region A Oppo UDP-203 and is indicated as region free on the packaging, so perhaps the extras were converted for worldwide compatability. There is no 50Hz content anywhere on the disc.
In addition to a slipcover and reversible cover, my copy also came with a small, glossy reproduction of
[Show spoiler]the Nine Queens, presented as a single image as opposed to a set of stamps
.
Code:
Total Video
Title Codec Length Movie Size Disc Size Bitrate Bitrate Main Audio Track Secondary Audio Track
----- ------ ------- -------------- -------------- ------- ------- ------------------ ---------------------
00000.MPLS AVC 1:55:30 37,741,415,808 40,634,722,996 43.57 35.83 LPCM 2.0 2304Kbps (48kHz/24-bit) DTS-HD Master 5.1 3233Kbps (48kHz/24-bit)
This vintage featurette includes interviews with Fabián Bielinsky, Ricardo Darín, Gastón Pauls, Leticia Brédice, Tomás Fonzi and Ignasi Abadal, as well as raw footage from the shoot and film clips overlaid with music.
On this disc, it has an aspect ratio of approximately 1.66:1.
Code:
Total Video
Title Codec Length Movie Size Disc Size Bitrate Bitrate Main Audio Track Secondary Audio Track
----- ------ ------- -------------- -------------- ------- ------- ------------------ ---------------------
00002.MPLS AVC 0:24:04 1,589,581,824 40,634,722,996 8.80 6.00 LPCM 2.0 2304Kbps (48kHz/24-bit)
Code:
DISC INFO:
Disc Title: Nine Queens
Disc Label: NINE_QUEENS
Disc Size: 40,634,722,996 bytes
Protection: AACS
BDInfo: 0.7.5.6
PLAYLIST REPORT:
Name: 00002.MPLS
Length: 0:24:04.743 (h:m:s.ms)
Size: 1,589,581,824 bytes
Total Bitrate: 8.80 Mbps
VIDEO:
Codec Bitrate Description
----- ------- -----------
MPEG-4 AVC Video 5995 kbps 480i / 29.970 fps / 16:9 / High Profile 3.2
AUDIO:
Codec Language Bitrate Description
----- -------- ------- -----------
LPCM Audio Spanish 2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit
SUBTITLES:
Codec Language Bitrate Description
----- -------- ------- -----------
Presentation Graphics English 8.263 kbps
FILES:
Name Time In Length Size Total Bitrate
---- ------- ------ ---- -------------
00007.M2TS 0:00:00.000 0:24:04.743 1,589,581,824 8,802
CHAPTERS:
Number Time In Length Avg Video Rate Max 1-Sec Rate Max 1-Sec Time Max 5-Sec Rate Max 5-Sec Time Max 10Sec Rate Max 10Sec Time Avg Frame Size Max Frame Size Max Frame Time
------ ------- ------ -------------- -------------- -------------- -------------- -------------- -------------- -------------- -------------- -------------- --------------
1 0:00:00.000 0:06:38.231 5,681 kbps 9,163 kbps 00:06:37.029 8,195 kbps 00:06:33.059 8,065 kbps 00:03:52.565 23,694 bytes 99,169 bytes 00:06:35.795
2 0:06:38.231 0:04:36.075 6,169 kbps 8,707 kbps 00:07:57.877 8,086 kbps 00:06:59.886 8,001 kbps 00:09:48.487 25,731 bytes 82,923 bytes 00:11:11.070
3 0:11:14.306 0:07:17.770 6,359 kbps 8,733 kbps 00:12:53.606 8,077 kbps 00:12:49.602 8,000 kbps 00:17:52.905 26,524 bytes 95,731 bytes 00:18:25.037
4 0:18:32.077 0:05:32.665 5,748 kbps 8,736 kbps 00:18:51.897 8,040 kbps 00:22:32.718 7,976 kbps 00:23:03.815 23,974 bytes 89,090 bytes 00:19:03.642
STREAM DIAGNOSTICS:
File PID Type Codec Language Seconds Bitrate Bytes Packets
---- --- ---- ----- -------- -------------- -------------- ------------- -----
00007.M2TS 4113 (0x1011) 0x1B AVC 1444.610 5,996 1,082,704,688 5,909,640
00007.M2TS 4352 (0x1100) 0x80 LPCM spa (Spanish) 1444.610 2,311 417,242,356 2,311,592
00007.M2TS 4608 (0x1200) 0x90 PGS eng (English) 1444.610 8 1,492,249 9,412
Note: There are a total of six TV spots, all available only individually. Two of them are "new" for the 4K remastered version of the film and the other four are labeled "original" and presumably from the time of the film's original release.
New TV Spot 1
Both "New" TV spots have noticeable PAL speed-up in the audio and video, perhaps from being created at 24 fps, but being broadcast and archived at 25 fps.
I watched this today and liked it a lot. It's great for fans of films like House of Games or the Ocean's Trilogy (it's worth remembering that Nine Queens was released before the Soderbergh films, too), as well as those who like Ricardo Darín, who gets a fantastic role and is ably supported by Gastón Pauls, Leticia Brédice and Ignasi Abadal.
The video quality is very good. I thought sometimes that the image could get very slightly blurry or smudgy, but if that's down to overzealous DNR, then it must be being used selectively, because when the image is not moving rapidly, there is a nice grain pattern, which is probably there throughout and I'm just not spotting it. There's no booklet, so I don't know who did the encode for Curzon, but I'm puzzled by the decision to convert the vintage PAL extras to NTSC on a UK release. In any event, the Sony Blu-ray only seems to have a "theatrical trailer" of some sort, probably their own Sony Pictures Classics one. I'm further puzzled by the Curzon disc defaulting to the 2.0 track, so perhaps it could be a fault of encoding, despite the high bitrate, or it may be down to the shooting conditions for this particular film. In any event, the image is mostly terrific and I have to assume that this is the best presentation it's ever had by some distance.
Obviously, I viewed the film with its original DTS-HD MA 5.1 track and encountered no issues. There is quite a lot of dialogue in the film and it comes through loud and clear, while the film's very effective score sounds lovely. I suspect Curzon went through and rather thoroughly anglicized a set of subtitles originally produced in American English, because amongst all the "ass" and "ass hole" uses, I spotted terms like "gas station" (there was also "call" for "ring", but that seems to be becoming more and more common in the UK) and there was one instance of the word "dumb" where it looks like it should have been "dumbass", but other than that one slight error, the English translation is excellent and free of typos or errors.
This is a nice little release and probably the best of the two releases so far, but I wonder if we couldn't get a 4K UHD from Spain or elsewhere in the future. In fact, I'm sort of puzzled that this doesn't have a release in Spain, yet, as it was speculated to be released there some time ago and I believe Darín is popular there. I suppose the market in Argentina is simply too small to mount a domestic release and unfortunately, Spanish 4K UHD releases of Spanish films seem to be nil, even though again, Modelo 77 was speculated to be released some time ago and also has a German import. I don't know if the 4K remaster for Nine Queens has an HDR grade or if it would be suitable for 4K, but I'd snap up a release in an instant.
I watched this today and liked it a lot. It's great for fans of films like House of Games or the Ocean's Trilogy (it's worth remembering that Nine Queens was released before the Soderbergh films, too), as well as those who like Ricardo Darín, who gets a fantastic role and is ably supported by Gastón Pauls, Leticia Brédice and Ignasi Abadal.
The video quality is very good. I thought sometimes that the image could get very slightly blurry or smudgy, but if that's down to overzealous DNR, then it must be being used selectively, because when the image is not moving rapidly, there is a nice grain pattern, which is probably there throughout and I'm just not spotting it. There's no booklet, so I don't know who did the encode for Curzon, but I'm puzzled by the decision to convert the vintage PAL extras to NTSC on a UK release. In any event, the Sony Blu-ray only seems to have a "theatrical trailer" of some sort, probably their own Sony Pictures Classics one. I'm further puzzled by the Curzon disc defaulting to the 2.0 track, so perhaps it could be a fault of encoding, despite the high bitrate, or it may be down to the shooting conditions for this particular film. In any event, the image is mostly terrific and I have to assume that this is the best presentation it's ever had by some distance.
Obviously, I viewed the film with its original DTS-HD MA 5.1 track and encountered no issues. There is quite a lot of dialogue in the film and it comes through loud and clear, while the film's very effective score sounds lovely. I suspect Curzon went through and rather thoroughly anglicized a set of subtitles originally produced in American English, because amongst all the "ass" and "ass hole" uses, I spotted terms like "gas station" (there was also "call" for "ring", but that seems to be becoming more and more common in the UK) and there was one instance of the word "dumb" where it looks like it should have been "dumbass", but other than that one slight error, the English translation is excellent and free of typos or errors.
This is a nice little release and probably the best of the two releases so far, but I wonder if we couldn't get a 4K UHD from Spain or elsewhere in the future. In fact, I'm sort of puzzled that this doesn't have a release in Spain, yet, as it was speculated to be released there some time ago and I believe Darín is popular there. I suppose the market in Argentina is simply too small to mount a domestic release and unfortunately, Spanish 4K UHD releases of Spanish films seem to be nil, even though again, Modelo 77 was speculated to be released some time ago and also has a German import. I don't know if the 4K remaster for Nine Queens has an HDR grade or if it would be suitable for 4K, but I'd snap up a release in an instant.
It just got a new cinema release in Spain yesterday. A Contracorriente own the rights and they announced last year that after the cinema release there's also going to be a bluray release.
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Nine Queens (2000)
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