Cult Epics presents

Miranda (1985)

Berto: I love you, Miranda. I love you!
Miranda: You're not the only one.- Andrea Occhipinti, Serena Grandi

Stars: Serena Grandi, Andrea Occhipinti, Andy J. Forrest, Franco Branciaroli
Other Stars: Franco Interlenghi, Malisa Longo
Director: Tinto Brass

MPAA Rating: Not Rated for (nudity, sexuality, language, urination)
Run Time: 01h:34m:55s
Release Date: 2002-06-25
Genre: late night

Style Grade	Substance Grade	Image Transfer Grade	Audio Transfer Grade	Extras Grade
B-	C+	B-	C-	C

 

DVD Review

Tinto Brass, the man behind the infamous Caligula, is noted for a long string of erotic comedies. One of these is the 1985 opus, Miranda, which is more interesting as sociology than eroticism.

In late World War II and shortly thereafter, the husband of Miranda Rostogni (Serena Grandi) is missing and presumed dead. She takes a string of lovers representing the seasons of the year: the elderly councilman Carlo (Franco Interlenghi) in Winter, young truck driver Berto (Andrea Occhipinti) in Spring, American pipeline worker Norman (Andy J. Forrest) in Summer and tavern worker Tony (Brass regular Franco Benciaroli) in the Autumn. She wildly expresses her attitude as a free spirit pursued by these four men (not to mention others), trying to decide whether to marry any of them.

The film has copious nudity (particularly of Grandi, who spends much of the running time dressing and undressing), though the sex scenes are often cut quite short in an interruptus that almost subverts the 'late night' category. More in a traditional Italian aspect is the costuming of Miranda in red throughout her various escapades (or in clothes with a heavy red accent); in the flashbacks to her life with husband Gino she is garbed in Marian blue and white, in the heavyhanded virgin/whore dichotomy so beloved in the Catholic sensibility. There seems to be a condemnatory element here, although the forbidden is simultaneously exciting, as one of her lovers notes.

Grandi is capable enough for what's required of her. You'll get no argument from me regarding the keepcase billing of her as having been voted "the sexiest woman in Italy." Voluptuous and lush, she is both coquettish and uninhibited, reminding one of a slightly more opinionated Marilyn Monroe. The various lovers are passable enough, though they're really not called upon to do more than fall cow-eyed in love and get jealous of the others. Occhipinti gets a bit more to do, and at least he seems to think of the future, unlike the others who are fixated only on the present, or more specifically, getting under Miranda's dress in the present.

The eroticism is generally well done, though not as explicit as in such later works as All Ladies Do It (1992), also available from Cult Epics. Not as derriere-obsessed as that picture, this film also has its own mild kinks. It has some slow spots, but overall it's fairly sexy. It also works as a couples film, since there are some entertaining female fantasies indulged in here as well. The dance sequences, including a very hot mambo, are entertaining even when the participants are fully clothed.

Rating for Style: B-
Rating for Substance: C+

 

Image Transfer

	One
Aspect Ratio	1.85:1 - Widescreen
Original Aspect Ratio	yes
Anamorphic	yes

Image Transfer Review: The anamorphic widescreen picture is generally quite good, though the film is shot in a nearly perpetual, slightly soft focus to emphasize the nostalgia. The colors are decent, with the red of Grandi's dresses often approaching oversaturation. Shadow detail is okay, as is detail in general, given the soft focus. Hardly any damage is visible. The primary issue is when there are horizontal pans, the picture tends to comb and pixelate badly. The bit rate really should have been maxed during these brief segments to handle the information. Otherwise, the RSDL presentation has a decent picture. By comparison to the washed out, smeary excerpts presented in the featurette, it looks absolutely marvelous, so we should count our blessings here.

Image Transfer Grade: B-
 

Audio Transfer

	Language	Remote Access
Mono	English	no

Audio Transfer Review: The English dub (the Italian original is not provided) is surprisingly noisy and full of crackling. The music on the 2.0 mono track is a little distorted and lacking in depth or bass information. The dialogue is generally clear, but this is hardly a reference track.

Audio Transfer Grade: C- 

Disc Extras

Static menu with music
Scene Access with 14 cues and remote access
Cast and Crew Filmographies
1 Original Trailer(s)
2 Other Trailer(s) featuring The Key, All Ladies Do It
1 Featurette(s)
Packaging: Scanavo
Picture Disc
1 Disc
1-Sided disc(s)
Layers: RSDL
Layers Switch: 01h:11m:12s

Extra Extras:

1. Still galleryProduction stills

Extras Review: The principal extra is a 10m:03s interview with Brass from 2001. He speaks about Grandi, with whom he is still friends, and compares the film to others he has made. He also spills a number of "in" jokes that would not be obvious to anyone outside of Italy, which helps with the appreciation of the picture. This is accompanied by a set of about 20 stills and filmographies for Grandi and Brass. Wrapping up the package are anamorphic widescreen trailers in nice condition for the main feature and two other Brass epics. Chaptering is adequate. No subtitles are provided. The layer change is halting and quite badly placed, in the middle of a scene.

Extras Grade: C
 

Final Comments

A fairly sexy Italian import, with some boring moments, given a generally good transfer. Not as bad as much of the 'late night' category tends to be, it's at least stylish and the star is undeniably gorgeous.

Mark Zimmer 2002-07-01