Calle 54 (2000)

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General		Extras
Category	Documentary	Main Menu Audio Biographies-Cast-Musicians (13) Featurette-History of Latin Jazz (58:51) Theatrical Trailer Trailer-Madman Propaganda (4)
Rating
Year Of Production	2000
Running Time	100:56 (Case: 93)
RSDL / Flipper	RSDL (76:14)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	1,2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	Fernando Trueba
Studio Distributor	Fabienne S Schreiber Madman Entertainment	Starring	Tito Puente Eliane Elias Gato Barbieri Paquio D'Rivera Michel Camilo
Case	Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip
RPI	$34.95	Music	None Given

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.85:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	Yes
Subtitles	English	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	Yes, a portion of the credits are performed in song.

    The film flows very simply from chapter to chapter. We are first introduced to a musician and spend a few minutes with them at an outdoor location, then after a brief chat about their influences or motivation, we cut to the studio where they perform. Some musicians play for the cameras, giving a subtle wink or a smile while others don't acknowledge the presence of the cameras at all, playing as though they were just jamming with their band. This provides a surprising amount of variation between the different performances.

    Although all the segments are filmed in the same studio, each artist is given a very different appearance through the use of clever lighting and alternative cinematography. Chico O'Farrill's Big Band plays in a glorious black and white presentation while Paquito D'Rivera is contrasted with a bright red background. The late Tito Puente and his band are all clad in white suits and play their instruments on a white background. The result is sublime.

    A personal highlight for me is the performance of the Michel Camilo Band, which features an amazing six string bass player that is just incredible to watch. I have never heard such a rich sound come from a simple trio of piano, bass and drums.

    This film will certainly appeal to anyone who enjoyed Buena Vista Social Club, although you should prepare yourself for a film that is more focussed on the music than the characters.

Video

    The video transfer is excellent, with only a few minor flaws.

    Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and 16x9 enhanced, this is close to the film's original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1.

    Apart from some lesser quality outdoor footage, this transfer is extremely sharp. There are many close-ups of musicians while they are in performance, and the level of detail is beautiful. Shadow detail is also excellent at all times. There is no low-level noise.

    Colours are not overly saturated and rendition seems consistent. Skin tones also appeared true.

    Not a single MPEG artefact was seen. I noticed some very slight aliasing, but it is not worth describing in detail. Film artefacts were present in the form of both black (03:36, 25:58, 58:05) and white (34:06, 97:01) specks. These were distracting on occasion.

    English subtitles are activated by default, and with my limited knowledge of Spanish they appear to skip ahead of the dialogue and even miss some important lines quite often.

    This disc is RSDL formatted, with the layer change placed between chapters and 9 and 10 (76:14). This is a silent moment in the movie and the slight pause does not disrupt the experience at all.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    I had never heard music of this kind mixed into six channels - I was blown away.

    There are two audio tracks, Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 (224kb/s) and the default track Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 (448kb/s). I listened to both in their entirety.

    Dialogue was clear at all times, although only a fraction of the feature is in English. The film's Spanish narration, by director Fernando Trueba, is quite monotonal and droning - I'm not sure if his spoken word is always like this.

    Audio sync was perfect at all times, which tends to be a rarity in music DVDs like this.

    The six channel mixes of these performances were awesome. Only a few songs contain vocal accompaniment, most are instrumental. Surround channels were used for all kinds of percussion, from wood blocks to cow bells and wind chimes. Piano sometimes spilled to the rears and xylophone was also prominent. It's not very often that I say I actually felt I was in the room with these musicians. The Dolby Digital 2.0 mix was adequate, though it certainly didn't have the depth or brightness of the Dolby Digital 5.1 mix.

    Subwoofer response was great, accentuating the kick drum and double bass quite well. In particular the electric 5 and 6 string basses that were used in some performances gave a beautiful low range. I even noted the lower octaves of the piano produced some excellent low range response as well.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

    We have a couple of interesting extras here.

Menu

Biographies-Cast - Musicians (13)

Featurette - History of Latin Jazz (58:51)

    The story of how Latin Jazz came to be, through the words of the Calle 54 performers. We are also given a few small insights into how the film was made. It is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1 with Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kbps) audio and is not 16x9 enhanced. This is a great companion to the film.

Theatrical Trailer

    This short trailer runs for 01:10 and is presented in 1.33:1 full frame, with Dolby Digital 2.0 audio.

Trailer-Madman Propaganda (4)

    Includes trailers for Atanarjuat, Satin Rouge, Vengo and Swing.

• Commentary by associate producer and Latin Jazz historian Nat Chediak.
• French Dolby Digital 5.1.

    The Region 1 version has a 384kbps Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 track, whereas the Region 4 has a higher bitrate of 448kbps.

    I don't miss the French dubbed narration, but the commentary may be interesting to hear once. I think I will choose the superior Region 4 PAL transfer and higher audio bit rate over the Region 1 additional commentary on this occasion.

    The video transfer is great, with superb detail.

    The audio is beautiful, with great surround channel usage.

    The extras include an informative companion documentary.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall