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Released by: Scorpion Releasing
Released on: October 19th, 2019.
Director: Dan Wolman
Cast: Katya Berger, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Yehuda Efroni, Mandy Rice-Davies, Massimo Serato, Debra Berger, Annie Bell
Year: 1983
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Nana - Movie Review:
Directed by Dan Wolman in 1983 for Cannon Films 'loosely based' on the novel by í‰mile Zola, Nana the movie is named after its leading female character, Nana the woman (played by the beautiful Katya Berger). Early in the film, she arrives at a lush French house of ill repute/burlesque theater where she's taken on and given a job as a prostitute. While she seems innocent enough at first, it doesn't taken Nana very long at all to realize she can use her innocent looks and demeanor to get what she wants out of her patrons and she takes to her new job like a fish to water.
As her star rises in certain circles, she has a few trysts - working with a pornographer, getting involved with a banker named Steiner (Yehuda Efroni) enthralled enough with her to put down for a house for her to live in, and then later with the esteemed Count Muffat Muffat (Jean Pierre Aumont) and, after he, the Count's own son, Hector (Marcus Beresford). When the Muffat loses his fortune and Nana manages to seduce Hector just before his wedding is to happen, we're wondering who else she's seduce and manipulate before she's had her fill.
It's odd that a movie as beautifully shot and featuring as much top quality nudity as this one has could be as dull as it is. The attention to detail in the costuming and the set design is very impressive and it's clear that Cannon films put a bit of money into this one, but the focus here was clearly on the more salacious elements of the concept rather than telling a story that actually engages the viewer. On a visual level, the movie works really well - there's a lot of eye candy on display in pretty much every frame. The cinematography is impressive and the use of color works really well. It's tough to complain about the look of the movie.
The casting here is also quite good. Katya Berger is front and center in this production and she sure does look gorgeous here. The camera loves her and she loves it back, really working the 'look' of Nana for as much as she can. Likewise, we get supporting effort from Mandy Rice-Davies and gorgeous Eurocult one-time starlet Annie Belle rounding out the female cast that is hard not to enjoy. Jean Pierre Aumont is decent enough as the Count and Marcus Beresford fine as his son… it's no fault of the performers that this doesn't take off the way it should.
There just isn't much of a story here. If you're in the mood to unwind with pretty images of pretty women getting pretty naked - and let me be clear, there's certainly something to be said for that - then this'll probably work for you, just don't expect much in terms of an actual narrative.
Nana - Blu-ray Review:
Nana is brought to Blu-ray in a 1.85.1 widescreen transfer taking up just over 22GBS of space on the 25GB disc is clearly taken from MGM's existing master rather than a new scan. As such, it's softer than you might want it to be, though to be fair, the movie has a soft look to it in the first place. Colors look nice and the image is free of print damage, but grain can get a bit clumpy in spots. All in all, a more than watchable transfer that beats what a DVD could have offered but which fails to really look as good as it could have.
English language audio is provided in 24-bit DTS-HD 2.0 and it sounds just fine. Dialogue is always easy to understand the score has some decent range to it. There are no problems with any hiss or distortion or sibilance and the levels are balanced well. Optional subtitles are offered in English only.
Outside of menus and chapter selection there are no extras on the disc.
Nana - The Final Word:
Nana offers up some top quality nudity, which counts for something, but not much else. The story is not all that interesting, though the sets and production values are nice. Scorpion's Blu-ray release of this reasonably obscure effort from Cannon Films looks alright and sounds quite good, but it falls short in the extra features department.
Click on the images below for full sized Nana Blu-ray screen caps!
