Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands appears in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. Expect an inconsistent image.
Sharpness became one of the iffy spots, as the movie seemed less than precise. Granted, it never became truly soft, but it also failed to deliver especially strong delineation.
No issues with jagged edges or moiré effects materialized, and I saw no edge haloes. Grain felt reasonable, but a lot of print flaws popped up, as I witnessed specks, nicks, blotches, and lines through a lot of the movie. A fair amount of the film escaped without damage, but I still found many defects.
Colors looked bland and washed out. The movie’s palette leaned toward aqua and yellow, but the tones came across as so dull that they lacked any vivacity.
Blacks tended to seem murky, while shadows appeared a bit dim. I thought the image appeared good enough for a “C-“, but just barely, as I easily could’ve put it in “D” territory.
Husbands gets a DTS-HD MA 5.1 remix here, one that will either delight or annoy. I fell into the latter category due to the bizarrely “in your face” nature of the soundscape.
Mastered at a high level, the audio became much more prominent than necessary or desired for a character film like this. Not only did the soundfield spread music all around the room in an unbalanced manner, but also it went bonkers with effects.
Gentle wind sounded like a tornado, and even quietly cooking food bubbled and crackled like a five-alarm blaze. The soundfield felt completely over the top and out of whack for a movie like this.
So why did I say that the mix might delight? Because some people might enjoy the super-active use of the soundscape.
I couldn’t stand it, though, so I bailed after about 15 minutes and switched to the much more reasonable PCM 2.0 stereo track. This replicated the original and made much more sense for the movie.
Don’t expect a lot from the stereo presentation, as the mix largely sounded monaural. Still, music broadened to the sides in a gentle manner, and some ambient effects created a modest sense of environment. The soundfield didn’t do much but at least it didn’t batter the viewer ala the crazy 5.1 track.
Audio quality differed for the two, mainly because the 5.1 track seemed so loud and aggressive. Everything about it felt exaggerated, as it appeared those involved amped up treble and bass to sound more “modern”.
The stereo track became substantially more natural. Speech showed some iffy looping but still remained fairly concise, with only a little edginess at times.
Music boasted reasonable pep and range, while effects felt wholly adequate, as they demonstrated acceptable accuracy. Though the mono mix showed its age/origins, it still proved much more enjoyable than the overly loud and abrasive 5.1 track.
A few extras appear here, and we open with an audio commentary from director Bruno Barreto. He provides a running, screen-specific look at story/characters, sets and locations, cast and performances, music, editing and censorship, photography, costumes, and the movie's reception.
Barreto covers a good array of topics and offers a mix of nice insights about the movie. However, he goes MIA far too often, so I suspect the commentary only covers maybe half the film, if that.
Of course, I'll take a good discussion that only spans part of a flick over a dull one that takes up the whole running time. However, the many dead spots make this a frustrating chat.
Behind the Scenes runs seven minutes, 51 seconds and gives us footage from the shoot along with narration about the production and a smattering of remarks from Barreto and actors Sônia Braga and José Wilker. The glimpses from the set dominate and make this a fairly interesting reel.
We get trailers for Husbands, Marquise, L’Innocente and Midaq Alley. We conclude with a booklet that mixes credits, photos and an essay from producer/costume designer Mary Jane Marcasiano. It finishes the set on a positive note.
Back in the 1970s, Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands became a major hit, but I fail to figure out why. The movie seems tedious and lacks the character depth it needs to turn into anything compelling. The Blu-ray brings problematic picture and audio as well as a few bonus features. I can’t find much to enchant in this slow, forgettable romantic drama.