Frivolous Lola – Cult Epics (4k UHD/Blu-ray Combo)

Theatrical Release Date: Italy, 1998
Director: Tinto Brass
Writers: Tinto Brass, Barbara Alberti, Carla Cipriani
Cast: Anna Ammirati, Patrick Mower, Max Parodi, Susanna Martinková, Antonio Salines, Francesca Nunzi, Vittorio Attene, Laura Trotter, Carlo Reali, Maurizio Prudenzi, Edith Rozanyai, Alberto Capone, Serena Grandi

Release Date: May 7th, 2024
Approximate Running Time: 104 Minutes 28 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / HDR10
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD 5.1 Italian, DTS-HD Stereo Italian, DTS-HD 5.1 English, DTS-HD Stereo English
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $49.95

"Join the Joie de Vivre club with the maddeningly charming Lola, as she plots to loosen up her fiancé in this exuberant sexy comedy. Everyone is wild about Lola - even, some suspect, her own stepfather." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5 (4K UHD), 4.5/5 (Blu-ray)

Here’s the information provided about the transfer, "New 4K Transfer (from the original negative) & Restoration with HDR."

Frivolous Lola comes on a 100 GB triple layer 4K UHD

Disc Size: 81.2 GB

Feature: 76.6 GB

This transfer looks exceptional. Flesh tones are healthy; colors look vibrant; image clarity and black levels are solid; compression is very good; and the image looks organic. That said, there are two things I considered when coming up with a score for this transfer. How does it compare to this film’s previous home video releases, and does it look any better than this transfer, which looks exceptional?

Frivolous Lola comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 37.2 GB

Feature: 31.8 GB 

This Blu-ray uses the same master that is used for the 4K UHD disc.

Audio: 5/5 (DTS-HD 5.1 Italian, DTS-HD Stereo Italian, DTS-HD 5.1 English, DTS-HD Stereo English)

This release comes with four audio options, a DTS-HD 5.1 mix in Italian, a DTS-HD stereo mix in Italian, a DTS-HD 5.1 mix in English, and a DTS-HD stereo mix in English. Quality-wise, you can’t go wrong with any of these audio tracks; they are all in great shape. Dialog comes through clearly; everything sounds balanced, and range-wise, they all sound great. Included are removable English subtitles for the Italian language track, and when watching with the English language tracks, there are scenes in Italian with removable English subtitles for these scenes.

Extras:

Extras on the 4K UHD disc include a theatrical trailer for All Ladies Do It (3 minutes 21 seconds, LPCM mono Italian and English, no subtitles), a theatrical trailer for Frivolous Lola (2 minutes 17 seconds, LPCM mono Italian with removable English subtitles) and an audio commentary with Eugenio Ercolani and Nathaniel Thompson.

Extras on the Blu-ray disc include a theatrical trailer for All Ladies Do It (3 minutes 21 seconds, LPCM mono Italian and English, no subtitles), a theatrical trailer for Frivolous Lola (2 minutes 17 seconds, LPCM stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), a theatrical trailer for Paprika (1 minute 11 seconds, LPCM stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), a theatrical trailer for P.O. Box Tinto Brass (1 minute 15 seconds, LPCM stereo with Italian with text, no subtitles), a theatrical trailer for Istintobrass (4 minutes 13 seconds, LPCM stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), a photo gallery for Frivolous Lola (20 images), an archival interview with director Tinto Brass (25 minutes 51 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles) and an audio commentary with Eugenio Ercolani and Nathaniel Thompson.

Other extras include reversible cover art, four repro Italian lobby card prints (first pressing exclusive), slipcover (first pressing exclusive) and a 20-page booklet with an essay titled A Committed Brat the Career of Anna Ammirati written by Eugenio Ercolani and Domenico Monetti.

Summary:

Directed by Tinto Brass, whose other notable films are Deadly Sweet, Salon Kitty, The Key, Snack Bar Budapest, and Paprika.

The narrative revolves around a young woman who struggles to keep her virginity due to her flirtatious nature, which is having an arousing effect on all the men in her village.

Tinto Brass really knows how to introduce his protagonists. Frivolous Lola opens with its protagonist, Lola, riding a bike as the wind repeatedly blows her skirt up. This opening does two things: it perfectly captures without any words who Lola is, and it also plays into the voyeur aesthetic of Tinto Brass’ visual eye.

Most Tinto Brass films have a protagonist whose world revolves around their escapades, and yet Frivolous Lola is the direct opposite. And though there is an undeniable sexiness to the Lola character, she has a genuine, playful innocence that is unlike any character to appear before or since in a Tinto Brass film.

Lola has met the man of her dreams, and she wants to save her virginity for him. She does not want to shut herself away from the world or change who she is. She is a young woman who is full of life, and her main objective in life is to have fun.

Besides the aforementioned problems with her fiance due to her flirting, Frivolous Lola also weaves another subplot that revolves around a man who is her mother’s lover. And though everyone in town believes that he is Lola’s father, he is not sure if she is really his daughter. This subplot sets up some very unusual and, at times, uncomfortable moments. That said, at least in regards to this relationship, things never devolve into the decadent behavior that is present in several of Tinto Brass’ other films.

Setting the narrative in a bygone era is nothing new to Brass, who has set several of his films in the past, most notably during World War II. This time around, he sets Frivolous Lola in the gentler era of the 1950's, and in this regard, this is Frivolous Lola’s most durable asset. This setting greatly aids Frivolous Lola’s lighter tone.

Tinto Brass had a knack for discovering his leading ladies, and with Anna Ammirati, he once again finds a perfect muse. She gives a remarkable performance that is equally engaging and provocative. It is not hard to see how anyone would not fall head over heels for her. That said, the performances all around are great.

From a production standpoint, Frivolous Lola delivers in spades. The production design is solid, the pacing is pitch perfect, and the visuals are solid, as Tinto Brass fills every frame with eye-catching angles that highlight his leading lady’s assets. Ultimately, Frivolous Lola is a highly entertaining and humorous sexually laced farce about the obstacles that can happen before a wedding night.

Frivolous Lola gets an exceptional release from Cult Epics that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and a trio of insightful extras, highly recommended.

Note about the 4K screenshots: It is not possible to make Dolby Vision or HDR10 screenshots that faithfully match the experience of watching a film in motion on a TV. Instead of not having any screenshots, all of the 4K screenshots are m2ts taken with a VLC player and lossless PNGs.

Written by Michael Den Boer