71 Fragments of a Chronology of Chance Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.5

71 Fragments of a Chronology of Chance Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Randy Miller III July 10, 2023

Austrian director Michael Haneke's 1994 film 71 Fragments of a Chronology of Chance is currently only available on Region "A" Blu-ray as part of Criterion's Michael Haneke: Trilogy, a three-disc set that also includes his startling 1989 debut The Seventh Continent and 1992's underrated Benny's Video along with a few old and new bonus features.

71 Fragments of a Chronology of Chance is the perhaps the narrative black sheep of the three films included in Michael Haneke: Trilogy, and that's certainly saying something. Routinely listed near the bottom of critically ranked lists of the director's films, 71 Fragments is just that: a series of seemingly separate but loosely interconnected scenes that occur in Vienna during a three-month period in late 1993 before a mass killing incident. Perhaps even more challenging than The Seventh Continent and with obvious visual and structural nods to both that film and Benny's Video, it's the kind of story you have to pick apart to make any real sense of rather than having most of it relayed to you in a sequential, easy-to-digest manner. I actually found this film to be a bit more tonally satisfying than The Seventh Continent, which certainly had its moments but is often cited as one of the most confident and successful movie debuts of its era which I can't fully agree with. In direct contrast, 71 Fragments is even further from a perfect effort but I mostly appreciated its particular structure and the fragmented scenes, while definitely a bit pretentious at times, are interesting to piece together despite their proportionately smaller payoff.

71 Fragments of a Chronology of Chance Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

For a cursory overview of this film's 1080p transfer, please see my review of Michael Haneke: Trilogy.

71 Fragments of a Chronology of Chance Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

For an analysis of this film's German LPCM mono mix, please see my review of Michael Haneke: Trilogy.

Optional English subtitles are included for translation purposes only.

71 Fragments of a Chronology of Chance Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The following extras appear on Criterion's Blu-ray of 71 Fragments in Michael Haneke: Trilogy.

• Michael Haneke (23:32) - This DVD-era interview with the director was conducted by Cinémathèque Française director Serge Toubiana in 2005 and features comments about the making of 71 Fragments.

• Michael H. – Profession: Director (92:10) - A fairly substantial extra for new and seasoned fans, Profession: Director is a full-length 2013 documentary film by Yves Montmayeur (The 1000 Eyes of Dr. Maddin) that loosely covers various portions of the director's filmography up until that point. There are more than a few film clips but it's mostly comprised of interview clips with Juliette Binoche, Isabelle Huppert, Emmanuelle Riva, Susanne Lothar, Béatrice Dalle, Jean-Louis Trintignant and, of course, Haneke himself.

• Theatrical Trailer (0:38)

71 Fragments of a Chronology of Chance Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Michael Haneke's 1994 film 71 Fragments of a Chronology of Chance is a loosely experimental twist on his already well-established style of storytelling, one that still carries many of the same polarizing visual and emotional themes... and despite its lackluster reputation among fans, 71 Fragments' separate threads are interesting to pick apart. It's still probably the weakest link in Criterion's Michael Haneke: Trilogy, but the bonus documentary might make this disc the strongest, pound for pound. At the current price point, it's a pretty affordable set for interested parties.