A Man and a Woman Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		2.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		2.0

A Man and a Woman Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov April 20, 2026

Claude Lelouch's "A Man and a Woman" (1966) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the release include new program with Claude Lelouch; archival documentary featuring raw footage from the shooting of the film and cast and crew interviews; short film; promotional materials; and more. In French, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A"locked".

The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film was created in 1956. In previous years, foreign films were recognized only with special and honorary awards. On March 27th, 1957, at the 29th Academy Awards, held simultaneously at two locations -- at the RKO Pantages Theatre in Hollywood, California, and the NBC Century Theatre in New York City -- Federico Fellini’s La Strada became the first winner in this new category. A decade later, in 1967, Claude Lelouch’s A Man and a Woman became the eleventh winner in this category. In 2020, the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film was renamed Best International Feature Film Award. To date, of all winners in both categories, A Man and a Woman remains the simplest and most relatable film.

On a Sunday evening in Deauville, at a local children’s boarding school, Jean-Louis Duroc (Jean-Louis Trintignant), a racecar driver, encounters Anne Gauthier (Anouk Aimee), a film script supervisor, and the two begin seeing each other. Both are widowers who have struggled to rebuild their lives and failed to erase the memory of the loved ones they have lost. For this reason, the two are equally careful about how much they reveal from their past and the scars they are living with.

When it becomes undeniable that they are genuinely in love, Duroc and Gauthier begin to reveal the most painful memories from their previous relationships. Sometimes they use words to describe them. Sometimes words are not enough, so they let their silent faces reveal what they have been through. But despite realizing that fate has given them a second chance to discover true love and happiness, the two struggle to start a new chapter in their lives.

Lelouch presents the lovers’ story in uneven fragments, and when it is finished, it very much feels like several meaningful bits are missing. However, this is arguably the reason A Man and a Woman remains a relatable film. Here’s why:

The story emulates the predictably complex merger of two drastically different lives. Also, both lovers are single parents who are ‘distracted’ by duties that prevent them from playing the game of romance as they have done in the past. Like all lovers, they improvise, but as adults, remaining appropriately cautious and restrained. It is why their story, like all true love stories, is uneven and imperfect.

Ironically, the single big weakness of A Man and a Woman is Lelouch’s inexorable desire to present the lovers’ story like an impeccably polished diamond. It is lit with an unmissable precision. It is decorated with stylized colors. It is wrapped with elegant music. It quickly becomes too pretty, in some places suspiciously superficial as well.

The two leads are likeable. However, some of the intimate material, including the famous footage from the hotel, looks slightly off. Their previous partners are played by Pierre Barouh and Valerie Legrange.

Criterion’s release presents a new 2K restoration of A Man and a Woman, sourced from the original camera negative and supervised by Lelouch. The 2K restoration was completed at the French lab Éclair.

A Man and a Woman Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.57:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, A Man and a Woman arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

The following text appears inside the leaflet provided with this Blu-ray release:

"Supervised and approved by director Claude Lelouch, this new 2K restoration was created from the 35mm original camera negative. The monaural soundtrack was remastered from the original soundtrack negative.

Image restoration: Éclair Group.
Audio restoration: L.E. Diapason, Paris."

The new 2K restoration of A Man and a Woman is enormously disappointing. It is a complete, very artificial-looking digital reimagination of how this beautiful film was shot many decades ago, which makes it impossible to enjoy now. A lot of the new color shifts destroy the memorable stylization that gave the film its native identity. For example, various variations of teal subdue and eliminate warm primaries and tonalities, while the white footage from the original version of the film is simply wiped out. On top of this, in many darker areas, the tealing has created numerous issues that affect the dynamic range of the visuals. Virtually all restorations of color films completed at Éclair have such issues, but here, in several sequences, they are uniquely bad. Needless to say, all of the above is very disappointing because the entire film boasts a strikingly healthy appearance now. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

A Man and a Woman Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: French LPCM 1.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The entire lossless track is very healthy. The racing footage sounds quite a bit better now, while Francis Lai's harmonies easily make an impression where they are supposed to. All exchanges are clear, sharp, and easy to follow. The English translation is outstanding.

A Man and a Woman Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Claude Lelouch - in this recent program, Claude Lelouch discusses his work on A Man and a Woman and some of the key themes in it. The program was produced for Criterion in 2025. In French, with English subtitles. (24 min).

• Making of - this archival program follows Claude Lelouch, Anouk Aimee, and Jean-Louis Trintignant during the filming of A Man and a Woman. The program was produced by Lelouch's company Les Films 13 in 1996. In French, with English subtitles. (23 min).

• Portrait of Claude Lelouch at 28 - this archival program follows Claude Lelouch, Anouk Aimee, Jean-Louis Trintignant, and Pierre Barouh at the Cannes Film Festival, where they present A Man and a Woman. The program was produced in 1966. In French, with English subtitles. (12 min).

• C'etait un rendez-vous - a short film directed by Claude Lelouch in 1976. Also included is a short new introduction by Lelouch in which he discusses his passion for cars. Newly restored. In French, with English subtitles. (9 min).

• Trailer One - presented here is a recent trailer for the 4K restoration of A Man and a Woman. In French, with English subtitles. (2 min).

• Trailer Two - presented here is a vintage French trailer for A Man and a Woman. In French, with English subtitles. (2 min).

• Leaflet - an illustrated leaflet featuring critic Carrie Rickey's essay "Modern Lovers", as well as technical credits.

A Man and a Woman Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Eclair's 2K restoration of A Man and a Woman is as disappointing as Hiventy's 4K restoration of Le Cercle Rouge. In fact, it is not fair to describe what was done to these films as restorations. Both French labs created digital reimaginations of the two films, and they are, unsurprisingly, very poor. If you have been planning to get A Man and a Woman for your collection, find a way to test Criterion's release first.