Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Anne & Muriel Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov September 30, 2014

François Truffaut's "Anne and Muriel" a.k.a. "Two English Girls" (1971) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Artificial Eye. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; introduction by Serge Toubiana, president of Cinémathèque française; and audio commentary with scenarist Jean Gruault discusses. In French, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Claude Roc

Young French writer Claude Roc (Jean-Pierre Leaud, The 400 Blows, Love on the Run) meets the beautiful English girl Anne Brown (Kika Markham, Outland) in Paris and the two quickly warm up to each other. Anne then invites Claude to visit her family in Wales.

Soon after, Claude arrives on the Welsh coast and meets Anne’s sister, Muriel (Stacey Tendeter). The two instantly fall in love and decide to marry, but are urged by their mothers to wait a year and then start a family together. When Claude returns to Paris, Muriel falls seriously ill.

Eventually, Anne arrives in Paris and reunites with Claude. Their relationship is so intense that both assume that they have discovered true love. But then Anne begins dating other men and gradually realizes that the most exciting aspect of her relationship with Claude is the passionate sex.

Meanwhile, Muriel discovers that after returning to Paris Claude has changed a lot and that he is no longer as enthusiastic about their marriage as he once was. They occasionally exchange letters, but both seem unsure how the other feels. Eventually, they arrange to meet again.

The structure of Francois Truffaut’s Anne and Muriel is very similar to that of his Jules & Jim, but this should not be too surprising considering the fact that both films are based on novels by Henri-Pierre Roche. This time the roles are reversed -- instead of two men and a woman there are two women and a man who fall madly in love and irreversibly alter their lives.

Anne and Muriel is the calmer and more melancholic of the two films. Truffaut gives the three protagonists plenty of time to become comfortable with each other and then learn about their insecurities. As result, when they eventually become intimate there is a great deal of sincerity in their words and actions.

The attention to period detail is outstanding, but this isn’t a period film that aims to impress with striking visuals. The focus of attention is on the complex love triangle and the various dilemmas the three protagonists are presented during the years. This is arguably the key reason why the film looks so fresh today. (And as far as this reviewer is concerned it is also the reason why initially it was so poorly received).

The cast is fantastic. Leaud looks slightly older, but the facial expressions and body movement are every bit as impressive as those from the Antoine Doinel films. Tendeter looks appropriately brittle and shy around Leaud, while Markham is confident and direct.

Truffaut and the great cinematographer Nestor Almendros shot a large portion of the countryside footage in Normandy. Some of it was later on cut by Truffaut -- the shorter version that was initially screened ran at approximately 108 minutes -- but this release of Anne and Muriel features the original version of the film, which runs at approximately 130 minutes.

Anne and Muriel is complimented by a marvelous soundtrack courtesy of the legendary Georges Delerue (The Slap, One Deadly Summer). It is one of the French maestro’s greatest works.

Anne & Muriel Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.67:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, François Truffaut's Anne and Muriel arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Artificial Eye.

Even though the foundation for this release isn't a new and extensive restoration, the high-definition transfer is very beautiful. For example, the different panoramic shots from the countryside look simply marvelous -- clarity and detail are very pleasing while colors are natural and wonderfully balanced (see screencapture #2). Close-ups also convey good depth (see screencaptures #3 and 12). Contrast levels remain stable throughout the entire film. There are no traces of problematic degraining or sharpening corrections. Rather predictably, the film has a solid, very healthy appearance. There are no large damage marks, cuts, debris, stains, or scratches. Lastly, there are no encoding or compression anomalies to report in this review. All in all, viewers who have previously seen Anne and Muriel (also distributed as Two English Girls) on DVD will be enormously pleased with this excellent high-definition upgrade. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Anne & Muriel Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: French LPCM 2.0 (with small portions of English). For the record, Artificial Eye have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature. (Please note that the subtitles appear only when French is spoken).

I was very much looking forward to revisiting this film as it is complimented by a fabulous score courtesy of the great Georges Delerue. The lossless track did not disappoint -- the music is light yet quite lush and wonderfully balanced with the dialog. (Listen to music and the narration around the 34-minute mark). There is no hiss, crackle, pops, audio dropouts or digital distortions to report in this review. The English translation is excellent.

Anne & Muriel Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original trailer for Anne and Muriel. In French, with optional English subtitles. (3 min).

• Presentation with Serge Toubiana - Serge Toubiana, president of Cinémathèque française, introduces Anne and Muriel. In French, with optional English subtitles. (3 min).

• Commentary with Jean Gruault - scenarist Jean Gruault discusses Henri-Pierre Roche's novel and the writer's real life affairs, the structural similarities between the novel and the film, where and how key sequences from the film were shot (the footage from Wales was actually shot in Normandy), the use of Georges Delerue's beautiful music, some of the forced cuts (done by François Truffaut himself), etc. In French, with optional English subtitles.

Anne & Muriel Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Anne and Muriel is one of my favorite Francois Truffaut films. Everything in it just comes together perfectly -- the acting, the visuals, the spectacular soundtrack by the great Georges Delerue. I've waited a long time to experience this film in high-definition and Artificial Eye's Blu-ray did not disappoint me. Also included on it is MK2's old but very good audio commentary with scenarist Jean Gruault. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.