7.9 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
A self-assured businessman murders his employer, the husband of his mistress, unintentionally provoking an ill-fated chain of events.
Starring: Jeanne Moreau, Maurice Ronet, Georges Poujouly, Yori Bertin, Jean WallForeign | 100% |
Drama | 81% |
Film-Noir | 24% |
Crime | Insignificant |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.37:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.66:1
French: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
French SDH, English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 2.5 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Louis Malle's "Elevator to the Gallows" a.k.a. "Ascenseur pour l'échafaud" (1958) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of French label Gaumont. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; new featurette produced by Pierre-Henri Gibert; and archival interview with French pianist Rene Urtreger. In French, with optional English and French SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.
Is this a joke?
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.37:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Louis Malle's Elevator to the Gallows arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of French label Gaumont.
The film has been recently restored, but the technical presentation is unusual and disappointing.
I've owned two different DVD releases of Elevator to the Gallows, but currently have only Criterion's release in my library.
On previous DVD releases the film was presented in an aspect ratio of 1.66:1, while this new Blu-ray release has the film framed in 1.37:1. Malle's Zazie dans le métro, which was completed after Elevator to the Gallows, is also framed in 1.37:1 and has been screened theatrically in that ratio, but I personally have not seen a theatrical release of this film in 1.37:1.
The new 2K restoration appears to be very good. Depth is improved a lot and fluidity is much better. Most unfortunately, the release is poorly encoded and as a result there are some quite distracting anomalies. The most serious issue is the presence of large patches of chroma noise that erode shadow definition and occasionally even collapse detail(s). The effects are very distracting because the chroma noise is practically in every sequences with plenty of light. Here are some examples: See the greenish/redish waves on the skirt in screencapture #4, the leather jacket and the car seats in screencapture #10, the grass on the left side of the frame in screencapture #13, and the glove in screencapture #21. Many of the darker sequences also have obvious banding and in some cases unusually large macroblocking patches. You can see an example at the bottom of screencapture #15. It does not appear that problematic degraining corrections were applied as grain is present throughout the entire film and actually appears quite well resolved, but it is easy to tell that the issues highlighted above have impacted its exposure. There are no problematic sharpening adjustments. Finally, image stability is excellent and there are no large debris, cuts, damage marks, or torn frames to report in our review. To sum it all up, it appears that the new restoration of Elevator to the Gallows is very good, but either a flawed master was created or something went terribly wrong during the encoding process. Regardless, at the moment this wonderful film does not look as it should. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location. For the record, there is no problematic PAL or 1080/50i content preceding the disc's main menu).
There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: French DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English and French SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.
I did some direct comparisons between the lossless track and the lossy track from Criterion's DVD release because Miles Davis' score has such an important role in the film and can confirm that there are very obvious improvements both in terms of depth and overall balance. The dialog is very crisp and clean. It is also very easy to follow. There are no pops, audio dropouts, or digital distortions to report in our review.
French label Gaumont's new Blu-ray release of Louis Malle's excellent directorial debut, Elevator to the Gallows, is very frustrating. The release is sourced from a new restoration of the film which appears to be quite wonderful. However, Gaumont's technical presentation of the restoration is problematic. My advice to you is to wait for a different label to release the new restoration on Blu-ray in a different market. SKIP IT.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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