Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.5

Band of Outsiders Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov April 22, 2013

Jean-Luc Godard's "Bande à part" a.k.a. "Band of Outsiders" (1964) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include original trailers; visual glossary with explanations of the different references and quotes used in the film; video interviews with actress Anna Karina and legendary cinematographer Raoul Coutard; Agnes Varda's comedy "Les fiancés du pont Mac Donald"; and clips from Andre S. Labarthe's documentary La nouvelle vague par elle-meme. The release also arrives with and illustrated booklet featuring an essay by poet and critic Joshua Clover, Jean-Luc Godard's character descriptions for his film's 1964 press book, and an interview with the French director from the same year. In French, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

The dance

Two young men in love with American gangster films decide to approach a beautiful girl to help them commit a robbery. Franz (Sami Frey, César et Rosalie, Mortelle randonnée), the taller and quieter one, has met the girl in his English class and determined that she would be easy to manipulate. Arthur (Claude Brasseur, The Mad Dog, A Simple Story), the louder and more direct one, trusts Franz and hopes that they will score enough so that he could finally pay back the money he owes to his obnoxious uncle.

Odile (Anna Karina, Vivre Sa Vie, Pierrot le fou), who is still single, is ready to help. But there is something about Franz and Arthur’s plan that worries her -- they are planning to rob her aunt (Louisa Colpeyn, Boomerang), with whom she lives on the outskirts of Paris. Odile also can’t decide if after the robbery she should stay with her aunt or hit the road with the guys.

While working on the details, Franz and Arthur also entertain Odile. Franz tries to kiss her, but she warms up to Arthur, possibly because he seems more like a guy that can be trusted. The three even go dancing and then visit the Louvre -- not to marvel its art collections but to run through it as fast as they can and break the previous record set by an American visitor.

Franz and Arthur also show Odile how real men drive real cars -- like the tough men in those great American gangster films they like. But Odile does not understand what the big deal is. To her everything looks a little crazy, a little boring.

Eventually, Franz and Arthur agree that the right time for the robbery has come and instruct Odile exactly what to do when they appear in her aunt’s lavish house. Odile tries to play her role as best as she can, but when the two friends arrive, both with stockings covering their faces, she panics. Odile’s aunt also reacts in a way that surprises everyone -- she can’t figure out if the boys are serious about robbing her or playing a silly game. Then one of them stuffs a handkerchief in her mouth.

Loosely based on a novel by Dolores Hitchens called Fool’s Gold, Band of Outsiders is arguably Jean-Luc Godard’s most straightforward film. It tells a very simple story with a certain style and does not satirize as much as some of the French director’s other films from the same period do.

The three characters in the film are deeply flawed. Some of their flaws are linked to the environment they share and the culture that sustains it. For example, Franz and Arthur are fixated on money and led to believe that success -- in this case, a successful robbery -- will exonerate their foolish actions. Odile is too naïve and unaware, possibly because of the closeted bourgeois-esque life she has led, that the real world is like a dangerous labyrinth, a place with plenty of slippery roads where one could easily get lost.

The film’s greatest moment is the famous Madison dance. Franz, Arthur, and Odile end up in a small bistro and give a dance number that is both casual and unusually stylish. This is the only time when the three are in sync. Elsewhere in the film they are complete amateurs trying to be a team (or as the film’s French title, Bande a part, suggests a band). Because they constantly fail Godard often cuts the music or silences the dialogue and quickly explains what their intentions are, how they feel, what they think about each other.

Godard and the great cinematographer Raoul Coutard (Shoot the Piano Player, Le mépris, Z) shot Band of Outsiders over twenty-five days. The dialog was almost completely improvised. Only the dance sequence required multiple rehearsals at various bars across Paris.

Band of Outsiders Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Jean-Luc Godard's Band of Outsiders arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of French distributors Gaumont.

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

"This digital master came from a restoration undertaken by Gaumont in 2010. For the restoration, a high-definition digital transfer was created on a Spirit Datacine from a 35mm composite fine grain at Eclair Laboratories in Epinay-sur-Seine, France. The original monaural soundtrack was restored from a 35mm optical soundtrack positive.

Transfer supervisor: Ronald Boullet/Eclair Laboratories, Epinay-sur-Seine, France.
Colorist: Hedi Nakkaa/Eclair Laboratories, Epinay-sur-Seine, France."

This new release of Band of Outsiders, which uses as a foundation Gaumont's recent restoration of the film, confirms that various light denoising corrections were performed on the high-definition transfer the French release uses (read our review of Gaumont's release here). The effects of these corrections were extremely easy to see during a number of close-ups. On the French release there are also various traces of light sharpening corrections, many of which are indeed quite distracting. The same denoising and sharpening corrections do not appear on the Criterion release. For example, compare screencapture #13 with screencapture #9 from our review of the French release where the denoising is quite obvious. Now compare screenapture #12 with screencapture #8 from our review of the French release where the sharpening corrections are quite prominent. More importantly, the smearing (light motion blur) from the French release is also missing. Contrast and color saturation, however, are virtually identical. The blacks are stable while the grays and whites are well balanced. Clarity is very pleasing, especially during the larger panoramic shots (see screencaptures # 5 and 17). Also, there are no large debris, damage marks, or cuts. Some extremely light compression artifacts, however, occasionally pop up here and there. Very light banding also sneaks in. Regardless, this is clearly the better of the two English-friendly releases of Band of Outsiders currently available on the market. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Band of Outsiders Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray disc: French LPCM 1.0. For the record, Criterion have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature.

The lossless track serves the film very well. The narration and the dialog are as crisp as they are on Gaumont's Blu-ray release. Michel Legrand's soundtrack also benefits from the lossless treatment, but the overall range of nuanced dynamics is indeed limited. There are no audio dropouts or distortions to report in this review. The English translation is excellent.

Band of Outsiders Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailers - Jean-Luc Godard's original theatrical trailer for Band of Outsiders and the rerelease trailer used for the film's 2001 rerelease in the United States, with added titles by Bruce Goldstein of Rialto Pictures.
  
  1. Theatrical Trailer - Music only. Not subtitled. (2 min, 1080p).
  2. Rerelease Trailer - Music only. Not subtitled. (3 min, 1080i).

• Visual Glossary - a collection of clips from Band of Outsiders with explanations of the different references and quotes they contain. Narrated in English, not subtitled. All clips are in French, with imposed English subtitles. (18 min, 1080i).
  
  1. Legrand's credit
  2. "Cinema"
  3. Fool's Gold
  4. Legrand's theme
  5. Queneau's Odile
  6. "Cold and forsaken"
  7. Franz's namesake
  8. Billy the Kid
  9. "Soft Skin"
  10. Lang's House
  11. Quoting Eliot
  12. Shakespeare
  13. Odile's namesake
  14. The tiger
  15. Legrand's Umbrellas
  16. The Gold Rush
  17. Mr. Segalot
  18. The Madison
  19. Arthur's namesake
  20. Nouvelle Vague
  21. Aragon's Les poetes
  22. Godard's mother
  23. Madwoman
  24. Loopy de Loop
  25. London's Nam-Bok
  26. "That guy"
  27. Anglares
  28. The Louvre
  29. Rimbaud's poetry
  30. The Immigrant
  31. Godard's finale

• Godard, 1964 - clips from director Andre S. Labarthe's documentary La nouvelle vague par elle-meme. In these clips, Jean-Luc Godard discusses the different taboos imposed on French Cinema prior to the New Wave as well as the creative ideas behind the groundbreaking movement. Also included is raw footage from the shooting of Band of Outsiders. In French, with optional English subtitles. (6 min, 1080i).

• Anna Karina - video interview with actress Anna Karina conducted by Criterion in 2002 at the Brasserie Lipp in Paris. The same interview also appears on Criterion's DVD release of Band of Outsiders. In French, with optional English subtitles (19 min, 1080i).

• Raoul Coutard - video interview with legendary cinematographer Raoul Coutard (Band of Outsiders, Pierrot le fou) conducted by Criterion in 2002. The same interview also appears on Criterion's DVD release of Band of Outsiders. In French, with optional English subtitles. (12 min, 1080i).

• Les fiancés du pont Mac Donald (1961) - silent short directed by Agnes Varda, which also appears in the French director's classic New Wave film Cleo From 5 to 7. Jean-Luc Godard, Anna Karina, Sami Frey, and Daniele Girard appear in the film. With French intertitles and imposed English subtitles. (6 min, 1080i).

• Booklet - illustrated booklet featuring an essay by poet and critic Joshua Clover, Jean-Luc Godard's character descriptions for Band of Outsiders's 1964 press book, and an interview with the French director from the same year.

Band of Outsiders Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Criterion's Blu-ray release of Jean-Luc Godard's Band of Outsiders is clearly the one to own. It uses as a foundation Gaumont's recent restoration of the film, but the technical presentation is indeed more convincing. French speaking fans of the film with Region-Free players, however, will probably want to purchase Gaumont's Blu-ray release as well because it contains a number of new and exclusive video interviews. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.