Rating summary
| Movie |  | 3.5 |
| Video |  | 4.0 |
| Audio | | 4.0 |
| Extras | | 4.0 |
| Overall | | 3.5 |
Betty Blu-ray Movie Review
Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman February 20, 2022
Note: This version of this film is available on Blu-ray as part of Lies and Deceit: Five Films by Claude Chabrol.
Claude Chabrol has been decently served by the high definition era, with several of the French master's outings having been released on Blu-ray,
including several by Cohen Media Group and/or their Cohen Film Collection imprint. I've personally reviewed a bunch of Cohen releases of Chabrol
films, including Merci pour le Chocolat and The Color of Lies. More saliently in terms of this new
release from Arrow, however, are two previous Cohen releases, The Inspector Lavardin Collection, which Cohen put out in 2014, and 3 Classic Films by Claude Chabrol, which followed in 2017. Those two releases together
feature four of the five films that Arrow has aggregated in this set, and I'll be referring to my earlier reviews for things like plot recaps, as well as
more
technical aspects in terms of how video and audio quality stack up between the two. As tends to be the case, the Arrow release is stuffed to the gills
with supplements, which is one element in the Blu-ray world where Cohen tends not to offer much.
Betty was included in
3 Classic Films
by Claude Chabrol from Cohen Film Collection, and for those interested in a plot recap and my thoughts on the film, my
Betty Blu-ray review will hopefully suffice. That review also offers a
chance to compare the looks of the two transfers.
Betty Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality
Betty is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.66:1. Arrow's insert booklet really doesn't
provide any substantial information on any of the transfers in this set, offering only a generic statement that the high definition masters were restored
and provided by MK2. As with the other films in this set which had a previous release from Cohen, detail levels are largely very similar if not completely
identical, but it's the rather different color timing which may invite the most notice. While some others in this set have a noticeably blue or green look
at times, Betty has an unmistakable yellowish quality which is quite evident. Note the overall differences between the first screenshots in this
review and my review of the Cohen release, and you'll see that while Betty's jacket retains a crisp white look in both, there's definitely a yellow
ambience to the Arrow release which is not nearly as evident in the Cohen. As with others in this set, this transfer looks at least marginally darker than
the Cohen, something that can increase at least perception of suffusion, as well as highlighting a thick (and at times yellow itself) grain field. That said,
outdoor material in particular here pops beautifully a lot of the time, with a warm, natural looking palette (see screenshot 3). I noticed no compression
anomalies of any kind.
Betty Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality
Betty features an LPCM Mono track which struck me as virtually interchangeable with the LPCM 2.0 Mono track on the Cohen release. Once
again I'm not especially enthused about Matthieu Chabrol's score, but the music itself sounds fine, and all dialogue in this "talk fest" is presented
cleanly and clearly. Optional English subtitles are available.
Betty Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras
- Audio Commentary by Kat Ellinger
- Betty, from Simenon to Chabrol (HD; 16:16) is an interesting visual essay by French Cinema expert Ginette Vincendeau.
- An Interview with Ros Schwartz (HD; 15:21) is a really fascinating and worthwhile interview with the interpreter who appeared on
stage with Claude Chabrol at the National Film theatre in 1994 when he was interviewed by Ian Christie (that interview is included as a supplement
on Cop au Vin). She also has translated several novels by
Georges Simenon, and so is perfectly situated to discuss the intersection of both of these
legendary talents in Betty.
- Introduction by film scholar Joël Magny (HD; 2:57) is in French with English subtitles.
- Scene Commentaries by Claude Chabrol (HD; 32:21) are in French with English subtitles.
- Theatrical Trailer (HD; 00:53)
- Posters and Stills (HD)
Betty Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation
Chabrol is often compared rightly or wrongly to Hitchcock, and I'd say that Betty has the same sort of almost curiously dissociative quality
that Vertigo in particular offers, where there's all sorts of
psychological turmoil on display and yet the viewer may feel weirdly removed and distanced from it all. This is another presentation which shows
marked differences from the Cohen release, but technical merits are generally solid, and the supplementary package is very well done.
Recommended.
