Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.5

Betty Blue Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov December 5, 2013

Nominated for Oscar Award for Best Foreign Language Films, Jean-Jacques Beineix's "37°2 le matin" a.k.a. "Betty Blue" (1986) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Second Sight Films. The release contains the Theatrical Version and the long Director's Cut of the film. The supplemental features include archival footage from an early screen test with actress Beatrice Dalle and an a new documentary film produced by Severin Films and Second Sight Films. In French, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

The lovers

Jean-Jacques Beineix’s 37°2 le matin a.k.a. Betty Blue is the type of film that could never be made in America -- for a number of reasons. One of them has to do with the fact that in America romantic films cannot be explicit. There can be plenty of lovemaking in them but under the sheets, away from the camera. Another reason is the fact that the main protagonists are also ordinary people who lead ordinary lives. They make as much love as they can and do not try to change the world. They are not on the run, they don’t have any lofty ambitions, and they aren’t planning to kill anyone. They just happen to have found each other and realized that they were meant to be together. In other words, there is no good reason to tell their story. Finally, the film is comprised of various fragments, all of which are in fact memories, which do not have conventional endings.

The memories belong to Zorg (Jean-Hugues Anglade, Killing Zoe, Léon: The Professional), a young man who fixes things in a seaside community in the south of France. He is in a relationship with Betty (Beatrice Dalle, Domain, Trouble Every Day), a beautiful girl who likes being naked. They live in a bungalow that has a bad, a table, some chairs, and plenty of books scattered all over the floor.

While arguing with Zorg, Betty accidentally discovers a manuscript he has written and becomes obsessed with it. Shortly after, the two torch their bungalow and head to Paris, where they get a room in a house owned by one of Betty’s childhood friends, Lisa (Consuelo de Haviland, The Unbearable Lightness of Being).

Lisa is young, beautiful, sexually frustrated, and excited to have Zorg and Betty around her because they make her feel alive. A couple of days after they move in, she comes home with Eddy (Gerard Darmon, The Tit and the Moon, Notre Histoire), who owns a small pizza parlor and loves red wine. The two couples have plenty of fun together.

When Eddy’s mother dies, he asks if Zorg and Betty would be interested in running the family’s piano store in the country. They immediately agree and leave Paris behind. Eventually, Betty tells Zorg that she is expecting a baby.

Years ago, Betty Blue struck a chord with me because I was in a relationship with a woman who completely changed the way I lived my life. In a way she was like Betty -- relentless, demanding, inspiring. Our relationship lacked the drama that enters Betty and Zorg’s relationship during the final third of the film, but there was a time when we felt like them, ready to risk everything, living life to the fullest. We were not experimenting, what we did simply felt right.

Most people have such experiences -- obviously, not as intense and certainly not as tragic as Betty and Zorg’s, but there is always one that they vividly remember when they grow older. In Betty Blue, Zorg recalls the time he spent with his "other half", the one woman that made life worth living for him. She wasn’t perfect or easy to tolerate, but she completed him. That’s all.

Lebanese-born composer Gabriel Yared's (Camille Claudel, The English Patient) soundtrack, a mix of beautiful sax and piano solos, is legendary.

There are two official versions of Betty Blue. The shorter theatrical version runs at approximately 116 minutes. The longer director’s cut (version integrale) of the film runs at approximately 185 minutes. In the theatrical version not only various scenes but complete memories are simply missing.

Betty Blue Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.67:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Jean-Jacques Beineix's Betty Blue arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Second Sight Films.

Please note that the Blu-ray contains the short Theatrical Version of the film and the long Director's Cut of the film. All screencaptures included with this review are from director Beineix's cut of the film.

Running times:

1. Director's Cut (Version integrale): 03.04.41.
2. Theatrical Version: 02.01.03.

I like how the Director's Cut of Betty Blue looks in high-definition quite a lot. Excluding some minor sporadic artifacts (see the bottom left area of screencapture #3), the technical presentation is indeed very pleasing. Image depth and clarity are excellent, especially where there is plenty of natural light, while colors are lush, stable, and natural. The very distracting smoothing effect from the U.S. release -- which has only the short theatrical version of the film -- is also missing. Contrast levels are stable. There are no traces of problematic degraining/filtering corrections. Sharpening adjustments also have not been applied. Unsurprisingly, the film has a very pleasing organic look. Overall image stability is also very good. This being said, there are two transitions where I noticed some very light banding. However, I doubt most viewers will be able to spot them. Indeed, viewed on a large TV, or projected, the film looks the best it ever has. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location. For the record, there is no problematic 1080/50i or PAL content preceding the disc's main menu).

Betty Blue Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Director's Cut and the Theatrical Version of Betty Blue arrives with French LPCM 2.0 track. For the record, Second Sight Films have provided optional English subtitles for each version.

The inclusion of lossless audio -- unlike the Second Sight Films' release the U.S. release and the Australian release of Betty Blue have only lossy tracks -- makes an enormous difference. Now Gabriel Yared's legendary soundtrack completely transforms the viewing experience -- the lonely sax solos sound quite remarkable and effectively add to the film's special atmosphere. There is also a good range of nuanced dynamics (see the sequence where Zorg and his friend try to move the piano). The dialog is crisp, clean, stable, and very easy to follow.

Betty Blue Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Note: All of the supplemental features are placed on a separate DVD, which is PAL-encoded. Therefore, of you reside in North America you need to have a Region-Free Blu-ray player, standard Blu-ray player that can convert PAL to NTSC, or Region-Free DVD player to access its content.

• Blue Note and Bungalows: The Making of Betty Blue - this new excellent documentary, produced by Severin Films and Second Sight Films, focuses on the rather unusual production history of Betty Blue. Included in it are various illuminating interviews with director Jean-Jacques Beineix, producer Claudie Ossard, actors Beatrice Dalle (Betty) and Jean-Hugues Anglade (Zorg), cinematographer Jean-Francois Robin, and composer Gabriel Yared, in which they recall their experiences and work during the shooting of the film. In English and French, with imposed yellow English subtitles where necessary. (62 min).

• Beatrice Dalle Screen Test - archival footage from an early screen test with a very young Beatrice Dalle. In French, with imposed English subtitles. (5 min).

Betty Blue Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I am very happy with Second Sight Films' new Blu-ray release of Jean-Jacques Beineix's Betty Blue. There is some room for minor improvements, but I feel that we finally have a release that does this beautiful film justice. Together with Severin Films, the British distributors have also produced a wonderful new documentary which features some truly illuminating interviews. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.