Chronicle of a Summer Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.5

Chronicle of a Summer Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov June 27, 2013

Edgar Morin and Jean Rouch's "Chronique d'un été" a.k.a. "Chronicle of a Summer" (1961) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of the British Film Institute. The supplemental features on the disc include Florence Dauman's documentary film "Un été +50" (2011) and an audio recording of a lecture presented by director Jean Rouch at the National Film Theatre in London in 1978. The release also arrives with a 20-page illustrated booklet featuring "Chronicle of a Summer (Paris 1960): a 'sociological fresco' on film", a newly commissioned essay by professor Ginette Vincendeau, "Chronique d'un ete reviewed" by Tom Milne (originally published in Sight & Sound, Summer 1962); and an obituary of Jean Roach by Emilie Bickerton. In French, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Are you happy?

Edgar Morin and Jean Rouch’s film begins with a simple question: Are you happy? On the streets of Paris, strangers look straight into the camera, confused, surprised, unsure why they are being filmed. A woman attempts to answer the question but becomes embarrassed and quickly disappears into the crowd.

The question is only an invitation for people to open up in front of the camera. Morin and Rouch pay attention to the answers, but what they are after is the truth - capturing on film real emotions, real feelings, the type of reactions not found in mainstream films.

As some of the interviewees become comfortable with the camera’s presence their answers begin to evolve, their body language changes. Morin and Rouch do not doubt their sincerity but become concerned that authenticity, the most important aspect of their experiment, could be compromised.

The film captures some remarkable character transformations. A young woman from Italy has moved to Paris to be free, but has discovered that her life has becomes a series of controlled events. With tears in her eyes, she confesses that she has started drinking because she is no longer enthusiastic about life. She has also stopped dreaming. A few months later, however, she is interviewed again. This time her outlook on life is different.

In another segment, an African immigrant and a French girl wander around the small streets of Saint-Tropez. He finds it strange that women there are willing to show as much as they can to impress. Back home women would wear leaves to hide their sex, but the French colonialists would make fun of them.

A young Jewish woman isn't uncomfortable dating black men. But she confesses that she felt attracted to one that was a remarkable dancer. She attempts to explain exactly how she felt but quickly stops, feeling somewhat embarrassed, realizing that those around her might misinterpret her words. Later on, she mentions that during the war she spent time in a concentration camp.

And in another segment, a large group of young people discuss the war in Algeria. Some are convinced that France should protect its interests there; others support the Algerian Front de Liberation Nationale (FLN). They argue and then agree that they live in a difficult time, and that going forward their generation will face many important dilemmas.

Eventually, all of the interviewees are brought together. Like Morin and Rouch, some also wonder whether their behavior would have been different if they were unaware of the camera’s presence. They discuss their confessions, their attitude and perceptions of each other.

What makes this film special is its directness and rawness. It is a fascinating time capsule, the ultimate cinema verite project. What is captured by the camera cannot be replicated because it isn’t scripted, it isn’t prepared. It is the truth, a filmed version of life as lived by ordinary people.

Four different cinematographers assisted Morin and Rouch during the shooting of Chronicle of a Summer - Michel Brault (Mon Oncle Antoine), Roger Morillière, Jean-Jacques Tarbes (La piscine, Borsalino), and the great Raoul Coutard (Breathless, Pierrot le fou).

Note: In 1961, Chronicle of a Summer won the International Critics Prize at the Cannes Film Festival.

Chronicle of a Summer Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.37:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Edgar Morin and Jean Rouch's Chronicle of a Summer arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of the British Film Institute.

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

"Chronicle of a Summer has been restored by Cineteca di Bologna in collaboration with Argos Films working on the best available elements. It has been mastered to High Definition from an original 35mm blow-up element which was scanned and graded at 2K resolution. Michel Brault, one of the film operators, led all operations concerning the image result, tone and contrast between blacks and whites. The restoration of the soundtrack was based on a sound positive generated from an optical soundtrack and an incomplete magnetic 35mm. All restoration works were carried out by L'immagine Ritrovata in 2011.

Un ete + 50 was supplied on HD CAM SR.
Subtitles for Chronicle of a Summer and Un ete + 50 were supplied by Argos Films.

Technical production: Tim Everett (BFI).
Technical assistant: Douglas Weir (BFI)."

As the quoted text above confirms, this release uses as a foundation the exact same restoration of Chronicle of a Summer Criterion's release does. Unsurprisingly, I could not see any major discrepancies between the two releases. The majority of the close-ups boast very good depth, especially where there is plenty of light. The outdoor footage also looks quite nice (see screencapture #2), though some minor fluctuations in terms of clarity and contrast are present. Occasionally, shadow definition suffers a bit, but the effect also has plenty to do with the manner in which the filmmakers positioned their camera and captured natural light. There are no traces of excessive degraining and sharpening corrections. Where possible, dirt, debris, scratches, and stains have been removed as best as possible without affecting the integrity of the film. Needless to say, even though there are some minor inherited limitations, the final result is indeed very pleasing. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Chronicle of a Summer Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: French LPCM 2.0. For the record, the BFI have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature.

Overall dynamic intensity is limited, but this shouldn't be surprising considering the fact that Chronicle of a Summer is primarily a dialog-driven feature which was shot under some very specific conditions. However, the dialog is crisp, stable, and easy to follow. There are no audio dropouts, pops, cracks, or distortions to report in this review. The English translation is very good (but it is not identical to the one on the Criterion release).

Chronicle of a Summer Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Un ete + 50 - this is the same new documentary film from 2011, directed by Florence Dauman, that appears on Criterion's release of Chronicle of a Summer. The documentary is comprised of different outtakes and new interviews with codirector Edgar Morin, writer Raymond Bellour, and some of the interviewees from Chronicle of a Summer, including Marceline Loridan-Ivens, Nadine Ballot, and Régis Debray. The interviews were conducted in 2010. In French, with optional English subtitles. (75 min, 1080p).

• Jean Rouch Lecture- an audio recording of a lecture presented by director Jean Rouch at the National Film Theatre in London on April 25th, 1978. The French director discusses his filming style, the impact Robert Flaherty (Nanook of the North) and his work had on him, etc. In English, not subtitled. (55 min).

• Booklet - 20-page illustrated booklet featuring: "Chronicle of a Summer (Paris 1960): a 'sociological fresco' on film", a newly commissioned essay by professor Ginette Vincendeau; "Chronique d'un ete reviewed" by Tom Milne (originally published in Sight & Sound, Summer 1962); and an obituary of Jean Roach by Emilie Bickerton.

Chronicle of a Summer Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Filmmaker-anthropologist Jean Rouch and sociologist Edgar Morin's Chronicle of a Summer is an essential film to see and own. I think that without it the French New Wave movement would have been very, very different. The film was a trend-setter that resonated with all of the major directors that were part of the movement. The BFI's presentation of Chronicle of a Summer is as impressive as Criterion's presentation of the film. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.