Claude Sautet and Romy Schneider Duo Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.0

Claude Sautet and Romy Schneider Duo Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman June 14, 2020

According to the IMDb, Romy Schneider had 64 credits as an actress, though that list includes several television appearances, including (rather incredibly) two guest shots made on two consecutive weeks in 1969 on the then insanely popular Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In (note that the link points to a DVD set, currently the only way that show is available on disc). While Schneider’s career lasted around thirty years, before her untimely death in 1982 at the tender age of 43, for those who are only prone to attending “American” movies (whether or not that appellation is completely appropriate in all instances), Schneider may be known due to only a relative handful of performances in films like The Trial, The Victors, The Cardinal, Good Neighbor Sam and perhaps especially What's New Pussycat?. Those films were all released over the course of just three years between 1962 and 1965, meaning Schneider’s “impact” on more cloistered American audiences watching only “native” films was relatively brief. While world cinema aficionados are probably no doubt aware of at least some (and quite possibly many) of Schneider’s many other performances, including in Luchino Visconti’s Ludwig, there are still a glut of international properties featuring Schneider that probably aren’t generally that well known on this side of the pond. Film Movement’s Film Movement Classics imprint has been coming to film lovers' aid in that regard with an increasing number of releases that have featured Schneider, including The Sissi Collection from a couple of years ago, and the newly released (and recently reviewed) L'important c'est d'aimer. Coming out at the same time as that last named film, this new two-fer aggregates a double feature of Schneider films that offer her in what became one of her more notable collaborations in the 1970s, with co-writer and director Claude Sautet.

For reviews of the two films in this set, please click on the following links:

César et Rosalie Blu-ray review

Les choses de la vie Blu-ray review

Claude Sautet and Romy Schneider Duo Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Video quality of each film is assessed in the above linked reviews.

Claude Sautet and Romy Schneider Duo Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Audio quality of each film is assessed in the above linked reviews.

Claude Sautet and Romy Schneider Duo Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Supplementary features on each disc are detailed in the above linked reviews.

Claude Sautet and Romy Schneider Duo Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

These first two (of five) collaborations between Schneider and Sautet make for a rather intriguing double feature, especially since both treat that time honored French tradition of a ménage à trois in decidedly different ways. Both of these films offer generally solid technical merits and each also comes with a really appealing featurette. Recommended.