Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Delicatessen Blu-ray Movie Review

'Sweeney Todd' goes to 'Brazil'. Or something like that.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman September 25, 2010

In the long and storied history of international film, there have been perhaps surprisingly few pairs who collaborated together as co-directors. In fact, probably the only such pairing that will immediately spring to most people’s minds is the iconic Archers duet of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. But in the early to mid-1990s, another pair appeared briefly on the scene, sharing credit on two somewhat linked films, Delicatessen and The City of Lost Children. These post-apocalyptic fantasies share several common elements, including some cast members, but their unity of vision and technique can probably be squarely traced to the two men behind the camera (in both directorial and co-scenarist roles, indeed much like Powell and Pressburger), Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet. If Caro’s name doesn’t immediately ring any bells, Jeunet went on to several high profile films, including Alien Resurrection (for which Caro provided storyboards) and the charming Amélie and A Very Long Engagement. On the SD-DVD of The City of Lost Children, star Ron Perlman in his often very funny commentary, begins his monologue with something along the lines of, “Here’s the very strange opening of the film.” (Pause). “Which is followed by the very strange middle section and, finally, the very strange ending.” That same précis could well be used for Delicatessen, a film which manages to combine a sort of Sweeney Todd plotline with a low-fi post-apocalyptic feel that is strangely redolent of mid-1960s American International films like Panic in the Year Zero.

Ho-hum, just another day in the post-apocalyptic universe.

In a dusty yellow Brazil-esque post-apocalyptic future, where of course everything from phones to cars looks like it came out of the 1940s-1950s, the butcher Clapet (Jean-Claude Dreyfus) has found a ready supply of meat for his customers, namely a seemingly endless array of maintenance assistants he hires to help take care of his apartment building where the butcher shop occupies the ground floor. Delicatessen opens with the unfortunate demise of the latest of these assistants, and soon a new recruit, Louison (Dominique Pinon) has arrived, unaware that this welcomed job offering has a rather unseemly ulterior motive. Unfortunately for Clapet, soon Louison and Clapet’s daughter, Julie (Marie-Laure Dougnac), strike up a friendship which soon blossoms into a rather awkward romance. (This sort of stuttering relationship seems to be a regular feature of Jeunet’s films, from Lost Children through Engagement, not to mention Amélie, of course). Julie is aware of her father’s plans for Louison and she soon hatches a plan with a literally underground group of (vegetarian) rebels to help preserve her lover’s life.

Delicatessen is full of the sly, and extremely understated, humor that also colored The City of Lost Children. This is not the in your face comedy that tends to “tart up” American releases. Instead, it’s quieter moments like the ostensible taxi cab which Louison takes to get to the butcher shop early in the film, which Louison himself is pushing, as the taxi driver steers. The driver then charges him for the privilege of pushing his luggage to the destination. Delicatessen is a frankly odd, yet often extremely charming, film which teeters on the edge of political incorrectness virtually all of the time, but which due to its almost childlike innocence, never really seems smarmy or unseemly.

Pinon, who has been such a bizarre yet lovable feature in other Jeunet films like Lost Children and Amélie (he was also the wheelchair bound mechanic Vriess in Alien Resurrection), brings the perfect amount of whimsy to the role of Louison, playing on the character’s past as a circus clown to create some odd, yet magical, moments, such as filling soap bubbles with cigarette smoke. Contrasting that is Dreyfus’ boorish and nefarious Clapet, who nonetheless comes off as a sort of doddering, often very funny, oafish idiot a la Brutus in the old Popeye cartoons.

A lot of this film indeed plays out like a cartoon, with an emphasis on action instead of dialogue. One of the film’s most famous sequences, which was used for the theatrical trailer, is simply a marvelously edited montage of the apartment house dwellers rhythmically going about their various chores in time with Clapet’s vicious sex act above them. It’s both comical and slightly horrifying at the same time, something this film manages to achieve regularly throughout its relatively short running time.

If you’ve seen either the Caro-Jeunet The City of Lost Children, or any of Jeunet’s fantasy laden films since then, you have at least an inkling of what to expect in Delicatessen. If you’re new to these directors, prepare yourself for a very strange trip through a surreal world where everything is just this side of hallucinogenic, yet which makes sense within the context of its own insanity. It’s a “rare” achievement, more often than not “well done.”

Delicatessen Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

If I were rating Delicatessen purely for myself, I'd give this Blu-ray's AVC encoded 1080p image (in 1.85:1) probably somewhere between a 4.0 and 4.25 (if that were available), especially when it's compared to the previous home video releases of this film. Delicatessen was made on a relatively small budget, and it is deliberately foggy and smoky a lot of the time, which tends to make the image appear softer and noisier than it actually really is. The sharpness of this image becomes more apparent in the many close-ups, where the weird, Felliniesque faces which fill the film are presented in all their often startling array, despite a very noticeable layer of grain. The bulk of Delicatessen is bathed in ghastly and ghostly yellows and greens, which adds to the strange looking contrast, but this Blu-ray is most definitely a major step up from standard-def releases. However, erring on the cautious side for you persnickety videophiles (and you know who you are), I've graded this release at a conservative 3.5. You may in fact be very pleasantly surprised.

Delicatessen Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Delicatessen's original French track is presented in an excellent, if narrow, DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mix which offers an appealing mix of the minimal dialogue, foley effects (which are plentiful), and the whimsical underscore. Fidelity is really top notch here, with some great sound effects dotting the soundscape. Everything from frogs hopping in a flooded apartment to sharp and piercing drilling sounds as two other tenants assemble whatever bizarre item they're making with spools and tuning forks. Range is also excellent here, with good, robust highs and lows making this a fun and appealing sonic experience. There's obviously not a huge soundfield here to exploit, but this is as odd and idiosyncratic a soundtrack as the film itself is, and it is provided a solid lossless track on this Blu-ray.

Delicatessen Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Delicatessen has a nice mini-smorgasbord of treats in store on this Blu-ray:

• Making Of: Fine Cooked Pork Meats (SD; 13:30) is a short, but fun, look at some scenes being filmed;
• Trailer (SD; 2:08), which made the squeaky bed spring sequence of Delicatessen famous, and Teaser (SD; 1:34);
• Main Course Pieces (HD; 1:05:28), the major feast of the supplements, a nice in-depth look at how Delicatessen made it to the table;
• Audio Commentary by Jeunet, in French with subtitles, which is very informative and interesting;
• Jeunet's Archives (SD; 8:43), a collection of home movies showing the cast auditioning;
• The insert booklet contains an in-depth essay by Kim Newman, as well as production photos.
  
  

  Delicatessen Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 
  

  

  Delicatessen may not be everyone's cup of tea (so to speak), but for those who enjoy black comedy, it's a very tasty morsel and is certainly one of the more unique films of the relatively recent past. This Blu-ray offers a considerable upgrade in image and audio quality from the previous home video releases (though curmudgeons will probably take issue with the softness which accompanies the many mist-laden shots). Recommended.