Donkey Skin Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Donkey Skin Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov July 16, 2014

Jacques Demy's "Donkey Skin" a.k.a. "Peau d'ane" (1970) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include a segment from an episode of the French television program Pour le cinema; audio excerpts from an interview with Jacques Demy at the American Film Institute; filmed discussion with critic Camille Taboulay, psychoanalysts Lucille Durrmeyer and Jean-Claude Polack, and seventeenth-century literature specialist Liliane Picciola; and more. In French, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

The color of the moon?

Note: Donkey Skin is part of Criterion's upcoming The Essential Jacques Demy Blu-ray box set.

A powerful King (the great Jean Marais, Beauty and the Beast, Orpheus) promises his dying Queen (Catherine Deneuve, Belle de jour) that he will only marry someone more beautiful than her. After the Queen’s funeral, the King sends emissaries to the neighboring kingdoms to find his future wife. Soon after, the emissaries return with portraits of single and willing to marry princesses. When the King rejects all of them, one of his ministers shows him a portrait of his daughter (again Deneuve). Visibly overwhelmed by her beauty, the King immediately announces that she will be the next Queen.

But when the King summons the young princess and reveals to her his intention to marry her she panics and begs him to give her some time to think on it -- and then runs to consult her fairy godmother (Delphine Seyrig, Last Year at Marienbad, Daughters of Darkness), who encourages her to ask the King to give her impossibly extravagant gifts (like a dress the color of the moon) until they figure out what to do. Eventually, the terrified princess runs away from the castle, wearing the stinky skin of the King’s favorite magic donkey.

The princess finds a safe haven in a small village far away from the castle where she is routinely scoffed at for wearing the donkey skin. Then one day a young and handsome prince (Jacques Perrin, Cinema Paradiso) from a neighboring kingdom discovers her. Soon after the prince returns home, however, he falls seriously sick. The King’s physicians promptly examine him and then announce that he can be cured only if he marries the woman that has stolen his heart.

Jacques Demy’s adaptation of Charles Perrault’s popular fairy tale Peau d'ane a.k.a. Donkey Skin is a stylish and very elegant period film which certainly can be enjoyed by children and adults. For example, the fantasy world in which the beautiful princess must hide her true identity has just about everything a child can think of -- talking roses, playful fairies, and even a donkey that defecates diamonds and rubies. There is magic everywhere and no one questions its existence (except this reviewer, who thinks that the 'magical' appearance of the helicopter at the end of the film is a bit too much even for a fantasy world full of flying fairies). But there are also some rather fascinating relationships in this world, which an adult viewer will surely have a great time scrutinizing -- the widowed King is determined marry his own daughter (!), but is it because he simply sees his late Queen in her or because he has something else in mind; the fairy godmother is eager to help the confused princess, but it seems like she has a plan of her own that involves the King; and when the princess meets the prince in the forest, do they really mean everything they say/sing: “We’ll smoke a pipe in secret. We’ll stuff ourselves on cake. We’ll do all that is forbidden.”

Portions of the dialog are sung by the actors, but neither the solo parts nor the duets are as elaborate as those heard in Demy's The Young Girls of Rochefort and The Umbrellas of Cherbourg.

Michel Legrand’s soundtrack is sublime. It blends classical music and light jazz with some beautifully orchestrated vocal pieces. Arguably the best one is "Recette pour un cake d'amour" a.k.a. "Recipe for a Love Cake" heard while Deneuve prepares the cake requested by the sick prince.

Donkey Skin Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.67:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Jacques Demy's Donkey Skin arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

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

"Approved by Mathieu Demy, this new digital transfer was created in 4K resolution on a Scanity film scanner from the 35mm original camera negative at Digimage-Classics in Paris, where the film was then restored in 2K. This 2013 restoration was undertaken by Cine-Tamaris, with the participation of Van Cleef & Arpels and the Domaine Natoinal de Chambord, and the support of the Centre national du cinema et de l'image animee and mySkreen.com. The 5.1 soundtrack was remastered at 24-bit from the restored stereo mix."

I don't have a DVD release of this film in my library, but I feel very comfortable stating that it has never looked this good before. Indeed, clarity and especially image depth are outstanding. When projected, the film also looks remarkably vibrant and fluid. Colors are rich and well saturated but never appearing digitally boosted. This is important to clarify because in different parts of the film there are very unique lighting choices (see screencaptures #3 and 10). Contrast levels remain stable throughout the entire film. Furthermore, there are no traces of problematic degraining corrections and edge-enhancement is not an issue of concern. Predictably, grain is visible throughout the entire film and is always very well resolved. Overall image stability is outstanding -- there are no transition issue or other common stability issues. Lastly, large damage marks, debris, scratches, and stains have been carefully removed without affecting the integrity of the film. All in all, Donkey Skin has been beautifully restored and its transition to Blu-ray is mighty impressive. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Donkey Skin Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. For the record, Criterion have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature.

The new 5.1 mix allows Michel Legnard's beautiful score to shine in all the right places (for example, listen to the lush orchestra around the 54-minite mark, where the prince is seen coming back to the palace). The music is also beautifully balanced with the dialog. There are no pops, cracks, background hiss, audio dropouts, or distortions to report in this review. This said, it would have been great if the release also included a restored original mono track.

Donkey Skin Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Pour le cinema - presented here is a segment from a 1970 episode of the French television program Pour le cinema, in which Jacques Demy, Catherine Deneuve, Jean Marais, and Jacques Perrin discuss some of the unique qualities of Charles Perrault's popular fairy tale. Also included is raw footage from the shooting of Donkey Skin. In French, with optional English subtitles. (12 min, 1080p).

• "Donkey Skin" Illustrated - this short French program from 2008 examines different illustrated editions of Charles Perrault's popular fairy tale. In French, with optional English subtitles. (12 min, 1080p).

• "Donkey Skin" and the Thinkers - presented here is a filmed discussion with critic Camille Taboulay, psychoanalysts Lucille Durrmeyer and Jean-Claude Polack, and seventeenth-century literature specialist Liliane Picciola. The four participants discuss Jacques Demy's unusual adaptation of Donkey Skin, and the key relationships in the film (and specifically the "booby traps", as described by Jacques Demy, that can be discovered throughout the film), the themes of incest and love, etc. The discussion was filmed in 2008. In French, with optional English subtitles. (17 min, 1080i).

• Jacques Demy at the American Film Institute - a collection of excerpted audio recordings from 1971 in which Jacques Demy discusses his directing methods, his collaborations with Michel Legrand and Catherine Deneuve, his passion for cinema, etc. In English, not subtitled. (43 min).
  
  1. Playing together
  2. A natural musical
  3. Adult fairy tale
  4. Why make movies?

Donkey Skin Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Jacques Demy's Donkey Skin, which pays homage to Jean Cocteau's legendary film Beauty and the Beast, can be enjoyed by children and adults. It is beautiful to look at and certainly quite fascinating to deconstruct (viewers who love to look for hidden messages in their films are guaranteed to have a terrific time with it). The film has been recently restored and now makes its high-definition world premiere via Criterion's upcoming The Essential Jacques Demy Blu-ray box set. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.