Finally, Sunday Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

Finally, Sunday Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 28, 2014

Francois Truffaut's final film "Finally, Sunday" a.k.a. "Vivement dimanche!" arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Artificial Eye. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; recorded presentation by Serge Toubiana, president of Cinémathèque française; and audio commentary by Jean-Louis Trintignant. In French, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Julien Vercel

Someone kills a man in the same area where Julien Vercel (Jean-Louis Trintignant, Three Colors: Red, The Outside Man) has been hunting. When the police confirm that Vercel’s fingerprints are all over the dead man’s car, he becomes a suspect.

Convinced that her boss is innocent, Vercel’s elegant secretary, Barbara Becker (Fanny Ardant, Ridicule, Nathalie...), decides to solve the murder mystery before the police do. Much to her disappointment, however, she and the police discover that Vercel’s wife (Caroline Sihol, Tous les Matins du Monde) and the dead man were lovers. Meanwhile, Vercel tricks the police into believing that he has left the country and hides in his real estate office.

Sensing that it is only a matter of time before the police realize that Varcel is still in France and capture him, Barbara decides to terminate her investigation and look for a new job. But a few phone calls from an awkwardly persistent woman insisting that Vercel is a murderer who will soon get what he deserves temporarily convince her to keep working on the case. Shortly after, however, Varcel’s wife is found dead and the media declares that Vercel is indeed the missing piece in a classic revenge case.

Loosely based on Charles Williams’ novel “The Long Saturday Night”, Francois Truffaut’s last film Finally, Sunday a.k.a. Confidentially Yours blends noir atmosphere and the casual humor from the Antoine Doinel films. A touch of old-fashioned romance is also added up for warm flavor.

Truffaut’s admiration for Hitchcock’s work is easily felt throughout the film. In fact, there are entire sequences -- such as the one where the camera observes Vercel and his wife through the window of their apartment shortly before she is murdered -- that openly imitate the style of the master of suspense. Some of the editing decisions are also quite revealing.

Still, the terrific chemistry between Trintignant and Ardant and Truffaut’s complete trust in the two actors give the film a unique identity. Indeed, parts of it are not entirely believable, but because some of the more absurd situations are shot with a playful attitude and lightness that easily put a smile on one’s face, the end result actually looks and feels surprisingly fresh.

While Ardant and Trintignant are both excellent, the camera clearly favors the former. This is hardly surprising, however, as Truffaut and Ardant were romantically involved during the ‘80s and there was never any doubt that this film was meant to further solidify her star image. (Ardant earned her first Cesar nomination for her performance in Truffaut's much more intense The Woman Next Door).

Unlike Truffaut’s previous film, The Last Metro, which became his biggest commercial success, Finally, Sunday was shot in black and white. The film was lensed by the great Spanish-born, Academy Award winning cinematographer Nestor Almendros (Terrence Malick’s Days of Heaven, Barbet Schroeder’s More and The Valley).

The film’s lush orchestral soundrack was created by the legendary French composer Georges Delerue (Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Conformist, Jean Becker’s One Deadly Summer).

Finally, Sunday Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.67:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, François Truffaut's Finally Sunday arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Artificial Eye.

Generally speaking, detail and clarity are very pleasing. Image depth is also very good. Even in areas of the film where light is restricted small objects and details are exceptionally easy to see (see screencapture #13). Furthermore, there is a great range of nuanced whites and grays and solid but natural blacks (see screencapture #3). Grain is retained and easy to see throughout the entire film, though it could be slightly better exposed. There are no traces of problematic sharpening adjustments. Image stability is outstanding -- there are no transition issues, general stability issues, or edge flicker/instability. Finally, there are no large debris, cuts, damage marks, warps, or stains to report in this review. All in all, even though the film could look a bit fresher this is indeed a very strong technical presentation that offers substantial upgrades in all major areas we typically address in our reviews. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Finally, Sunday Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

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

The lossless track is excellent. Georges Delerue's lovely score very easily breathes in all the right places and it is terrifically balanced with the dialog. The seemingly random sounds and noises -- a phone ringing somewhere in the back, a car passing through, or broken glass -- are also well defined. The dialog is stable, free of background hiss and very easy to follow. The English translation is very good.

Finally, Sunday Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Introduction with Serge Toubiana - Serge Toubiana, president of Cinémathèque française, introduces Finally Sunday. In French, with optional English subtitles. (5 min).

• Trailer - original trailer for Finally Sunday. In French, with optional English subtitles. (2 min).

• Audio Commentary - Jean-Louis Trintignant recalls how he first met Francois Truffaut at a film festival and talks about the letter he wrote to him later on to let him know how much he would love to work with him, and discusses his initial impressions of the script for Finally Sunday, Truffaut's directing style and the impact success had on his work, the distinctive noir atmosphere in the film as well as the obvious Hitchcockian elements, his interactions with the Nouvelle Vague directors (Trintignant missed the movement because during its peak he was in the army), etc. In French, with optional English subtitles.

Finally, Sunday Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The script of Francois Truffaut's final film is somewhat problematic, but its lightness and the excellent chemistry between Jean-Louis Trintignant and Fanny Ardant make it very easy to enjoy. Alfred Hitchcock's influence is easily felt here, but this is hardly surprising considering the enormous admiration the French director had for his work. Artificial Eye's technical presentation of Finally, Sunday is very good, and there is an excellent audio commentary on the Blu-ray with the great Jean-Louis Trintignant. RECOMMENDED.