Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		5.0

French Cancan Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov September 8, 2010

Jean Renoir's "French Cancan" (1954) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Gallic distributors Gaumont. The supplemental features on the disc include the documentary features "Le spectacle avant tout! (La joie de vivre par Jean Renoir)" and "Renoir(s), en suivant les fils de l'eau"; restoration presentation by Gaumont's tech team; and the film's restored original trailer. In French, with optional English and French SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Nini and her lover

Famous impresario Henri Danglard (Jean Gabin, Pépé le Moko) has seen the last days of his once trendy cafe 'Le Paravent Chinois'. Trying to stay positive, he often visits Montmartre, together with his Egyptian lover and former belly dancer Lola de Castro (María Félix, Hidden River). Montmartre is the only place that makes Danglard feel alive.

One day, while visiting Montmartre with a group of aristocratic friends, Danglard sees a young girl, Nini (François Arnoul, Illegal Cargo), dancing for her lover, Paulo (Franco Pastorino, Poverty and Nobility). Nini is beautiful, charming and naturally elegant - the type of young woman Danglard’s aristocratic friends will pay to see dancing when they feel the need to be entertained.

On the following day, Danglard returns to Montmartre and makes Nini an offer - if she is interested, he would pay for her dancing lessons and make her a star. Nini immediately assumes that Danglard is just another old man looking for a young mistress. Before she accepts his offer, Nini goes back to Paulo so that he could be the first man to have made love to her.

The dancing lessons begin, and Nini quickly proves that she has the potential to be a star. Danglard can already imagine Moulin Rouge - a lavish new theater filled with Cancan dancers, and his dazzling star, Nini, who will inspire Parisian men to spend their money.

While Danglard attempts to secure the finances for Moulin Rouge, one of his aristocratic friends, the wealthy Prince Alexandre (Giani Esposito, Paris Belongs to Us), falls madly in love with Nini. But Nini is already in love with Danglard, who she believes is the only man who has ever been able to appreciate her for the person she is. Angered by Danglard’s obsession with Nini and Moulin Rouge, Lola de Castro sabotages his plan to purchase the land where the theater is to be built and confronts Nini, who publicly admits that she is seeing Danglard. Devastated by Nini’s confession, Prince Alexandre attempts to shoot himself but misses. Nini agrees to spend one night with the heartbroken Prince Alexandre in return for the deeds to Moulin Rouge, which he has obtained from Lola de Castro. Shortly after, Moulin Rouge is opened for business.

Jean Rneoir’s French Cancan is formally divided into two halves. The first is shaped as a classic period melodrama in which fascinating characters fall in love, become jealous, and eventually find happiness. In a way, it is a tasty appetizer served before a delicious finale.

The second half is a stunning musical, a feast for the eyes, overflowing with lush colors and beautiful music. Once the gorgeous girls of Moulin Rouge take the stage and begin dancing and teasing the enthusiastic Parisian crowd, French Cancan evolves into a grand spectacle that cannot be described with simple words. Men and women, young and old, everyone applauds the girls, the music, and Moulin Rouge.

Amongst the many performers are real stars – the legendary Edith Piaf, the unforgettable Patachou, Andre Claveau and Jean Raymond - who graced the stage of the real Moulin Rouge during the years.

Lastly, this newly restored version of Renoir's French Cancan is indeed the original French theatrical version of the film, with all of the "inappropriate" footage cut from the American theatrical version fully intact.

French Cancan Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Jean Renoir's French Cancan arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of French distributors Gaumont.

French Cancan has been meticulously restored by Gaumont, and this high-definition transfer is indeed quite remarkable -- fine object detail is exceptionally strong, clarity excellent and contrast levels consistent throughout the entire film. What impresses the most, however, is the color-scheme; reds, blues, yellows, greens, browns and blacks are so lush and rich it truly is hard to believe that French Cancan was filmed some fifty five years ago. Edge-enhancement is never an issue of concern. I did not see any traces of heavy noise reduction either. On the contrary, blown through a digital projector French Cancan conveys wonderful depth and natural crispness. Last but not least, I also did not see any disturbing scratches, flecks, debris, or cuts to report in this review. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location. For the record, there is no problematic PAL or 1080/50i content preceding the disc's main menu).

French Cancan Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one audio track on this Blu-ray disc: French DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 (Mono). For the record, Gaumont have provided optional English and French SDH subtitles for the main feature.

The audio treatment is as impressive as the video treatment. The French DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 track delivers crisp and nuanced sound that is also exceptionally well balanced (a quick comparison with the R1 SDVD from Criterion's Jean Renoir boxset reveals a number of improvements addressing the frequent sound fluctuations present on the R1 SDVD release). Additionally, the dialog is clean, stable and very easy to follow.

French Cancan Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Note: Some of the supplemental features on this Blu-ray disc are encoded in PAL. Therefore, if you reside in North America, or another region where PAL is not supported, you must have a Region-Free player capable of converting PAL to NTSC, or a TV set capable of receiving native PAL data, in order to view them.

Le spectacle avant tout! La joie de vivre par Jean Renoir - a documentary feature by Pierre-Henri Gilbert, with special guests Francoise Arnoul, Guy Cavagnac, Sophie Renoir, Rosine Delamare, Max Douy, Claude Gauteur and Olivier Curchod. In French, not subtitled. (57 min, 1080p).

Renoir(s), en suivant les fils de l'eau - a documentary film by Anne-Marie Faux and Jean-Pierre Devillers focusing on Renoir's legacy. In French, not subtitled. (51 min, PAL)

French Cancan restaure - a wonderful presentation by the tech team at Gaumont responsible for the restoration of French Cancan. In French, not subtitled. (6 min, 1080p).

Bande-annonce - the trailer for the restored version of French Cancan. In French, not subtitled. (4 min, 1080p).

French Cancan Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

French distributors Gaumont's Blu-ray release of Jean Renoir's French Cancan is a thing of beauty. Actually, it might well be the best looking French Blu-ray release I have seen thus far. Bravo Gaumont, and please keep on releasing. Do not hesitate to place your orders, folks - this is a very, very special release. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.