7.2 | / 10 |
Users | 4.5 | |
Reviewer | 5.0 | |
Overall | 4.8 |
This comedy drama from Jean Renoir chronicles the revival of Paris' most notorious dance as it tells the story of a theater producer who turns a humble washerwoman into a star at the Moulin Rouge.
Starring: Jean Gabin, Françoise Arnoul, María Félix, Anna Amendola, Jean-Roger CaussimonForeign | 100% |
Drama | 89% |
Romance | 41% |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Musical | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.66:1
French: LPCM 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
DVD copy
Region B (locked)
Movie | 5.0 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 5.0 |
Jean Renoir's "French Cancan" (1954) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of the British Film Institute. The supplemental features on the disc include a restoration presentation and Pierre-Henri Gilbert's documentary The Show Must Go On! The Joys of Life by Jean Renoir. The disc also arrives with a 16-page illustrated booklet featuring essays by David Thompson and Ginette Billard. In French, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".
The Moulin Rouge
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 the BFI.
The following text appears inside the booklet provided with this Blu-ray disc:
"French Cancan was transferred in High Definition from the original 35 mm negatives and scanned on a Spirit Datacine. The master has been made available for this release by Gaumont.
BFI Technical Producers: James White and Douglas Weir."
As noted above, the BFI Blu-ray release of French Cancan is sourced from the same outstanding restoration Gaumont used for their local Blu-ray release in France. Unsurprisingly, the quality of the presentation is exceptionally high. Detail is outstanding, contrast levels impeccable and color reproduction simply terrific (the only difference that I noticed are the slightly more prominent blues - compare screencapture #3 to screencapture #5 from our review of the French release).
Again, there are no traces of overzealous sharpening or harmful denoising. The high-definition transfer is also free of aliasing and compression artifacts. Lastly, there are absolutely no stability issues whatsoever. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).
There is only one audio track on this Blu-ray disc: French LPCM 2.0. For the record, the BFI have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature.
The dynamic amplitude of the of the French LPCM 2.0 is identical to that of the French DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 track from the French release. Crispness and fluidity are also identical. The dialog is also clean, stable, and exceptionally easy to follow. I also did not detect any audio dropouts, sync issues, or distortions to report in this review. The English subtitles are very good.
The BFI's Blu-ray release of Jean-Renoir's French Cancan has been sourced from the same outstanding restoration Gaumont used for their Blu-ray release in France. Unsurprisingly, the presentation is of exceptionally high quality. The BFI have also included one of the two documentary films found on the French release, Pierre-Henri Gilbert's The Show Must Go On! The Joys of Life by Jean Renoir. If you have not been able to add to your collections the pricey French Blu-ray release, consider getting the BFI release. This is one of the very best restorations I've seen since the high-definition format was launched, folks. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
The Young Girls of Rochefort
1967
Un beau soleil intérieur
2017
The Earrings of Madame de...
1953
Le Beau Mariage
1982
A Woman Is a Woman / Godard: The Essential Collection
1961
My Life to Live
1962
Arrow Academy
1952
Jules & Jim / Jules et Jim
1962
1950
Children of Paradise |Restored Edition | Limited Edition Packaging
1945
37°2 le matin | Theatrical and director's cuts
1986
1934
1984
Le Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain
2001
1966
Day in the Country
1936
Trois couleurs: Blanc
1994
50th Anniversary Edition | Les Parapluies de Cherbourg / Digitally Restored
1964
1987
De rouille et d'os
2012