6.7 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
It's night on a Paris bridge. A girl leans over Seine River with tears in her eyes and a violent yearning to drown her sorrows. Out of nowhere someone takes an interest in her. He is Gabor, a knife thrower who needs a human target for his show. The girl, Adele, has never been lucky and nowhere else to go. So she follows him...
Starring: Vanessa Paradis, Daniel AuteuilForeign | 100% |
Romance | 26% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
French: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Patrice Leconte's "Girl on the Bridge" (1999) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include audio commentary by critic Manuela Lazic; the short film "La batteur du Bolero"; and vintage trailer. In French, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
You can't fool me with your silly offer. You think a sad girl on a bridge is easy meat. Yours for the asking.
Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Girl on the Bridge arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.
I have two DVD releases of Girl on the Bridge in my library, but the only one that is English-friendly is this R4 release from Australian label Madman Entertainment. I pulled it out to do direct comparisons with the Blu-ray release, but only tested two sequences and placed it back on my shelf. Why? Because the gap in quality between these releases is humongous.
It is very easy to tell that Girl on the Bridge has been fully restored because the entire film sparkles and produces astonishingly beautiful visuals. I am not exaggerating. I was so impressed with what I was seeing on my system, if I did not know that it was a 1080p presentation, I would have guessed that it was a native 4K presentation. Delineation, clearly, sharpness, and depth are outstanding, even in areas with plenty of darker nuances and unique shadows. On the DVD release I have, which boasts a good anamorphic presentation of Girl on the Bridge, darker areas almost always look soft and rather anemic. Yes, some of these limitations are unavoidable in standard definition, but the 1080p presentation easily creates the impression that a veil of some sort has been removed and now the entire film looks as it should. Also, the density levels of the visuals are exceptional, which is one of the main reasons it is very easy to speculate that the 1080p presentation looks like a native 4K presentation. Image stability is outstanding. There are no traces of problematic digital corrections. The surface of the visuals is immaculate as well. All in all, Girl on the Bridge looks sensational on Blu-ray, without a shadow of a doubt the best it ever has on any home video format. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).
There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: French DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.
Several sections of the film feature wonderful music. While dynamic intensity there is impossible to compare to that of big-budget action films, I think that there are plenty of wonderful nuances to like. The dialog is crystal-clear and very easy to follow. This said, I am a little surprised that a 5.1 track is not included because one was present on various DVD releases of Girl on the Bridge.
During the DVD era, two of my favorite 'imports' were from Australian label Madman Entertainment. The first was the label's DVD release of the three-hour-long Director's Cut of Jean-Jacques Beineix's Betty Blue. For a long, long time, it was the only English-friendly release of it. The second was the label's DVD release of Patrice Leconte's Girl on the Bridge, which I still have. I like Girl on the Bridge a lot. It is a romantic fairy tale for adults whose brilliant simplicity touches the heart in a special way. Kino Lorber's Blu-ray release offers a terrific presentation of it, so I am thrilled to have it in my library. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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