Jeanne Moreau: Filmmaker Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Jeanne Moreau: Filmmaker Blu-ray Movie Review

"If you want to be a director, you'll be a director..."

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown December 23, 2024

A Parisian native, renowned actress Jeanne Moreau began her career in theater and quickly began one of the leads in her troupe. In 1949, she made her first foray into film in Jean Stelli's Last Love, the first of more than 120 films in which she would appear over the next seven decades. The award-winning French star is perhaps best known in the US for roles in Louis Malle's The Lovers (1958), François Truffaut's Jules and Jim (1962), Luis Buñuel's Diary of a Chambermaid (1964) and Luc Besson's La Femme Nikita (1990), and was at the forefront of forging a filmography that defied her age in ways far ahead of her time. She also directed three films, collected here and restored from the original negatives.

The 2-disc Blu-ray release of Jeanne Moreau: Filmmaker includes three films: Lumiere (1976), The Adolescent (1979) and the documentary Lillian Gish (1984). Lumiere tells the story of four actresses -- Sarah (Moreau), Laura (Lucia Bosè), Julienne (Francine Racette) and Caroline (Caroline Cartier) -- who discuss their emotional struggles and career paths. Living intensely while dealing with numerous obstacles as actresses, their strong bond is embodied in the oldest and most famous among them, Sarah. In The Adolescent, 12-year-old Marie (Laetitia Chauveau) travels to her grandmother's house in central France. There she meets the village's new doctor, Alexandre (Francis Huster), for whom she develops feelings. The young girl gradually leaves childhood behind as the shadow of war looms over her country. Finally, Moreau pays tribute to actress Lillian Gish, the American silent film star who made her career debut in 1913. She talks about the filming conditions when she was a child, the first Hollywood blockbuster (Birth of a Nation by D.W. Griffith), her curiosity for films, and her passion for cinema.

Moreau is fascinated with the inner-workings of the female heart and mind, particularly those of performers trying to find their way, whether her actresses are playing other actresses or her real-life muses are reminiscing about the early years of their careers. Her directorial efforts couldn't be more different, and yet she takes great care to unearth the honesty and utmost desires of her characters and subjects. Never one to shy from the truth of any moment, Moreau brings the same earnestness to four lifelong friends as she does to a preteen exploring their budding sexuality or an actress reflecting upon her past. All are equally important, all are given legitimacy in the eyes of the filmmaker, no matter their status, proclivity or vice. No detail is dismissed either. Things that might escape the eye or flitter past without cause for alarm are things Moreau finds intoxicating, pushing in and doubling down on whatever might peel back a performance in favor of reality.

Jeanne Moreau: Filmmaker Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

All three films are presented in 1080p with an AVC-encoded transfer, and each is restored as faithfully and proficiently as possible. Lumiere opens the trio beautifully, with a striking image that boasts vibrant reds, lifelike skintones, deep black levels, and excellent delineation. Contrast is balanced perfectly in all but a handful of shots, and I didn't catch sight of any issues like macroblocking or banding. Grain is pleasing and consistent, while detail delivers. Edge definition is clear, natural and refined, textures are often crisp and revealing, and the only scenes that struggle are those in which softness is inherent and traces back to the original source elements and cinematography.

The Adolescent also impresses, thanks to a lovely palette brimming with lush greens and convincing earthtones and a level of detail that showcases the best the three-film restoration has to offer. Colors are more than satisfying, with rich blacks and humble hues that capture the country simplicity of the story and subsequent picture. Grain again is given leave to play and it does so without every impeding detail. Edges are free of halos and artificiality, fine textures are exacting, and more nuanced elements of the photography has been restored impeccably. Add to that a lack of any issues of note and you have another deceptively disarming presentation.

The only transfer that disappoints is that of Lillian Gish, but blame the rawness of the documentary interview footage, the limitations of the cameras being used, and the condition of the silent film clips that appear throughout the film. The encode itself is just as stalwart as the two before it, but the lower definition, softness and occasional bit of print damage makes it appear otherwise. Ah well, it certainly isn't a detriment to the film itself, nor does it spoil the previous presentations.

Jeanne Moreau: Filmmaker Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Each film is afforded a decidedly decent single-channel DTS-HD Master Audio Mono mix that doesn't leave much room for discussion. Voices are intelligible and competently prioritized, the films' soundscapes are relatively well-handled, and the only outlier is the documentary's track, which is subject to more air hiss and anomalies than the others. I don't have any real complaints, but I also wasn't drawn in sonically, at least not in any meaningful way.

Jeanne Moreau: Filmmaker Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Lumiere

• Pour le cinema: Tournage de Lumiere (SD, 13 minutes) - Moreau and her actresses discuss her directorial debut, her approach to filmmaking, and her motivations to pursue opportunities behind the camera.

• Theatrical Trailer (HD)

The Adolescent

• Petite histoire de nos stars: Jeanne Moreau (SD, 17 minutes) - Moreau, actress Simone Signoret and cinematographer Pierre Gautard on the set of The Adolescent.

• Cine-Regards: Il y a Jeanne (SD, 15 minutes) - Casting and locations with Moreau.

• Salle des fetes: Cinema (SD, 5 minutes) - Moreau on her dual roles as actress and director.

Lillian Gish

• Interview with Clint Eastwood (SD, 22 minutes) - Moreau interviews Eastwood at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival.

• Jeanne Moreau: Filmmaker Trailer (HD)

Jeanne Moreau: Filmmaker Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Jeanne Moreau: Filmmaker is a unique 3-film collection in that it offers a singular glimpse into the mind and filmmaking prowess of the legendary French actress, who might only be known for her performances were it not for those eager to keep her lesser known films at the forefront of modern fans' attention. The 2-disc Blu-ray release features excellent video, solid mono audio, and a decent selection of supplements.