Journeys Through French Cinema Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		4.5

Journeys Through French Cinema Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman March 24, 2021

Update: A day after I posted this review, the sad news came across my feed that Bertrand Tavernier has died.

If you were asked to name a titan or two in the annals of French cinema, whom would you choose? It seems like an almost overwhelming task if time is taken to actually think about it, but a cursory list might include such redolent names as (in no particular order) Marie-Georges-Jean Méliès, Jean Cocteau, Jean Renoir, Abel Gance, Alain Resnais, Jean-Luc Godard, François Truffaut, Robert Bresson, Marcel Carné, Louis Malle, Jacques Demy, Agnès Varda, Jacques Tati, Max Ophuls, René Clair, René Clément, Henri-Georges Clouzot — the list frankly seems endless (and I'm sure that those with an interest in French cinema may be exclaiming, "How could you not mention [fill in the blank]?"). That still may not account for the surprising fact that Bertrand Tavernier, who himself could be counted among the above aggregation of French greats, begins his Journeys Through French Cinema with a name that my hunch is very few Americans will even recognize: Jean Grémillon. Now, it turns out that (if the IMDb is to be believed), the opening episode of Tavernier’s eight part television series that is presented on this two Blu-ray disc set from Cohen Media Group, which is given the American title My Go To Filmmakers, Part 1 is evidently not the first episode which initially aired in France, and so Tavernier’s emphasis on what is arguably a lesser known French director may not seem quite as unexpected. Tavernier started his exploration of French film history a few years ago with the expansive My Journey Through French Cinema, which was both a bit of a personal biographical effort as well as an often surprising tour through various nooks and crannies of Tavernier's national accomplishments in cinema. This octet of episodes is obviously even more detailed, and for anyone who has ever loved even one French film, this will be a hugely enjoyable tour hosted by a very knowledgeable but accessible guide.

If, as seems to be the case, My Go To Filmmakers, Part 1 was not actually the original debut episode of Journeys Through French Cinema when it was initially broadcast in France, it still points out a couple of things that make this series so wonderfully informative and interesting: it highlights any number of names in the annals of French filmmaking that frankly may not have risen to the heights of some of those folks listed above, and it offers a cornucopia of comments about a certain "below the line" credit that this particular reviewer in particular especially appreciated: composers. While Tavernier's opening comments about Jean Grémillon are fascinating in and of themselves, they may become even more so for those interested (as I am) in music, since Tavernier almost immediately goes off on a "sidebar" addressing some of the composers Grémillon utilized for his films.

Tavernier in fact spends time on a number of composers, as well as other artisans, including of course a number of actors whose names have become part of the American film landscape as well, such as Jean Gabin. But music seems to be a special interest of Tavernier's, and there's even one episode notably called Les Chansons — Julien Duvivier which focuses on songwriting (as may be evident to those who read French) as well as highlighting yet another name that may not be instantly recognizable to those with only a casual interest in and/or knowledge of the history of French movie making.

While not necessarily chronological, since many episodes tend to follow what might be called a stream of consciousness or free association technique, Journeys Through French Cinema still gives a more than adequate history lesson, as Tavernier gets into aspects like film production during the German occupation (and how it played into the resistance), as well as what many would probably argue is France's single biggest contribution to world cinema, Nouvelle vague. Tavernier's analyses are often personal in nature, but they're also "universal" in a way, offering cogent commentary on what might be termed both "global" sociopolitical ramifications as well as what individual films or filmmakers meant to Tavernier personally.

The IMDb actually lists ten episodes for Journeys Through French Cinema in its original French formulation, and so I'm not entirely sure if this release features everything that was first broadcast, but the eight episodes that are included here are a veritable grabbag of film clips through decades of amazing films. Tavernier manages to be both engaging and instructive throughout, offering a nice balance between "introducing" various aspects to those who may not be overly familiar with the incredible accomplishments of those who contributed to the French film industry, as well as offering insight even for those who consider themselves experts in this particular corner of world cinema. The only downside to this exhaustive tour is that many film fans may be instantly inspired to go on the hunt for a variety of French films that haven't yet made it to Blu-ray, but that might frankly be a good thing, and something that Cohen Media Group itself may end up helping with, if I might be permitted to posit a fervent wish.

Journeys Through French Cinema Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Journeys Through French Cinema is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Cohen Media Group with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in a variety of aspect ratios, with the contemporary interview segments in 1.85:1 and a lot of the archival film segments in or near Academy Ratio (which can range slightly in width). As is typically the case with this kind of documentary, the glut of different source material can lead to a rather major variation in everything from detail levels to grain structure to contrast, but a lot of the film snippets look very good, though not always perfect. It did look to me like some of these may have been interlaced at some point, since there are occasional combing artifacts or aliasing. Some of the older television moments also have some telltale signs of upscaling, like stair stepping. The contemporary interview segments all look fine, with good detail levels and a natural looking palette.

Journeys Through French Cinema Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Journeys Through French Cinema offers an LPCM 2.0 track in the original French, with forced English subtitles. As with the video element with regard to the archival footage, audio quality can vary somewhat, but is typically fine. Some of the oldest material can sound boxy and almost hollow, but the newer films tend to sound fine. Tavernier's comments are always easy to hear whether they're delivered on screen or as voiceover. Having forced English subtitles made taking screenshots without subtitles a bit of a challenge, but I've also provided three with subtitles to indicate that they can appear at either the top or the bottom of the frame, depending on individual moments.

Journeys Through French Cinema Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer (HD; 1:01)

Note: This sole supplement is found on Disc One of the two disc set.

Journeys Through French Cinema Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I wouldn't consider myself any kind of real expert in French cinema, though I count several of the names I aggregated above among my favorite filmmakers, no matter their nationality, and I have a genuine love and appreciation for all sorts of French film composers from Georges Delerue to Michel Legrand to Michel Colombier, and so I personally found Tavernier's emphasis on scoring to be really interesting. Even if you don't particularly care for an exploration of French film scores, there is so much else offered in this appealing eight part documentary that I can't imagine anyone with even a passing interest in world cinema would not enjoy this. With an understanding that with a piece like this featuring so many different source elements, there's an undeniably heterogeneous appearance on display here at times, technical merits are solid and Journeys Through French Cinema comes Highly recommended.