Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.5

Judex Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov June 15, 2014

Georges Franju's "Judex" (1963) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include two short films directed by Georges Franju, "Le Grand Melies" (1952) and "Hotel des Invalides" (1952); video interview with actress Francine Berge; video interview with scenarist Jacques Champreux; and a documentary program created by Andre S. Labarthe. The release also arrives with an illustrated booklet featuring an essay by Geoffrey O'Brien's and a selection of comments by Georges Franju on "Judex" and related topics. In French, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

The magician

The corrupt banker Favraux (Michel Vitold, La nuit de Varennes) is sent a letter signed by Judex urging him to atone for his crimes by turning half of his fortune to his victims. Favraux is more annoyed than disturbed by it, but nevertheless orders private detective Cocantin (Max Montavon, Justine de Sade) to find out who sent the letter.

On the following night, while celebrating his daughter Jacqueline’s (Edith Scob, Eyes Without a Face) engagement and the 20th anniversary of his bank, Favraux unexpectedly collapses in front of his guests and is then quickly pronounced dead. Shortly after, his body is transported to an abandoned castle by a group of men dressed in black.

Meanwhile, the devastated Jacqueline asks her father’s secretary Vallieres (Channing Pollock) to help her fill out the proper documents to officially reject her inheritance. The old man does what he is told to do and soon after the two part ways.

While trying to rebuild her life without the presence of her authoritative father, Jacqueline is kidnapped by the evil governess Diana (Francine Berge, The Diary of an Innocent Boy, Mr. Klein) and her assistant. Not realizing that Jacqueline has rejected the wealth of her father, the kidnappers demand to be given access to his accounts. But out of nowhere the mysterious Judex appears and vows to protect the visibly overwhelmed Jacqueline.

Georges Franju’s Judex is a fascinating hybrid of a film. At its core it is clearly a homage to Louis Feuillade's 1916 seial -- as envisioned by Feuillade, the mysterious Judex is essentially a superhero who emerges from the shadows and punishes the corrupt and evil ones. The film’s fragmentation also mimics the episodic structure of Feuillade's serial.

The tone and atmosphere of Franju’s Judex, however, are vastly different. After Favraux’s collapse at the ball, the film evolves into a surrealistic tale that seems far more interested in creating confusion than solving mysteries or following closely the relationships between its key characters. In other words, Judex very much functions as an early silent film -- it lets the viewer’s imagination fill gaps and arrange its scattered pieces -- despite the fact that it was created in the early ‘60s with what was at the time the latest filming equipment.

The mysterious Judex is played by American magician Channing Pollock, who was undoubtedly the right man for the role as he remains a shadowy figure. Pollock utters only a few lines throughout the film and most of the time Franju’s camera prefers to observe him from afar. The only time the camera comes closer and seems genuinely interested in him is when he enters the ball room with the giant bird headdress.

The unusual atmosphere in Judex is greatly enhanced by the presence of some truly fantastic sound effects that easily could have been used in late '70s or early '80s sci-fi films. When Judex enters the castle or later on observes his prisoner on the moving monitor, there are thick electronic sounds and even a few quite surprising acoustic effects.

The film’s appropriately moody score was created by legendary Oscar winning composer Maurice Jarre (David Lean’s Doctor Zhivago and Lawrence of Arabia, Luchino Visconti’s The Damned).

Judex Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.67:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Georges Franju's Judex arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

The following text appears inside the booklet provided with this Blu-ray release:

"This new digital transfer was created in 2K resolution on an ARRISCAN film scanner from the 35mm original camera negative at Eclair Laboratories in Epinay-sur-Seine, France. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, and warps were manually removed using MTI's DRS, while Digital Vision's Phoenix was used for flicker, jitter, grain mangement, and small dirt. The original monaural soundtrack was remastered at 24-bit from a 35mm soundtrack negative. Clicks, thumps, hiss, and hum were manually removed using Pro Tools HD. Crackle was attenuated using AudioCube's integrated workstation.

Transfer supervisor and colorist: Lee Kline."

The film looks quite beautiful in high-definition. Virtually all close-ups impress with strong depth, though some minor fluctuations are present because occasionally natural light is dramatically restricted to further enhance the unique atmosphere (see screencaptures #4 and 12). The nighttime footage boasts pleasing fluidity (see the sequences at the end of the film where Judex's assistants climb the building). Contrast levels remain stable throughout the entire film. The blacks, whites and grays are wonderfully well balanced -- there are no traces of boosting or other problematic digital enhancements. Furthermore, there are no traces of compromising degraining or sharpening corrections. There are a few areas where some extremely mild grain fluctuations are visible, but the entire film has a very solid organic appearance. Overall image stability is very good. Finally, there are no large cuts, damage marks, debris, stains, or warps. The encoding is excellent. All in all, this is a very strong and very convincing presentation of Judex which is guaranteed to please its fans, as well as those who are going to experience the film for the first time on Blu-ray. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Judex Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: French LPCM 1.0. For the record, Criterion have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature.

The unique sound effects benefit tremendously from the lossless treatment, but there are also random sounds and noises that are exceptionally easy to identify (see the sequence where Favraux kills the old man with his car). There is a very good range of nuanced dynamics that also allow Oscar winning composer Maurice Jarre's score to shine in all the right places. The dialog is stable, clean, and very easy to follow. There are no pops, cracks, background hiss, audio dropouts, or distortions to report in this review.

Judex Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Francine Berge - in this video interview, actress Francine Berge recalls how she was approached to play Anna in Judex, and discusses the film's unusual structure and visual style, her performance, Georges Franju's directing methods, and how some of the most memorable sequences were shot. Francine Berge was one of the French director's three favorite actresses. (The other two were Emmanuelle Riva and Edith Scob). The interview was recorded in 2012 for the Cinematheque francaise in Paris. In French, with optional English subtitles. (11 min, 1080i).

• Jacques Champreux - in this video interview, scenarist Jacques Champreux discusses his collaboration with Georges Franju on Judex and points out some of the differences and similarities between the film and the serial that inspired it. (Georges Franju's film was a remake of Louis Feuillade's 1916 serial). The interview was conducted in 2007. In French, with optional English subtitles. (12 min, 1080i).

• Franju le visionnaire - this documentary program focuses on the life and legacy of Georges Franju. Included in the program are clips from various films directed by Georges Franju and clips from archival interviews with the French director. The program was created by Andre S. Labarthe, and was original broadcast on September 2, 1998, as part of the French television series Cinema, de notre temps. In French, with optional English subtitles. (52 min, 1080p).
  
  1. Introduction
  2. Blood of the Beasts
  3. Head Against the Wall
  4. Documentaries and art films
  5. Color vs. black and white
  6. Judex
  7. Eyes Without a Face

• Le Grand Melies - this early biographical film directed by Georges Franju in 1952 is a homage to the great George Melies (A Trip to the Moon). It features Madame George Melies and Andre Melies (in the role of his father). In French, with optional English subtitles. (32 min, 1080p).

• Hotel des Invalides - this early short film directed by Georges Franju in 1952 focuses on the history of the legendary Hotel des Invalides, which was founded in 1675 by Louis XIV as a retirement home for disabled veterans. Hotel des Invalides also houses some of France's greatest war heroes and dignitaries, including Napoleon Bonaparte. The film is narrated by Michel Simon (L'atalante, Beauty of the Devil). The soundtrack for the short was created by composer Maurice Jarre, who scored Judex. In French, with optional English subtitles. (23 min, 1080i).

• Booklet - 36-page illustrated booklet featuring: Geoffrey O'Brien's essay "The Secret Heart of Judex" (the author's books include The Phantom Empire, Sonata for Jukebox, and most recently Stolen Glimpses, Captive Shadows: Writing on Film, 2002-2012), and a selection of comments by Georges Franju on Judex and related topics.

Judex Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Georges Franju's Judex was conceived as a homage to Louis Feuillade's 1916 serial, but it is very clear that it was directly influenced by Fantomas. The end result is a dark and often quite cynical but also unusually poetic film that works as a stylish crime drama as well as a surrealistic superhero film. Judex has been recently restored in 2K in France and looks quite magnificent on Blu-ray. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.