Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.5

Jules & Jim Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov July 23, 2014

Francois Truffaut's "Jules and Jim" (1962) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Artificial Eye. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; introduction by Serge Toubiana, president of Cinémathèque française; and audio commentary with Jeanne Moreau conducted by Serge Toubiana. In French, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

The friends

The film begins in pre-war Paris where students Jules (Oskar Werner, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, Fahrenheit 451) and Jim (Henri Serre, Le Combat dans l'ile, The Fire Within) try to live life to the fullest. Jules is Austrian and Jim French, but both are equally passionate about literature, art, and women.

After a trip to Greece, the two friends are introduced to the free-spirited Catherine (Jeanne Moreau, Elevator to the Gallows, La Notte), who quickly forces them to see the world they live in differently. They begin fantasizing about having families and growing older with someone they love dearly. Initially Jules and Jim are afraid to admit that the special someone is Catherine, but eventually they admit to each other that she is the woman that can make their dreams come true.

Catherine loves both men, but chooses the slightly more conservative Jules and they marry. Soon after, WWI begins and Jules and Jim are forced to head in different directions. During the war they frequently think about Catherine and how horrible it would be if they had to face each other in a battle.

After the war, Jim, now making ends meet as a reporter, visits Jules and Catherine on their chalet on the Reine. Jim is convinced that their union could not be stronger, but Jules quickly confesses to him that Catherine is no longer the woman he once fell in love with -- through she is a good mother, she’s had many lovers and has become nostalgic about her bohemian past. Deeply concerned about his friends and still madly in love with Catherine, Jim decides to stay with them for as long as possible in order to restore the harmony in their lives.

Francois Truffaut’s legendary film does not look or feel as groundbreaking today as it did during the early 60s because for the most part the easiness with which it accepts and celebrates the relationship between its protagonists is no longer controversial. But without it the likes of Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Dreamers, Andrzej Zulawski’s La fidelite, and Xavier Dolan’s Heartbeats undoubtedly would have looked very, very different.

The title singles out the two male protagonists, but the film actually belongs to Moreau’s Catherine. Her quirkiness and passion for life really set the tone for the entire film and force the audience to care about the relationship it chronicles. The lack of moralistic statements makes the film even more attractive.

It is important to clarify, however, that Jules and Jim isn’t a light and breezy romantic period piece. With only a couple of sequences Truffaut effectively captures the ugliness of war and the essence of the insecurity war brings in people’s lives. War also breeds suffocating fear and in Jules and Jim its presence is easily felt.

Truffaut was only 29 when he completed Jules and Jim with the great cinematographer Raoul Coutard (A Woman Is A Woman, Weekend), but the film’s visual style is remarkably mature. The camera moves freely, but the frequently unorthodox close-ups and zooms never feel rushed or disorganized. Some raw documentary footage and different framing are used to enhance the sense of realism, but they do not affect the rhythm of the film. Light and shadow are also carefully employed and balanced.

Throughout the film a narrator also describes events or highlights important facts for the viewer. The technique, which Truffaut admired and used in many of his films, makes the frequent transitions between different periods easy and effective.

Jules & Jim Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.39:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, François Truffaut's Jules and Jim arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Artificial Eye.

Artificial Eye's Blu-ray release of uses as a foundation the same French 2K restoration which Criterion accessed when they prepared their Blu-ray release of Jules and Jim for the U.S. market. However, the two high-definition transfers these releases use are not identical.

Depth and clarity are are very good. Excluding the archival footage where some native fluctuations are present, contrast levels are also remain stable. The variety of blacks, whites and grays are well balanced. As mentioned in our review of the Criterion release, this does make a difference when one views the film on a larger screen. Furthermore, there are no traces of problematic degraining corrections. Also, there are no traces of sharpening adjustment. Grain is well resolved. Overall image stability is excellent, though there is one sequence right around the 44-minute mark (where Jeanne Moreau is seen with the kid) that looks ever so slightly tighter on the Criterion release. Still, the technical presentation of Jules and Jim is excellent, and I am convinced that fans of the film residing in Region-B territories will be very pleased with it. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Jules & Jim Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: French LPCM 2.0 (Mono). For the record, Artificial Eye have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

Georges Delerue's score opens up the film in key areas, but the range of nuanced dynamics is limited. This should not be surprising, however, because the film has a unique organic sound design (in fact, the overwhelming majority of the Nouvelle Vague films do). The dialog is crisp, stable, clean, and easy to follow. Also, there are no audio dropouts or distortions to report in this review.

Jules & Jim Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original trailer for Jim and Jules. In French, with optional English subtitles. (4 min).

• Presentation with Serge Toubiana - Serge Toubiana, president of Cinémathèque française, introduces Jim and Jules. In French, with optional English subtitles. (4 min).

• Jeanne Moreau Commentary - this audio commentary with the legendary actress was conducted by Serge Toubiana and recorded in 2000. It is also included on Criterion's Blu-ray release of Jules and Jim. In French, with optional English subtitles.

Jules & Jim Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

British distributors Artificial Eye's upcoming Blu-ray release of Francois Truffaut's Jim and Jules uses as a foundation the very good French 2K restoration of the film. Needless to say, the film looks beautiful in high-definition. The U.S. release has a better selection of supplemental features, but I still think that this release is an excellent alternative for fans of Jules and Jim residing in Region-B territories. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.