7.8 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
In the carefree days before World War I, introverted Austrian author Jules strikes up a friendship with the exuberant Frenchman Jim. Both men fall for the impulsive and beautiful Catherine, but it's Jules who wins her hand. After the war, Jim visits Jules, Catherine, and their daughter in their Austrian home and discovers not only that his feelings for Catherine are unchanged, but also that they're reciprocated.
Starring: Jeanne Moreau, Oskar Werner, Henri Serre, Vanna Urbino, Serge RezvaniDrama | 100% |
Foreign | 91% |
Romance | 28% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.35:1
French: LPCM 2.0
English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region B (locked)
Movie | 5.0 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
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
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).
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.
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.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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