La Gifle Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

La Gifle Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov October 16, 2014

Claude Pinoteau's "La Gifle" a.k.a. "The Slap" (1974) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of French label Guamont. The supplemental features on the disc include an original restored French trailer for the film; archival video interview with the late French director; archival video interview with actor Francis Perrin; and collection of photos from the film with a commentary by actress Isabelle Adjani. In French, with optional English and French SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

"I am failing my exam..."

College professor Jean Doulean (Lino Ventura, Army of Shadows, Classe Tous Risques) and his wife Helene Douléan (Annie Girardot, Hidden, Le Gitan) have agreed to end their marriage. They have not finalized their divorce yet, but both have started seeing different people. Jean lives in Paris with their daughter Isabelle (Isabelle Adjani, La Reine Margot, The Driver), while Helene is in England with her lover (Robert Hardy) but plans to move to Australia.

During a chaotic student demonstration, Jean slaps a man who turns out to be a cop. Later on, he is told by a government official that he would be transferred to either Toulouse or Colmar, where he would be teaching in a junior high school. Jean immediately decides to resign.

Meanwhile, Isabelle, who has been dating one of Jean’s students, decides that it is time for her to start living her life without having to constantly worry about her father’s opinions. She spends more and more time partying, while Jean hides from her that he has decided to resign. On the day Isabelle fails her exam harsh words are exchanged and both realize that they have been wearing masks that did not fool anyone.

Isabelle runs away from home and meets her mother in England. In the lavish home of her lover, she decides to follow her to Australia and begin a new life. When eventually Jean and Isabelle’s boyfriend also appear, the family members begin confronting each other.

Director Claude Pinoteau’s La Gifle a.k.a. The Slap is a prime example of the type of film the French typically refer to as comédie dramatique. It is a light and relaxed but also very mature film with plenty of thought-provoking observations about serious subjects.

One of these subjects is Jean’s desire to redirect his life while trying to remain a good father. There is a moral element attached to it which he is forced to reexamine after the incident with the cop. A series of events then take him out of his comfort zone and in the process he suddenly discovers that Isabelle never saw him as the successful and fair father he aspired to be. Isabelle makes a similarly disappointing discovery while enjoying her freedom, which makes her realize that the love of her separated parents is far more precious than the attention and kindness of her boyfriends (Francis Perrin and Jacques Spiesser).

There isn’t any groundbreaking material in this film, but the easiness with which it balances comedy and drama (and in a very French fashion) makes it very enjoyable to watch. It also helps that all of the actors are very comfortable with each other.

Pinoteau completed La Gifle in 1974. It was well received by domestic and foreign critics and went on to win Prix Louis Delluc. A year after appearing in La Gifle, François Truffaut cast the twenty-year-old Adjani to play Adele Hugo in the Oscar nominated The Story of Adele H.

La Gifle is complimented by a wonderful soundtrack courtesy of legendary French composer Georges Delerue (Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Conformist, Oliver Stone’s Platoon).

La Gifle Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.66:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Claude Pinoteau's La Gifle arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of French label Gaumont.

Aside from the fact that colors are way too warm, the film looks decent on Blu-ray. Close-ups boast mostly sufficient depth while the wider panoramic shots have acceptable clarity and fluidity. The outdoor footage looks good -- contrast and shadow definition are balanced very well. There are no traces of excessive degraining corrections. Sharpening adjustments have not been applied either. Overall image stability is excellent. Lastly, there are no scratches, debris, damage marks, or cuts to report in this review. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location. For the record, there is no problematic PAL or 1080/50i content preceding the disc's main menu).

La Gifle Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: French DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. For the record, Gaumont have provided optional English and French SDH subtitles for the main feature.

The lossless track is very good. The film is complimented by a wonderful soundtrack courtesy of the great French composer Georges Delerue which very easily breathes in a number of different sequences (both during outdoor and indoor footage where balance is very good). Predictably for a film from the early '70s overall dynamic intensity is rather limited, but clarity and depth are consistently pleasing. There is no background hiss, crackle, audio dropouts, or digital distortions to report in this review. The English translation is excellent.

La Gifle Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Bande-annonce - original restored French trailer for La Gifle. In French, not subtitled. (3 min, 1080p).

• Mon album photos - presented here is a collection of photos from the film with a commentary by Isabelle Adjani. In French, not subtitled. (13 min).

• Une affaire d'hommes - in this video piece, actress Clelia Ventura (daughter of Lino Ventura) interviews Francis Perrin (Marc Morillon). In French, not subtitled. (11 min).

• Presentation du film par Claude Pinoteau - presented here is an archival video interview in which director Claude Pinoteau introduces La Gifle. The interview conducted by Clelia Ventura. In French, not subtitled. (12 min).

La Gifle Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Gaumont's Blu-ray release of Claude Pinoteau's La Gifle is a wonderful present for fans of Isabelle Adjani and her work residing in North America because there has never been a good English-friendly DVD release of it on this side of the Atlantic. It would be great if an American or British distributor also licenses director Pinoteau's The Party/The Party 2 and L'étudiante with Sophie Marceau, all of which desperately need English-friendly releases. RECOMMENDED.