Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.5

La Prisonnière Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov March 19, 2018

Henri-Georges Clouzot's "La Prisonniere" a.k.a. "Woman in Chains" (1968) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of StudioCanal. The only supplemental feature on the disc is a documentary film with actress Elisabeth Wiener. In French, with optional English and French SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

The shameless girl

There comes a moment in every director’s career when it just feels right to do a genuinely risqué film. Stanley Kubrick did Eyes Wide Shut at the end of his career. Bernardo Bertolucci shot Last Tango in Paris towards the middle of his career. Luis Bunuel made Belle de jour after decades of experimentation. So with each director the timing is indeed different, but all reach the moment in the exact same manner -- after they permanently discard the fear of a public condemnation that could compromise their image or erode the integrity of their cinematic legacy. In other words, there is a fundamental shift in their perception of freedom of expression.

Henri-Georges Clouzot reached this moment with La Prisonniere, an experimental and uncharacteristically edgy for its time film that is unlike anything else in the director’s oeuvre. In fact, it marks such a dramatic change of direction for Clouzot that had he lived and worked another decade or so, today any critical evaluation of his work would have been absolutely impossible without linking it to the themes and aesthetics that Alan Robbe-Grillet promoted in his work. La Prisonniere sends that kind of clear signal that Clouzot’s creative philosophy had permanently evolved.

The story of La Prisonniere is as bold and subversive as that of Belle de Jour, but instead of playing with the viewer’s imagination as Bunuel does, Clouzot uses it to prove that people with fetishes like the ones the two characters of his film have are perfectly healthy and rational human beings. (It is hardly a groundbreaking concept now, but one has to keep in mind that this film emerged in an entirely different socio-cultural environment). Clouzot begins building his case after the wealthy artist and gallery owner Stanislas Hassler (Laurent Terzieff) invites Josee (Elizabeth Wiener), the young wife of another artist, to visit his chic apartment and get a taste of his hip work. While marveling Hassler’s pieces, Josee discovers that he is a brilliant photographer with a dark side who enjoys taking explicit pictures of women posing in some quite unusual ways. Her mind instantly unleashes a sea of amoral fantasies, and a few days later she agrees to model for him. The shame that Josee temporarily experiences after she sees the finished pictures then further enhance her mind’s ability to excite her, and eventually she begins a romantic relationship with Hassler. The photo shoots also have a profound impact on Hassler. At first, he feels in total control and while playing with Josee’s insecurity experiences a familiar rush, but then suddenly falls madly in love with her.

La Prisonniere is the one and only film that Clouzot shot in color, and it is such an extraordinary feast for the eyes that one cannot but feel terrible that it also turned out to be his last. Truly, the beauty of the film is so striking that at times it feels as if the visuals on the screen are emerging from an incredibly vivid surreal dream. There is one sequence towards the end in particular where the lovers are seen standing on a tiny rock while giant waves are crashing around them that has to be seen to be believed.

What is very important to underscore, however, is that while it is an experimental film, and it is clear that its aesthetics were of utmost importance to Clouzot, it is not a show-off piece. It is a carefully crafted litmus test that examines human sexuality without many of the tired stereotypes that are used to define what is moral and amoral.

*If the subject matter appeals to you, see Robbe-Grillet’s more straightforward and bolder but equally stylish Trans-Europ Express.

La Prisonnière Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.67:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Henri-Georges Clouzot's La Prisonniere arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of StudioCanal.

The release is sourced from a recent 4K restoration of the film and the end result is mighty impressive. Indeed, my one and only minor reservation pertains to the manner in which the film was color-graded after the restoration work. To be perfectly clear, I still like the color balance, but I would have preferred if the primaries were slightly cooler, with a tad more prominent whites so that some of the emerging contrasts have a more pronounced period qualities. The rest looks great. Density is superb throughout the entire film, clarity and delineation are equally pleasing, and depth is about as good as one can expect from a proper restoration. There are no traces of problematic degraining or sharpening adjustments. Rather predictably, grain is very nicely exposed and resolved. Image stability is great. The entire film is also spotless; there isn't even a whiff of age-related imperfections. Lastly, there are no encoding anomalies to report. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

La Prisonnière Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: French DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English and French SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The audio has been fully remastered and as a result clarity, depth, and balance are outstanding. There is a proper range of nuanced dynamics as well, though the film's sound design isn't as impressive as its visual design. There are no pops, cracks, audio dropouts, or other purely digital anomalies to report.

La Prisonnière Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Rebellious - in this archival featurette, actress Elisabeth Wiener (Josee) recalls her interactions with Henri-Georges Clouzot and Laurent Terzieff during the shooting of La Prisonniere and discusses the director's working methods. The actress also visits the location where one of the film's most beautiful sequences was shot. In French, with optional English subtitles.(25 min).

La Prisonnière Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Henri-Georges Clouzot's final and only color film, La Prisonniere, is an extraordinary feast for the eyes that will almost certainly surprise folks familiar only with his big international hits. It shares some of the themes and many of the aesthetics that define Alan Robbe-Grillet's work. The film has been recently restored in 4K and is now available on Blu-ray via StudioCanal in the United Kingdom and France. The technical presentation is very nice, so if you want to add a truly unique and rather bold film to your collection, La Prisonniere is one that you do not want to miss. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.