Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		5.0

La Reine Margot Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov May 19, 2014

Winner of Best Actress Award and Jury Prize at the Canes Film Festival, Patrice Chereau's "La Reine Margot" a.k.a. "Queen Margot" (1994) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of French label Pathe. The supplemental features on the Blu-ray/DVD include an original restored trailer for the film; storyboard comparisons; new filmed conversation between scenarist/director Daniele Thompson and Patrice Chereau; deleted scenes; archival photos; new documentary film; and more. The release also arrives with a beautiful 48-page illustrated booklet with archival interviews and writings on the film in French. In French, with optional English and French SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

The year is 1572 and France is ruled by the Catholic Catherine de Medici (Virna Lisi, Casanova '70). Her eldest son, King Charles IX (Jean-Hugues Anglade, Betty Blue), is next to her, but he is too weak and too unpredictable. Catherine hopes that one day his younger brother, and her favorite son, Anjou (Pascal Greggory, La fidelite), will become King, and encourages the youngest brother, Alencon (Julien Rassam), to follow his steps. The beautiful and sexually insatiable Margot (Isabelle Adjani, Possession) lives in the shadows of her brothers.

In the midst of a bloody religious war between Catholics, led by the fearless Duke of Guise (Miguel Bose, High Heels), and Protestants, led by the great strategist Admiral Coligny (Jean-Claude Brialy, Le beau Serge), Catherine decides to unite the kingdom by marrying Margot to the Protestant Henri Bourbon, the King of Navarre (Daniel Auteuil, The Girl On The Bridge). Margot immediately dismisses her mother’s plan, but shortly after she is forced by Charles to become Henri’s wife.

After the wedding ceremony, Margot and Henri agree to look after each other and respect their wishes and desires. Determined to celebrate properly, the adventurous Margot then decides to treat herself to a night of pleasure, and together with her trusted companion Henriette of Cleves approaches the Huguenot soldier La Mole (Vincent Perez, Indochine) on the streets of Paris. The young man makes love to her and then disappears into the night.

Five days after the wedding, and two days after a well planned attempt to assassinate Admiral Coligny, Catherine convinces the naive Henri to order his men to kill the Protestant guests who have come to Paris with Henri to celebrate his union with Margot. On Saint Bartholomew’s Day, thousands of Protestants are massacred on the streets of the French capital. (According to various reports, approximately 3,000 Protestants were killed in Paris and more than 70,000 across France).

Based on the novel by Alexandre Dumas, La Reine Margot resembles a lavish opera broken into multiple brilliantly choreographed acts. This is hardly surprising, however, as the late Patrice Chereau staged equally impressive productions of Richard Wagner’s Ring tetralogy (together with the great Pierre Boulez) and Alban Berg’s Lulu.

Some familiarity with the events chronicled in the film is probably needed to fully appreciate the brilliance of Chereau’s vision, but the different relationships and conflicts are exceptionally easy to follow. Despite the long running time -- the new Director’s Cut of La Reine Margot runs at approximately 159 minutes -- the film’s pacing is also incredibly well managed.

The large cast of European stars is magnificent. Adjani, who has never looked more beautiful in front of the camera, is sensational as the young and frustrated Margot. Perez is equally striking as her Protestant lover, La Mole. (There is a short sequence in which the two are seen naked next to a large red gown that is so beautiful that one could easily mistake it for a painting). Anglade is thoroughly convincing as the naive madman. Auteuil looks slightly older than he should probably be, but is terrific as the Protestant King who is forced to convert. Lisi looks genuinely evil. Gregorry, Blanc, Asia Argento, Claudio Amendola, and the great Jean-Claude Brialy also leave lasting impressions.

La Reine Margot was lensed by Oscar winning cinematographer Philippe Rousselot (Jean-Jacques Beineix’s Diva and The Moon in the Gutter). The film’s soundtrack was composed the great Goran Bregovic (Emir Kusturica’s Arizona Dream and Underground).

Note: The new Director’s Cut of La Reine Margot reinstates footage that is not present on Pathe’s current R2 DVD release of the film. For example, the short sequence in which Margot and La Mole make love and are then seen wrapped in a red blanket is not present on Pathe’s DVD release (portion of it is on the R1 DVD release).

La Reine Margot Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Patrice Chereau's La Reine Margot arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of French label Pathe.

Pathe restored La Reine Margot in 4K in 2013. The label entrusted the work, under the direction of the late French director, to Eclair Group for the image and L.E. Diapason for the sound. Pathe's Blu-ray release of La Reine Margot uses as a foundation the new 4K restoration.

I have nothing but great things to say about Pathe's new restoration and technical presentation of this very beautiful film. Indeed, there are dramatic improvements in every single area we typically scrutinize in our reviews, from depth to clarity to contrast stability to color saturation and grain management. Close-ups boast superb depth and crispness even in parts of the film where light is obviously restricted, while the large panoramic shots impress with outstanding fluidity (see screencaptures #1 and 14). Contrast levels remain stable throughout the entire film. Color reproduction is superb. During the restoration Patrice Chereau approved minor color corrections for this final Director' Cut of the film, but the enhancements are indeed most appropriate and beautifully balanced. (I have included a few upscaled screencaptures from Pathe's old R2 DVD release of La Reine Margot with our review so that you can see how convincing the new corrections are -- please see screencaptures #26, 27, 28, 29, and 30). Indeed, the variety of nuanced reds, blues, greens, browns, yellows, and grays are wonderfully well saturated and always looking healthy. Furthermore, there are no traces of problematic degraining or sharpening corrections. Unsurprisingly, the grain is well refined and resolved and the entire film has a remarkably strong organic appearance. Lastly, there are absolutely no stability issues to report in this review. Also, there are no specks, scratches, debris, cuts, or any other age-related imperfections. All in all, this is truly a spectacular presentation of La Reine Margot, which I am convinced will remain the film's definitive presentation on the home video market. (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 main menu).

La Reine Margot Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and French DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Also included is a French Descriptive Audio DTS 2.0 track. For the record, Pathe have provided optional English and French SDH subtitles for the main feature.

L.E. Diapason's audio restoration is equally impressive. I compared a number of different sequences from Pathe's R2 DVD release and the new Blu-ray release and I can comfortably state that the 5.1 track literally gives La Reine Margot an entirely new identity. The chaos during the massacre, for instance, is now a lot more intense, while Goran Bregovic's exotic soundtrack is better balanced. There is an entirely new range of nuanced dynamics that transform the intimate sequences. Also, despite the constant movement the dialog remains exceptionally crisp, clean, and very easy to follow.

La Reine Margot Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Note: The supplemental content on the Blu-ray is perfectly playable on all North American Blu-ray players, including the PS3. To access the supplemental content on the DVD, you must have a Region-Free Blu-ray player or a Region-Free DVD player capable of converting PAL to NSTC.

DISC ONE - BLU-RAY

• Film Annonce - original restored French trailer for La Reine Margot. In French, not subtitled. (3 min, 1080p).

DISC TWO - DVD

• "Il etait une fois... La Reine Margot"/Folamour - INA - 2013 - in this new documentary, director Patrice Chereau, scenarist/director Daniele Thompson (Those Who Love Me Can Take The Train), critic and film historian Antoine de Baecque, executive producer Pierre Grunstein, Dominique Blanc (Henriette de Nevers), Jean-Hugues Anglade (Charles IX), and Daniel Auteuil (Henri de Navarre), amongst others, discuss the true events chronicled in La Reine Margot and other more recent religious conflicts, the visual style of the film, its production history, etc. Also, included in the documentary are archival clips from interviews with Isabelle Adjani (Queen Margot) and Virna Lisi (Catherine de Medicis). In French, not subtitled. (53 min).

• Entretiens avec Daniele Thompson et Patrice Chereau - included here is a long and very informative recent filmed conversation between scenarist/director Daniele Thompson and Patrice Chereau. In French, not subtitled. (49 min).

• Comparatif Film/ Storyboard - storyboard comparisons. In French, not subtitled.
  
  1. Le mariage/The Marriage sequence (with split screen comparisons). (5 min).
  2. La chasse/The Hunting sequence (with split screen comparisons). (7 min).

• Scenes coupees - a gallery of deleted and extended scenes. In French, not subtitled.
  
  1. La Mole chez Coligny (1 min).
  2. Le charnier (2 min).
  3. Le reveil de Coconnas (2 min).
  4. Le livre de chasse (2 min).
  5. Henriette et Coconnas (2 min).
  6. Le duel La Mole - Maurevel (3 min).
  7. Le retour du roi de Pologne (1 min).

• Essais costumes - archival costume tests (VHS archives/1993). In French and Italian, not subtitled. (6 min).

• Galerie photos - a large collection of archival photos.
  
  1. Tournage/Shooting. Photos courtesy of Luc Roux (5 min).
  2. Coulisses. Photos courtesy of Luc Roux (3 min).
  3. Album de Suzanne Durrenberger. Photos courtesy of script supervisor Suzanne Durrenberger (4 min).
  4. Dessins et costumes. Photos courtesy of costume designer Moidele Bickel (4 min).
  5. Decors et accessiures. A look at the decors and special accessories (severed heads) used in the film. (2 min).

• Digibook - beautiful 48-page illustrated digibook with archival interviews and writings on the film in French.

La Reine Margot Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Pathe's new 4K restoration of Patrice Chereau's La Reine Margot is stunning. In fact, I would argue that it is likely the best restoration to emerge from France since the high-definition format was launched. As far as I am concerned, at this point, it is undoubtedly a prime contender for Blu-ray release of the year. Bravo Pathe! (In the United States, Cohen Media will bring the 4K restoration to Blu-ray in August. If you do not reside in a Region-B territory, I urge you to wait for Cohen Media's release, as I assume it will have many of the supplemental features from Pathe's release, which are not English-friendly). VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.