7.4 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
A young man innocently passes a counterfeit 500 franc bill in a photographer's shop, which leads to his arrest. Branded a criminal, he turns to crime and destruction.
Starring: Sylvie Van den Elsen, Christian Patey, Vincent Risterucci, Caroline Lang, Michel BriguetForeign | 100% |
Drama | 92% |
Crime | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.66:1
French: LPCM Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Winner of Best Director Award at the Cannes Film Festival, Robert Bresson's "L'argent" (1983) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; filmed half-hour press conference from the Cannes Film Festival; and new video essay written and narrated by film scholar James Quandt. The release also arrives with a 40-page illustrated leaflet featuring an essay by critic Adrian Martin and a newly expanded archival interview with director Robert Bresson by critic Michel Cement. In French, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
Looks good
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.66:1, encoded with MPEG-4 and granted a 1080p transfer, Robert Bresson's L'argent arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.
The following text appears inside the booklet provided with this Blu-ray release:
"This new 2K restoration was undertaken from the 35mm original camera negative and scanned at 4K resolution at Exlair Laboratories by MK2, with the participation of Mylene Bresson and the support of the Centre national du cinema et de l'image animee. The monaural soundtrack was transferred from the 35mm original magnetic tracks and restored by L.E. Diapason.
Colorist: Bruno Patin/Eclair Laboratories, Vanves, France."
The release is sourced from a brand new 4K restoration (4K scan/2K work) that was completed in France. For the most part improvements in terms of detail and depth are really quite easy to appreciate. When there is an abundance of light depth, in particular, can be quite spectacular. Fluidity is also dramatically improved and now virtually the entire film has the nice stable appearance that films have when they are screened in theaters. There are no traces of problematic degraining and sharpening adjustments. Colors are stable, but I find the color balance somewhat underwhelming. There is a shift towards warmer primaries that has actually affected the film's native dynamic range. While not overly distracting, the improper balance has introduced some light black crush and in some cases flatness that has a digital origin (you can see examples in screencaptures #15 and 20). Image stability is outstanding. There are no distracting debris, damage marks, cuts, stains, warped or torn frames to report in our review. My score is 3.75/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).
There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: French LPCM 1.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.
The film does not have an elaborate music score, but there are plenty of organic sounds and noises that have a very important role. Fortunately, clarity, depth, and operation are terrific. The dialog is always stable, clean, and very easy to follow. There are no audio dropouts, pops, hiss, or digital distortions to report.
The least effective way to experience Robert Bresson's final film, L'argent, is to approach it expecting to see a conventional crime thriller. If you do so, most likely you will be underwhelmed. Instead, try to think of it as a carefully constructed litmus test and I guarantee that it will engage your mind in a way that will pleasantly surprise you. Criterion's upcoming Blu-ray release is sourced from a new 4K restoration that was completed in France, but I think that after all the hard work the film could have looked even better. RECOMMENDED.
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