8 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
In a huge, old-fashioned luxury hotel, a stranger tries to persuade a married woman to run away with him, but it seems she hardly remembers the affair they may have had (or not?) last year at Marienbad.
Starring: Delphine Seyrig, Giorgio Albertazzi, Sacha Pitoeff, Françoise Bertin, Jean LanierDrama | 100% |
Foreign | 82% |
Romance | 24% |
Surreal | 17% |
Mystery | 7% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.35:1
French: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
German: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
English, German, Japanese, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
BD-Live
Region B, A (locked)
Movie | 5.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Alain Resnais' "Last Year at Marienbad" (1961) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Optimum Home Entertainment. Amongst the supplemental features on the disc are a lovely introduction by film scholar Ginette Vinendeau, "In The Labyrinth of Marienbad" by Luc Lagier, "Alain Robbe-Grillet" by Frederic Compain, "Toute la memoire du monde" (1956), "La chant du styrene" (1958) and more. With optional English, German, Dutch, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Swedish and Japanese subtitles. Region A/B.
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Presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Alain Resnais' Last Year at Marienbad arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Optimum Home Entertainment.
This is a strong transfer that comes extremely close to the one director Resnais approved for the Criterion Region-A release of his film. Contrast is very good, clarity superb and detail strong. The color-scheme is as good as that of the Criterion release - the blacks are lush and well saturated while the whites are gentle and natural looking. There are all sorts of lovely grays as well.
Generally speaking, edge-enhancement is not a serious issue of concern. I spotted its presence a couple of times, but, once again, I am absolutely certain that the overwhelming majority of you won't be bothered by it. Macroblocking is nowhere to be seen.
There are absolutely no stability issues. When blown through a digital projector, Last Year at Marienbad remains tight around the edges. This being said, I share the opinion that there are certain scenes that look slightly better on the Criterion release. The grain, as revealed by our screencaptures, is fully intact.
Finally, I am going to grade this transfer as a 4 instead of 5 only because I spotted a few minor flecks popping up here and there that I did not see on the Criterion release (obviously, the U.S. distributors have thoroughly cleaned up their transfer). Still, this is one mighty impressive transfer that makes me very excited about the future films we are going to see introduced via the Studio Canal Collection. (Note: This disc is coded for Regions A and B. Therefore, in order to access its content, you must have a native Region-A, native Region-B, or Region-Free player. Please note that there is PAL content preceding the main menu).
There are two audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: French DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and German DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. I viewed the film with the original French track.
I could not hear much of a difference between the French LPCM 1.0 track found on the Criterion release and the French DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track this release arrives with. The dialog is as crisp, clear and easy to follow as it is on the LPCM 1.0 track. The lack of mild background noise/hiss is where the Criterion release is a step ahead of this one. Still, I have no major reservations here whatsoever. For the record, Optimum Home Entertainment have provided optional English, German, Dutch, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Swedish and Japanese subtitled for the main feature. When turned on, they split the image frame and the black bar below it.
Introduction - film scholar Ginette Vinendeau offers a lovely introduction for Resnais' Last Year at Marienbad that is quite similar in spirit to the one she did for the Criterion Blu-ray release. In English with optional French, German, Dutch and Japanese subtitles. (19 min. 480/60i).
Short Film 1 - "La chant du styrene" (1958), commissioned by Societe Pechiney, was shot in the Pechiney polystyrene factories and features boldly abstract color images and voice-over text by Raymond Queneau. The film also appears on the Criterion Blu-ray release. In French with optional English, German, Dutch and Japanese subtitles. (14 min, 1080p).
Short Film 2 - "Toute la memoire du monde" (1956) is a poetic piece about the French national library in Paris and the archiving of memory that looks forward to his later films "Hiroshima mon amour" and "Last Year at Marienbad". The film also appears on the Criterion Blu-ray release. In French with optional English, German, Dutch and Japanese subtitles. (23 min, 1080p).
Alain Robbe-Grillet - a fascinating documentary by Frederic Compain focusing on the history of Resnais' film. In French with optional English, German, Dutch and Japanese subtitles. The documentary does not appear on the Criterion release. (49 min, 480/60i).
In The Labyrinth of Marienbad - a film by Luc Lagier deconstructing the film's complex narrative. In French with optional English, German, Dutch and Japanese subtitles. The film does not appear on the Criterion release. (34 min, 480/60i).
Trailer - the original Studio Canal trailer. With optional English subtitles. (4 min, 480/60i).
BD-Live Functionality -
Booklet - a 20-page booklet with information about the film.
Region-B folks: Buy with confidence! Optimum Home Entertainment's Blu-ray release of Alain Resnais's Last Year at Marienbad looks lovely. There are also some excellent supplemental features on it that do not appear on the Criterion release. Yes, I am now very much looking forward to see what other films will be introduced via the Studio Canal Collection. Things are looking very good! Very Highly Recommended.
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