7.6 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 5.0 | |
Overall | 5.0 |
After committing a murder, a man locks himself in his apartment and recollects the events that led him to the killing.
Starring: Jean Gabin, Arletty, Jacqueline Laurent (I), Jules Berry, Mady BerryForeign | 100% |
Drama | 49% |
Romance | 9% |
Crime | Insignificant |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.37:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.37:1
French: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
German: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
French: DTS 2.0
French SDH, English, German
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region B (locked)
Movie | 5.0 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 4.5 | |
Overall | 5.0 |
Marcel Carne's "Le Jour se Leve" a.k.a. "Daybreak" (1939) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of StudioCanal. The supplemental features on the disc include new featurette focusing on the recent restoration of the film; Dominuque Maillet's new documentary film "Last Assault of the Popular Front"; and collection of scenes censored by the Vichy government. The release also arrives with a beautiful 22-page illustrated booklet featuring French critic and scholar N. T. Binh's essay "Le Jour se Leve: Ou l'invention du film culte", as well as stills from the film. In French, with optional English, German, and French SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".
"Want me to stay? I'd leave early... No one would see me."
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.37:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Marcel Carne's Le Jour se Leve arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of StudioCanal.
Recently restored in 4K by StudioCanal in association with Eclair, with the sound restored by L.E. Diapason, Le Jour se Leve looks magnificent on Blu-ray. Indeed, depth is consistently very impressive -- even in areas of the film where light and shadow are captured in a very specific way by the camera and thus causing different focus and contrast fluctuations -- while fluidity is dramatically improved. Close-ups look very beautiful and frequently one can see even exceptionally small details. The larger and darker panoramic shots boast a wide range of very beautifully balanced blacks, whites, and nuanced grays (see screencaptures #2 and 4). The high-quality scanning has ensured that grain is evenly distributed and wonderfully resolved. Also, there are no sharpening adjustments. Unsurprisingly, from start to finish the film has an impressive organic appearance. Finally, various very important stabilization enhancements have been performed and the film now really does look tight around the edges and smooth (there are no warps, splices, etc). To sum it all up, even though the original negative no longer exists, this truly is a very impressive restoration and presentation of Le Jour se Leve, which I am convinced will be greeted with a great deal of enthusiasm by fans of the film and Marcel Carne's work.
The disc's main menu can be set in one of the following languages: English, French, or German. Naturally, I assume that the upcoming British release as well as the German release of Le Jour se Leve are identical, as they are both distributed by StudioCanal.
(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).
On the English menu of this disc there is only one standard audio track: French DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. In addition to the original audio on the German menu there is a German DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track, while on the French menu there is a French DTS 2.0 Descriptive Audio track. For the record, StudioCanal have provided optional English (English menu), French SDH (French menu) and German subtitles (German menu) for the main feature.
The audio was restored by L.E. Diapason, the same party responsible for the fantastic restoration of the original audio on Pathe's very beautiful Blu-ray release of Patrice Chereau's La Reine Margot (another fantastic 4K restoration project completed by the Eclair Group and L.E. Diapason).
Generally speaking, depth and clarity are very good. Some extremely light background and camera noise remains, but it is actually part of the original audio. (For a detailed description of the different issues the restorers had to address please see the restoration featurette included on this disc). The dialog is stable, well balanced and very easy to follow. There are no pops, audio dropouts, or digital distortions to report in this review. The English translation is excellent).
StudioCanal, the Eclair Group and L.E. Diapason's new 4K restoration of director Marcel Carne's Le Jour se Leve is undoubtedly one of the year's most exciting and important projects. The film's original negative no longer exists and the restorers were presented with a number of difficult dilemmas, but the end result is enormously impressive. I am not aware of any plans for an upcoming North American release of Le Jour se Leve, but I have to assume that sooner or later the new restoration will enter Criterion's catalog. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
(Still not reliable for this title)
The Rules of the Game / Édition Limitée
1939
Port of Shadows / StudioCanal Collection
1938
...And God Created Woman
1956
天注定 / Tian zhu ding
2013
Sarah's Key
2010
1992
1952
The Swimming Pool
1969
1995
Boksuneun naui geot
2002
1935
2018
1937
1989
The Earrings of Madame de...
1953
1990
Life of Riley
2014
A Woman Is a Woman
1961
Fire and Ice
1962
Torment
1994