7.3 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
A highway engineer is involved in a car crash, after which, near death, he remembers his life leading up to the accident.
Starring: Michel Piccoli, Romy Schneider, Gérard Lartigau, Jean Bouise, Boby LapointeForeign | 100% |
Drama | 26% |
Romance | 18% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.66:1
French: LPCM 2.0 Mono
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Note: This film is available as part of Claude Sautet and Romy Schneider Duo.
According to the
IMDb, Romy Schneider had 64 credits as an actress, though that list includes several
television appearances, including (rather incredibly) two guest shots made on two consecutive weeks in 1969 on the then insanely popular Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
(note that the link points to a DVD set, currently the only way that show is available on disc). While Schneider’s career lasted around thirty years,
before her untimely death in 1982 at the tender age of 43, for those who are only prone to attending “American” movies (whether or not that
appellation is completely appropriate in all instances), Schneider may be known due to only a relative handful of performances in films like The Trial, The
Victors, The Cardinal, Good Neighbor Sam and perhaps especially What's New Pussycat?. Those films were all released over the course of just three years between
1962 and 1965, meaning Schneider’s “impact” on more cloistered American audiences watching only “native” films was relatively brief. While world
cinema aficionados are probably no doubt aware of at least some (and quite possibly many) of Schneider’s many other performances, including in
Luchino Visconti’s Ludwig, there are still a glut of international properties featuring
Schneider that probably aren’t generally that well known on this side of the pond. Film Movement’s Film Movement Classics imprint has been
coming to film lovers' aid in that regard with an increasing number of releases that have featured Schneider, including The Sissi Collection from a couple of years ago, and the newly released (and
recently reviewed) L'important c'est d'aimer.
Coming out at the same time as that last named film, this new two-fer aggregates a double feature of Schneider films that offer her in what
became one of her more notable collaborations in the 1970s, with co-writer and director Claude Sautet.
Les choses de la vie is presented on Blu-ray Film Movement Classics, an imprint of Film Movement, with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.66:1. Unfortunately, Film Movement only tends to offer generic "new digital restoration" verbiage in their insert booklets without providing any further information, but I was not able to dredge up any information online (including on StudioCanal's own site) about any even relatively recent restoration, and in fact about the only data point I could find mentioned several Sautet films having been "remastered", albeit in 2014, so I'm at a loss to provide much authoritative commentary on the provenance of the master. This presentation is another Film Movement offering where I had some passing issues with color timing, with things looking a tad cool and blue to my eyes, especially in some of the interior footage, though that said, there are some beautifully saturated and at least relatively more natural looking moments here, notably in the scenic sequence set in Île de Ré. As with César et Rosalie, blacks are also occasionally a bit on the milky, hazy side. Detail levels are generally very nice in close-ups and even some midrange shots. Grain resolves naturally, and I noticed no compression issues.
Les choses de la vie features a nice sounding LPCM 2.0 Mono track in the original French (with optional English subtitles). This film probably has a few more strident sound effects than César et Rosalie due to the careening wreck that is at the center of the story (and to which the film returns several times), but nothing sounds overly bright or brash. Dialogue and another nice score from Philippe Sarde all sound fine, without any issues whatsoever with regard to any age related distractions.
Les choses de la vie is at its core a kind of soap opera, but its structural ingenuity keeps the story compelling, even if the underlying foundation isn't that innovative. Schneider is sweet and understated in this film, and gives Les choses de la vie some emotional authenticity even despite some more melodramatic aspects. Technical merits are generally solid, and the accompanying featurette is quite interesting as well. Recommended.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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