7.9 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
A self-assured businessman murders his employer, the husband of his mistress, unintentionally provoking an ill-fated chain of events.
Starring: Jeanne Moreau, Maurice Ronet, Georges Poujouly, Yori Bertin, Jean WallForeign | 100% |
Drama | 81% |
Film-Noir | 24% |
Crime | Insignificant |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.37:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.66:1
French: LPCM 2.0
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region B (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Louis Malle's "Elevator to the Gallows" a.k.a. "Ascenseur pour l'échafaud" (1958) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Curzon/Artificial Eye. There are no supplemental features on the disc. In French, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".
It is time to die
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.37:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Louis Malle's Elevator to the Gallows arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Curzon/Artificial Eye.
The release is sourced from the same restored master that French label Gaumont prepared a few years ago and used for the first Blu-ray release of Elevator to the Gallows. (You can see additional information about the restoration in our previous review). However, there is a rather dramatic difference between the first release and this new release from Curzon/Artificial Eye.
First, all the large and very distracting patches of chroma noise that were present on the French release are eliminated. As a result, during close-ups and well-lit panoramic footage the absence of that greenish noise instantly gives the visuals a much better and healthier appearance. The banding that was visible during the darker footage is also eliminated, though there is still room for additional encoding optimizations. So the overall fluidity of the visuals is also improved -- or to put it differently, it now appears as it should have been on the initial release. I don't see any distracting traces of degrainig corrections, though some grain management was likely performed. There are no traces of sharpening adjustments. Now, there is something important that I wish to mention here regarding the gamma settings. I see that they are slightly elevated, causing some light but obvious unevenness in the film's dynamic range (you can see examples in screencaptures #9, 14, and 15), but I don't know if this is how the disc was encoded or if it is actually how Gaumont prepared their master. Either way, my guess is that if Elevator to the Gallows enters the Criterion Collection there will be adjustments that address the film's dynamic range. All in all, this is a vastly superior presentation of the film that actually makes it possible to enjoy it. (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).
There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: French LPCM 2.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.
The lossless track handles Miles Davis' beautiful score superbly well. The audio is nicely rounded, clean, and with plenty of natural depth. Balance is also excellent. The dialog is very clean and always easy to follow. There are no audio dropouts, pops, distracting background hiss, or digital distortions to report.
There are no supplemental features to be found on this Blu-ray release.
I thought that the first Blu-ray release of Louis Malle's Elevator to the Gallows was an absolute disaster despite the fact that it was sourced from a good restoration. I literally could not watch the film on my system because there were numerous very distracting technical anomalies. Curzon/Artificial Eye's new release of Elevator to the Gallows is sourced from the same restored master that Gaumont prepared and used a few years ago, but the technical presentation is vastly superior. I would say that if you want to see and own the film on Blu-ray, without a doubt right now this is the release to choose. (Please note that the release is included in this big ten-disc box set from Curzon/Artificial Eye). HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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