Love Rites Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.0

Love Rites Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov October 21, 2021

Walerian Borowczyk's "Love Rites" (1987) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the disc include new video interview with actor Mathieu Carrière; audio commentary by film historian Daniel Bird; and short film. In French, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

The dealer

Love Rites is the type of foreign film that is bound to split audiences right down the middle. It is so extravagant that it feels like it was conceived to meet the expectations of only a selected few that view cinema as the ultimate form of avant-garde art. Indeed, it was shot in French, but it speaks the language of the ‘illuminated’, and if you are not one of them, you are guaranteed to have a disappointing experience with it.

The main protagonist in Love Rites is a man in his late thirties, possibly early forties named Hugo (Mathieu Carriere) who makes ends meet as a seller of used but rare high-end clothing. He lives alone in an apartment somewhere in Paris that appears to be his office as well. He spends plenty of time on the phone, sometimes discussing deals, sometimes talking to women whose voices he likes.

While on the metro train, Hugo encounters a beautiful woman (Marian Pierro) who flirts with him and then makes him realize that she would not mind if he peruses her. (It is best not to reveal how she does it because it is one of the few real treats the film has to offer. Suffice to say, the ritual, which is precisely what it is, is quite hilarious). Hugo hesitates and nearly loses her after she gets off the train, but quickly rushes back and discovers that she has been waiting for him. After he confesses to her that he would like to spend some time with her, she confesses to him that she is a prostitute and the subway is where she usually picks up her clients. The woman also tells Hugo that her name is Myriam.

They agree to visit a posh boudoir in a historic part of the city whose owner frequently allows Myriam to entertain her clients there. They talk about passion and sex and some of the unusual ways in which men and women like to explore their bodies, and then take off their clothes. First Hugo dominates Myriam, then Myriam prepares to dominate Hugo. The experience mirrors an intense sexual game Hugo has been fantasizing about, until Myriam pulls out a set of metal claws and begins treating him like a slave who has badly misinterpreted the intentions of his master.

Polish-born director Walerian Borowczyk left a pretty colorful legacy of films that are definitely not for everyone. Some of the most effective ones are essentially classic button-pushers that do a range of things to irritate the prudes, but the director’s biggest defenders have argued that they have serious intellectual value that is often either misunderstood or completely missed. What about the less effective of his films? Well, they fit somewhere between ‘too arty’ and ‘too odd’, which means that they routinely manage to irritate just as well as the effectives ones.

Love Rites does not have the potential to irritate as successfully as, say, The Beast, but it isn’t one of Borowczyk’s safer films either. Indeed, it is a highbrow exploitation project that enters the same area many of Jess Franco’s films explored before it, though as a smarter stylist Borowczyk’s pulls off different tricks in it that ultimately provide his fans exactly the type of material they need to argue that it has substantially better intellectual value.

But Love Rites isn’t that kind of a serious, intellectually stimulating film. It is filled with statements that use plenty of fancy words to describe the trader’s sexual session with the prostitute as some sort of an illuminating encounter, but the ‘truths’ that emerge from it are quite tedious. This is unfortunate because without the obvious attempts to give the film an arty identity, the end result could have been a lot more attractive.

*If the subject matter of Love Rites appeals to you, explore the work of Jean-Claude Brisseau. His most explicit films are actually his best because his attitude towards sex and pleasure isn’t tainted by pseudo-intellectualism.

Love Rites Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.67:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Love Rites arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The master that was used to produce this release comes from StudioCanal and is fantastic. Aside from some extremely light shakiness that I noticed in a few places -- a good example is the the static shot from Hugo's apartment around the 2.00 mark -- it is flawless. Delineation and clarity for instance range from very good to excellent, while depth is as striking as I expected it to be given the other strengths of the master. The color-grading job is very convincing as well, so I would not be surprised if it was revealed that some original elements were referenced when the master was prepared. There are no traces of problematic digital corrections. The entire film looks very healthy as well. My score is 4.75/5.00. (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).

Love Rites Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: French DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The lossless track is outstanding. The dialog is very clear, sharp, and easy to follow. There are no stability issues to report. Dynamic intensity is unimpressive because the film does not have a prominent music score, but there are still some fine nuances that emerge here and there. One such area is the footage from the subway.

Love Rites Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Director's Cut - presented here is a shorter Director's Cut of the film. In French, with optional English subtitles. DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. 1080p. (88 min).

• Brief von Paris/Letter From Paris - Walerian Borowczyk directed this short film about life in the City of Lights in 1975. Remastered. (41 min).

• Interview with Mathieu Carriere - in this new video interview, Mathieu Carrière discusses the odd experience his character has Love Rites. In English, not subtitled. (9 min).

• Commentary - this audio commentary was recorded by film historian Daniel Bird.

Love Rites Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Walerian Borowczyk's final feature film, Love Rites, should appeal only to his greatest fans. It is about a casual sexual encounter between a man and a woman that produces some intense fireworks and forces one of them to self-destruct. I think that the film would have been much better without the pseudo-intellectual chatter that clutters its story, though some viewers could find it mildly intriguing. Kino Lorber's release is sourced from an older but wonderful master that was supplied by StudioCanal. RECOMMENDED only to Borowczyk completists.