Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.0

Madame Claude Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov February 15, 2021

Just Jaeckin's "Madame Claude" a.k.a. "The French Woman" (1977) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Cult Epics. The supplemental features on the disc include exclusive new video interview with the director; exclusive new audio commentary by author and critic Richey; and vintage promotional materials for the film. In French or English, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Her real name was Fernande Grudet, but in Paris, where she operated her business, most everyone knew her as Madame Claude (Françoise Fabian). She made money by arranging dates for high-profile clients who wanted to spend time with the beautiful girls that worked for her. In the late 1970s, after a series of foul plays, Madame Claude was compromised by some of her former clients and her business collapsed.

Just Jaeckin’s film is based on Jacques Quoirez’s novel Allô Oui, or, the Memoirs of Madame Claude (1975), which until the 1990s was considered the one and only source that told the complete truth about Madame Claude and her business dealings. A second book published in 1994, Madam, apparently filled some gaps, but the key events that led to Madame Claude’s downfall remained unchanged. What did change was the list of prominent “friends” that Madame Claude serviced, as well as some descriptions of the ways in which certain relationships evolved right before and after the French tax authorities became interested in her dealings.

For obvious reasons, the focus of attention in Jaeckin’s film is on the mechanics of Madame Claude’s business and its demise. (President Kennedy was reportedly one of her clients, but the only American connection in the film comes in the form of a weak CIA play that links another high-profile politician to the Lockheed scandal, which in the grand scheme of things is irrelevant). The entire first half, for instance, examines Madame Claude’s business instincts and her ability to transform a girl into a perfect sexual object that men with deep pockets would pay big money to see and keep coming back to. The key point that emerges here is that it was a process Madame Claude would initiate only if she was absolutely certain that the end result would be as striking as needed, and only if the girl would be as dedicated to it as she would be. In other words, it was a unique business arrangement between an employer and employee whose success had to be ensured in advance. Once the two parties had reached an agreement and the transformation was successfully completed, Madame Claude would begin retaining thirty percent of all payments made by her “friends”.

Interestingly, the film reveals that Madame Claude frequently received business propositions by married older women. Apparently, some openly pursued part-time employment, while some approached her because they wanted to fulfill a fantasy or two. (Luis Bunuel’s Belle de jour is about one such part-time explorer whose mind is frequently overwhelmed by fetishistic fantasies. She just happens to be a married younger woman). Whether or not the sequence with the dentist who approaches Madame Claude with such a business proposition recreates a real situation is impossible to tell, but it likely sums up perfectly how she handled such situations -- the reputation of the business was always her top priority.

Unfortunately, once it defines Madame Claude’s business philosophy Jaeckin loses control of the narrative and his film quickly evolves into another instantly forgettable C-grade soap opera. (When compared to it, Joan Collins’ films from the same era look like serious genre masterpieces. See The Bitch and The Stud). For example, a great deal of attention is given to a sleazy photographer (Murray Head) who keeps gravitating around her girls and takes dirty pictures that later on he plans to exchange for money. A powerful business tycoon (Klaus Kinski) then prevents one of her girls (Dayle Haddon) from starting a real romantic relationship with his son. And a very awkward clandestine investigation launched by the Americans points to a complex puzzle of international plays which the film quickly brushes aside.

The soundtrack uses original music by Serge Gainsbourg, which is arguably the film's biggest strength.

Madame Claude Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.66:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Madame Claude arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Cult Epics.

This film was fully restored in 4K under the supervision of its cinematographer, Robert Fraisse. All of the restoration work was carried out at L'immagine Ritrovata. Unfortunately, the end result is very predictable -- it is another poor digital interpretation from lab technicians that robs the film of its native qualities.

I viewed it earlier today and thought that the digital makeover was every bit as disappointing as the ones that were prepared for Manila in the Claws of Light, Série Noire, and Dragon Inn. (Sadly, I can name many more such misfires that are out on Blu-ray in the United States. In France, virtually all color films in Gaumont's catalog are graded just as poorly). For example, it is immediately obvious that the entire film was graded with incorrect LUT values, which is why the primaries and supporting nuances look awful. Predictably, the native dynamic range of the film is completely destabilized as well, which is why you will routinely see darker footage look uncharacteristically flat, with digitally-produced gray(s) wiping out existing shadow nuances (see screencapture #3). Also, depth fluctuates a lot, but not because there are native fluctuations produced by specific stylistic decisions. The poor grading has simply introduced various ranges of digital anomalies. The good news is that the film looks clean and boasts very solid density levels. The overall stability of the visuals is great as well. But these strengths are utterly meaningless now because this film just does not look as it should. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).

Madame Claude Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

French: LPCM 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 16-bit), French: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono, and English: Dolby Digital 2.0 (192kbps). Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I viewed the entire film with the French LPCM 2.0 track. I thought that the audio was outstanding. The dialog was very clean, crisp, and easy to follow. Depth and dynamic intensity were what I expected them to be -- solid for a film from the 1970s. I did not detect any age-related anomalies to report in our review.

Madame Claude Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - vintage trailer for Madame Claude. In French, with optional English subtitles. (2 min, 1080p).

• Interview with Just Jaeckin - in this new video interview, Just Jaeckin discusses the evolution of his career and the production of Madame Claude. In English, with optional English subtitles. (27 min, 1080p).

• Promotional Gallery - a collection of promotional materials for Madame Claude. With music. (2 min, 1080p).

• Commentary - author and critic Jeremy Richey discusses the visual style and tone of Madame Claude, its eroticism, its placement in Just Jaeckin's body of work, the careers of some of the principal actors that made the film, etc.

Madame Claude Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I am quite certain that I would have enjoyed Madame Claude a lot more if the new 4K restoration that was prepared for it actually did what it's supposed to do -- restore the film's native qualities. Unfortunately, it is just another poor digital interpretation from the lab technicians at L'immagine Ritrovata, which, sadly, was endorsed by cinematographer Robert Fraisse. It is too bad because I know for a fact that the folks at Cult Epics did a lot of hard work to bring the film to North America and make this release as attractive as possible.