Mauvais Sang Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.5

Mauvais Sang Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov October 25, 2014

Leos Carax's "Mauvais sang" a.k.a. "The Night is Young" (1986) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Carlotta Films U.S. The supplemental features on the disc include original trailers; deleted scenes; outtakes and rushes; and Tessa Louise-Salomé's documentary film "Mr. X" (2014). In French, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Anna and Marc

The future. In Paris, a mysterious disease known as STBO has started killing young people who have sex without being in love. A powerful pharmaceutical company has developed a vaccine, but only the wealthy can afford it.

Two aging gangsters, Marc (Michel Piccoli, Belle de jour, Dillinger Is Dead) and Hans (Hans Meyer, Boy Meets Girl), have been planning to steal a culture of the vaccine and sell it to a rival company. When the best man for the job is eliminated by the ruthless American Woman (Carroll Brooks) and her gang, they decide to approach his son, a kooky punk named Alex (Denis Lavant, Holy Motors).

Meanwhile, after making love to his girlfriend (Julie Delpy, Three Colors: White), Alex decides to pack up his bags and leave Paris for good. Later that night, however, he is overwhelmed by the beauty of a lonely girl (Juliette Binoche, Three Colors: Blue) he sees wandering alone the city’s empty streets. He follows her and she leads him to Marc and Hans’ place. After the old-timers tell him about the job his dead father would have been hired to do, Alex decides to stay.

Leos Carax’s The Night is Young (also distributed under the alternative title Bad Blood) is virtually impossible to describe in a way that would make perfect sense. The best one could do is compare it to other films – for example, the atmosphere reminds of Jean-Luc Godard’s Alphaville, while the film’s casual tiptoeing between the real and the surreal appears to have been directly inspired by Andre Technie’s noirish thriller Barocco. Yet the film definitely has an identity of its own.

The cinematography is just as atypical. There are numerous close-ups in which faces and objects are captured in ways that remind of the experimental work of the Nouvelle Vague directors -- the angles are unusual, light and shadow have very specific roles, and colors are carefully selected. But there are also long sequences where conventional techniques are used to give the film very distinctive modern appearance and rhythm. (See the break-in).

The camera loves Binoche. Virtually all of the close-ups with her face can easily be used in a fashion magazine. Lavant rarely speaks but he does not need to because his arsenal of facial expression is simply extraordinary. His movement is also fascinating to behold. For example, there are sudden bursts of energy on display which create the impression that there are groups of muscles in his body that he isn’t always capable of controlling. The intensity in these sequences is quite remarkable. (Lavant is even more impressive in Carax’s third film, Lovers on the Bridge, where he plays a reckless alcoholic who unexpectedly discovers true love).

The Night is Young is wonderfully lensed by Jean-Yves Escoffier, who also teamed up with Carax on Boy Meets Girl and Lovers on the Bridge. The film does not have an elaborate soundtrack, but David Bowie’s Modern Love is very effectively used in one of the most memorable sequences in which Lavant is seen running through the dark streets of Paris.

In 1986, The Night is Young won Prix Louis Delluc award in France. A year later, it won the first Alfred Bauer Prize at the Berlin International Film Festival, which is given to films that open new perspectives on cinematic art.

***

Also included on this Blu-ray release is Tessa Louise-Salomé's documentary film Mr. X (2014). The film offers an in-depth look at director Carax's fascinating career and filmography. Included in it are new and archival interviews with the French director, Jean-Luc Godard, composer Neil Hannon, Serge Toubiana (director of Cinémathèque française), Gilles Jacob (president of Cannes Film Festival), Kylie Minogue, critic Kent Jones, and Japanese director Kiyoshi Kurosawa, amongst others.

Mauvais Sang Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.66:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Leos Carax's Mauvais Sang arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Carlotta Films U.S.

Please note that the screencaptures included with our review appear in the following order:

1. Screencaptures: #1-20: Mauvais Sang.
2. Screencaptures: #22-26: Mr. X.

The release uses as foundation the same recent 2K restoration which British distributors Artificial Eye accessed when they prepared their Blu-ray release for the UK market -- and this is certainly very good news. The improvements in quality are dramatic. Especially during the darker footage -- which on the old R2 UK DVD release looks disappointingly flat and blocky -- clarity and depth are enormously pleasing. The daylight footage and the numerous well-lit close-ups look very beautiful (see screencaptures #2 and 8). Color reproduction is also improved. Furthermore, there are no traces of problematic degraining or sharpening adjustment. Rather predictably, from start to finish the film has an enormously satisfying organic appearance. Overall image stability is excellent. Debris, cuts, damage marks, scratches, and stains have been carefully removed. Finally, the encoding is excellent. All in all, this is an outstanding presentation of Mauvais Sang which will likely remain the film's definitive presentation on the home video market. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location).

Mauvais Sang Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: French DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0. For the record, Carlotta Film U.S. have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature.

The gap in quality between the lossless track and the lossy track from the R2 DVD release is huge. Even seemingly ordinary sequences sound far better rounded and boast stronger depth, while the music is crisper. The dialog is stable, clean, and exceptionally easy to follow. There are no pops, cracks, audio dropouts, or distortions to report in this review. The English translation is excellent.

Mauvais Sang Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Mr. X (2014) - presented here is Tessa Louise-Salomé's documentary film Mister X. The film offers an in-depth look at director Leos Carax's fascinating career and filmography. Included in it are new and archival interviews with the French director, Denis Lavant, Juliette Binoche, Juliette Binoche, Mireille Perrier, Jean-Luc Godard, composer Neil Hannon, Serge Toubiana (director of Cinémathèque française), Gilles Jacob (president of Cannes Film Festival), Kylie Minogue, critic Kent Jones, and Japanese director Kiyoshi Kurosawa, amongst others. In French, English, and Japanese, with optional English subtitles. (74 min/Dolby Digital 5.1/1080p).

• Original Trailer - original trailer for Mauvais Sang. In French, with optional English subtitles. (3 min, 1080p).

• Restoration Trailer - trailer for the recent 2K restoration of Mauvais Sang. In French, with optional English subtitles. (2 min, 1080p).

• Deleted Scene - in French, with optional English subtitles. (6 min, 1080p).

• Outtakes and Rushes - in French, with optional English subtitles where necessary.(6 min, 1080p).

Mauvais Sang Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Next month, Carlotta Films U.S. are bringing to Blu-ray new 2K restorations of Leos Carax's directorial debut, Boy Meets Girl, and sophomore effort, Mauvais Sang. Both films look really, really beautiful now. Also included with Mauvais Sang is Tessa Louise-Salomé's documentary Mr. X, which takes a closer look at the French director's unusual career and work. A good portion of the documentary is dedicated to the production history of Lovers on the Bridge, one of the most controversial French films from the early '90s. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.