Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		4.0

Ophélia Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov January 17, 2018

Claude Chabrol's "Ophelia" (1963) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of independent distributors Olive Films. The only bonus feature on the disc is a remastered original trailer for the film. In French, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

The strepson

As it is the case with so many of the great films that Claude Chabrol directed, the events that are chronicled in Ophelia take place away from the hustle and bustle of the big city. This time the location is a charming and very quiet provincial area where the Lesurf family resides in one of those big but slightly worn out aristocratic mansions that years ago were used to make a statement. The mansion is kept in proper condition by a small team of servants that have been hired from the nearby villages, and though occasionally there is murmur in the distant corners of the hallways, all are content to have jobs that help them feed their families.

While initially it seems like the Lesurf family has everything it needs and they are living in their private paradise, a few short but very angry exchanges instantly shatter the misleading façade. The head of the family, Adrien (Claude Cerval), can barely tolerate the growing tension and is convinced that his stepson, Yvan (Andre Jocelyn), is solely to blame for it because his frequent outbursts are not only uncommon for a mentally stable person but inexcusably offensive. He is also unhappy that his wife, Claudia (Alida Valli), has not addressed the issue, but has intentionally decided not to question her authority so that he can preserve the strength of their relationship. Claudia has also been uncomfortable with Yvan’s odd behavior, but has concluded that it will gradually improve as time passes by and he comes to terms with the fact that his uncle has assumed the role of his late father. It is the reason why she has remained passive and given Yvan all the freedom he needs to overcome the sadness and pain that are tormenting his soul. The more time Yvan has been spending around Adrien, however, the more convinced he has become that the family is actually irreversibly broken, which is why he has been unable to fully control his anger. He has also started believing that perhaps the death of his father was neither unexpected nor natural, and that his uncle and grieving mother might have had something to do with it. While tensions inside the large mansion continue to grow the theory begins to make so much sense to Yvan that much like Hamlet eventually he vows to avenge the death of his father. To accomplish his goal, however, he would need the assistance of the groundskeeper’s young and beautiful daughter (Juliette Mayniel), whom he promptly renames Ophelia.

The key elements of the narrative might be familiar, but this film really is full of great surprises. The best are delivered through the manner in which Chabrol alters the personalities of the main characters and consequently the different ways in which they (mis)judge their intensions and actions. All of this of course is glued together with Chabrol’s dark sense of humor which constantly defuses the conventional suspense and rebalances it with a healthy dose of refreshing satire.

Jocelyn plays his character with an admirable intensity that very much reminds of Lou Castel’s performance in Marco Bellocchio’s powerful drama Fists in the Pocket. Much like Castel’s Alessandro, the young man appears consumed by pure anger and eventually also loses grip of reality.

A wonderful chamber score by Pierre Jansen, a regular contributor to many Chabrol films, greatly enhances the intended atmosphere.

Ophélia 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, Claude Chabrol's Ophelia arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Olive Films.

The release is sourced from a recent and very strong 2K remaster that was completed by French label Gaumont. As a result, the film now looks very healthy and boasts the type of solid organic qualities that we expect from serious restoration projects. Typically, the strength of these remasters becomes most obvious on larger screens, but in this case it is really immediately clear that the overall quality of the remastering work is very convincing. Frankly, my one and only minor criticism pertains to the grading, as a bit more care and attention could have gone into it to ensure that some black and gray nuances are even better balanced to avoid light crush. The film's overall appearance, however, is still enormously impressive and viewing it is quite the treat. There are no traces of problematic digital tinkering. Image stability is very good. Debris, cuts, large damage marks, stains, and all other conventional age-related imperfections have been removed as best as possible. 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).

Ophélia 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 audio must have been remastered as well because it is completely free of annoying age-related imperfections (background hiss, distortion, hum, crackle, etc). Balance is also very good, and this is actually something that helps Pierre Jansen's chamber score a lot. The dialog is stable, clean, and always easy to follow.

Ophélia Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Jess' Demons - remastered original trailer for Ophelia. In French, not subtitled. (4 min, 1080p).

Ophélia Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I would not be at all surprised if prior to directing Fists in the Pocket Marco Bellocchio had seen Claude Chabrol's Ophelia and spent some time analyzing André Jocelyn's transformation. (The presence of the great Italian beauty Alida Valli in this film all but ensures that Bellocchio attended a theatrical screening of it). Indeed, even though the styles of these films are quite different, the level of emotional intensity that Jocelyn and Lou Castel display in them is extremely similar. I liked Ophelia a lot, and I was pleased to see that Gaumont's new 2K remaster of the film was done right. Great release. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.