Paradise Lost Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		5.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.5

Paradise Lost Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 22, 2015

Abel Gance's "Paradis Perdu" a.k.a. "Paradise Lost" (1940) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of French label Pathe. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; new featurettes with technical specialist Georges Mourier; archival audio interview with Francois Truffaut; and footage from Bertrand Tavernier's introduction of the new restoration of the film. In French, with optional English and French SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

The corset belongs in the museum

Paris, sometime before WWI. The young and free-spirited artist Pierre Lablanc (Fernand Gravey) designs a very bold new dress for the beautiful model Janine Mercier (Micheline Presle) that instantly changes the fashion industry. The two then fall madly in love and decide to start a family together. But the war separates the lovers -- Pierre is sent to the front while Janine begins working in a small factory.

Janine dies while giving birth and when the news reaches Pierre he vows to never see his daughter, Jeannette. However, when the war ends he returns to Paris and changes his mind. With the assistance of his good friend Sonia Vorochine (Elvire Popesco), he also begins working again and becomes one of the city’s most renowned designers.

Many years later, Pierre falls in love with the much younger beauty Laurence Aubujan (Monique Rolland). They plan to marry, but days before the wedding her brother, Gerard (Gerard Landry), appears and demands that they reconsider because Laurence is younger than Jeannette (also played by Presle). Pierre and Jeannette vow to stay together because they are truly in love and the age difference is irrelevant to them. But when Pierre’s old friend, Sonia, reveals to him that Jeannette is also madly in love with Laurence and he is ready to end their relationship if Pierre and Jeannette marry, he decides that it is his father’s duty to give Jeannette the life she dreams of.

The film is very entertaining and thought-provoking at the same time. During the first half Pierre is an enthusiastic young man who is convinced that nothing will stop him from loving Janine and growing older with her. As it often happens in real life, however, his ambitious are crushed by events that he can’t control. As a result, he profoundly changes his philosophy of life. The second half places Pierre on the side of the people he once had a difficult time understanding and tolerating. Here he is much older and more experienced and sees the world differently. When he falls in love with Laurence he attempts to have the type of life he could not have with Janine, but once again he is forced to make some very difficult compromises.

Pierre’s moral dilemmas are particularly interesting. Towards the end, he is forced to choose between spending his final years with a woman that can give him a taste of the happiness he could not have while he was young and in love with Janine and give his daughter the perfect life he wanted for himself. Pierre also must choose Laurence’s fate, as she confesses that a life without him would not be worth living.

There are no surprises at the end, but the maturity with which the dilemmas are introduced and Pierre’s actions observed is very impressive. Remember, this film was shot in 1940, and many of its key points about right and wrong are anything but universally accepted by modern societies.

Director Abel Gance also wrote the script for the film, which is based on the popular novel by Joseph Than. On Pathe’s recent release its current English title is Paradise Lost, but in the past it has been distributed as Four Flights to Love.

The film was lensed by the great cinematographer Christian Matras, whose credits include such lavish productions as Max Ophuls’ The Earrings of Madame de..., Lola Montès and Le Plaisir, Jean Renoir’s La Grande Illusion, and Christian-Jaque’s Fanfan La Tulipe.

Paradise Lost Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.37:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Abel Gance's Lost Paradise arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of French label Pathe.

Pathe restored Lost Paradise in 2K in 2014. The label entrusted the work to Eclair Group. The Blu-ray release of Lost Paradise uses as a foundation the new 2K restoration.

The film look very beautiful in high-definition. There are a few areas where it is easy to tell that time has left its mark because some extremely small density fluctuations emerge. Some very minor contrast fluctuations also exist. However, the restorers have done a marvelous job of trying to rebalance the image as best as possible and the end result truly is quite spectacular. Grain is retained and nicely resolved. Some very careful adjustments have been to stabilize the darker footage, but there are no distracting anomalies. Again, the opposite is true, because of the careful work the film has a lovely organic appearance. Overall image stability is excellent. Lastly, there are no large debris, cuts, damage marks, stains, or torn frames to report in our review. All in all, considering the age of the film and the condition of the elements the restorers had to work with, the technical presentation of Lost Paradise is enormously impressive. (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. There is no problematic PAL or 1080/50i content preceding the disc's main menu).

Paradise Lost Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: French DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (Mono). French Descriptive Audio DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 track is also included. Optional English and French SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I noticed some extremely light buzz in the high-frequencies very early into the film, but it is clear to me that there is obviously some damage there that could not be fully addressed. Clarity, however, remains very good and the effect is never distracting. Elsewhere throughout the film clarity, depth and balance are very nice. There are no pops, audio dropouts, or digital distortions to report in our review. The English translation is excellent.

Paradise Lost Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Paradis retrouve: La restauration de Paradis Perdu - in this new featurette, technical specialist Georges Mourier discusses some of the obstacles that had to be addressed during the new 2K restorations of Abel Gance's film. In French, not subtitled. (12 min).

• Francois Truffaut se souvient de Paradis Perdu - a short audio clip in which Francois Truffaut quickly addresses the narrative and visual style of Paradis Perdu. In French, not subtitled. (2 min).

• Paradis Perdu: Chef d'oeuvre par inadvertance - in this new featurette, Georges Mourier discusses the production history and style of Paradis Perdu. Also included in it are clips from an archival interview with Abel Gance. In French, not subtitled. (22 min, 1080p).

• Le film annonce - restored original trailer for Paradis Perdu. In French, not subtitled. (5 min).

• Presentation de Bertrand Tavernier au Festival de Lyon - footage from director Bertrand Tavernier's presentation of the new 2K restoration of Paradis Perdu at the Lumière Film Festival in Lyon. In French, not subtitled. (7 min).

Paradise Lost Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

What would you do if you had to choose between spending the rest of your life with someone truly special and giving your daughter the perfect life you always dreamed of while your were young? This is one of a few interesting dilemmas a man faces in Paradise Lost, a truly fantastic film from the great French director Abel Gance. I had not seen the film prior to receiving Pathe's Blu-ray release and I have to say that I am very happy that it was restored. It is a minor masterpiece and it looks absolutely magnificent on Blu-ray. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.