6.8 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
French sailor Querelle arrives in Brest and starts frequenting a strange whorehouse. He discovers that his brother Robert is the lover of the lady owner, Lysiane. Here, you can play dice with Nono, Lysiane's husband : if you win, you are allowed to make love with Lysiane, if you lose, you have to make love with Nono... Querelle loses on purpose...
Starring: Brad Davis (I), Franco Nero, Jeanne Moreau, Laurent Malet, Roger FritzDrama | 100% |
Dark humor | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.36:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: LPCM Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Rainer Werner Fassbinder's final film, "Querelle" (1982) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the release include vintage documentary by Wolf Gremm; new program with critic Michael Koresky; and original trailer. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.36:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Querelle arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.
The following text appears inside the leaflet that is provided with this release:
Approved by director of photography Xaver Schwarzenberger, this high-definition restoration was created from a 35mm interpositive. The original monaural soundtrack was restored by Eclair Laboratories in 2009.
Restoration: Eclair Laboratories, Epinay-sur-Seine, France."
In 2012, we reviewed this of Querelle from French label Gaumont, and in 2014, this release from British label Artificial Eye. Both releases introduced the same restoration that is described above.
I did some quick comparisons between the Criterion and Gaumont releases. Excluding select close-ups where the Criterion release produces slightly better defined visuals, the rest of Querelle looks identical on both. Delineation, clarity, depth, and density levels are the same. Obviously, this means that in some areas I could identify the same traces of minor degraining adjustments, so some darker and shadow nuances are not quite as convincing as they can be. However, there are plenty of inherited fluctuations, so it is not always easy to tell exactly how much more information should be visible. I think that color balance is good. In a few spots there should be a bit more blue, but the heavy yellow cast is definitely reproduced correctly. Image stability is excellent. The entire film looks spotless as well. All in all, despite the fluctuations, the film has a good organic appearance and looks much better than it did on DVD. My score is 3.75/5.00. (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).
There is only one standard audio track on this release English LPCM 1.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature. English subtitles are provided for the French text inserts as well. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.
The audio is very healthy. However, a few actors have pretty heavy accents that may force some viewers to use the optional subtitles. The French release of Querelle has the original English track but does not have optional English subtitles. The British release has the original English track, but its English subtitles are not available for it. So, this release finally gets everything right -- optional English SDH subtitles for the English track, plus English subtitles for the French text inserts.
Rainer Werner Fassbinder's final film, Querelle, a remarkably bold and stylish adaptation of Jean Genet's infamous novel, is truly in a league of its own. A few of Polish director Lech Majewski's films come close to replicating its unique atmosphere, but none of them are as naughty and provocative. Querelle isn't for everyone, but if you like challenging yourself, you shouldn't miss it. (I also suggest tracking a copy of Kamikaze '89, a very, very wild film, which has Fassbinder's final performance). HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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