Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		5.0

Sundays and Cybèle Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov October 21, 2014

Winner of Oscar Award for Best Foreign Language Film, Serge Bourguignon's "Les dimanches de Ville d'Avray" a.k.a. "Sundays and Cybele" (1962) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; new video interview with the French director; new video interviews with actors Hardy Krüger and Patricia Gozzi; the short film "Le sourire" a.k.a. "The Smile" (1962); and more. The release also arrives with an illustrated leaflet featuring professor Ginette Vincendeau's essay "Innocent Love?". In French, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Pierre and Cybele

At a small train station, former pilot Pierre (Hardy Krüger, Barry Lyndon, Taxi for Tobruk) sees a beautiful little girl (Rapture) and immediately falls in love with her. When her father abandons her at a local boarding school, Pierre vows to see her every Sunday.

In the beginning everyone assumes that Pierre and the girl are father and daughter. They walk to the nearby park and talk for hours. They also play together and he holds her in his arms. Eventually, she tells Pierre that her name is Cybele.

Pierre’s girlfriend, Madeleine (Nicole Courcel, The Slap), discovers that he is seeing someone else and follows him to the boarding school where he meets Cybele. Initially she is terrified, but when she sees them casually walking in the park she realizes that their relationship is pure and innocent.

But Madeline’s friends are not convinced -- a good man, a normal man would not abandon Madeleine to spend time with a little girl. Madeleine urges them not to confront Pierre, but they ignore her and decide to act before it is too late.

The reason why Serge Bourguignon’s extraordinary beautiful directorial debut, Les dimanches de Ville d'Avray a.k.a. Sundays and Cybele, works is simple: There is real chemistry between its two leads, real feelings and emotions on display. It never looks or feels as if they are acting. They are real people existing in their own intimate reality who have allowed the camera to enter it. That’s it.

The events in the film are seen primarily through Pierre’s eyes, but one understands exactly how Pierre and Cybele feel about their relationship. They are both aware that age is a factor and that the people around them are judging them -- when they walk together, when they play, when they laugh and smile at each other. There is tremendous trust between them as well, which completely eliminates the dangerous sexual element. Their love is so pure that there is simply no room for it.

The film’s visual design is absolutely astonishing. For example, the manner in which facial close-ups and panoramic shots are brought together allows one to sense plenty of the excitement and joy Pierre and Cybele experience. There are numerous sequences where words are simply not needed -- a water reflection, ray of light, or even a tiny Christmas light can tell everyone one needs to know.

Director Bourguignon shot Sundays and Cybele with the legendary cinematographer Henri Decae, who collaborated with some of the greatest European directors during the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s. In addition to Sundays and Cybele his credits include Claude Chabrol’s Le beau Serge, Francois Truffaut’s The 400 Blows, Rene Clement’s Purple Noon, Christian-Jacques’ The Black Tulip, Jean-Pierre Melville’s Le Samouraï, Louis Malle’s Elevator to the Gallows, and Roger Vadim’s Don Juan (Or If Don Juan Were a Woman).

The film’s very subtle soundtrack -- featuring some very atmospheric pieces composed for cello, Japanese flute and Japanese drum -- was created by multiple Oscar winning composer Maurice Jarre (David Lean’s Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago, Luchino Visconti’s The Damned).

Sundays and Cybèle Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Serge Bourguignon's Sundays and Cybele arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

The following text appears inside the booklet provided with this Blu-ray release:

"This new digital transfer was created in 2K resolution on a Spirit 4K film scanner from a new 35mm fine-grain master made from the original camera negative. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, warps, and jitter were manually removed using MTI's DRS, while Digital Vision's Phoenix was used for small dirt, flicker, grain, and noise management. Customs stamps printed onto the original negative were also removed.
The original monaural soundtrack was remastered at 24-bit from a 35mm D/M/E/ magnetic track. Clicks, thumps, hiss, hum, and crackle were manually removed using Pro Tools HD, AudioCube's integrated workstation, and iZotope RX 3.

Transfer supervisor: Rita Belda/Sony Pictures, Culver City, CA.
Colorist: Richard Cassel/Technicolor Los Angeles."

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

1. Screencaptures #1-19: Sundays and Cybele
2. Screencaptures #21- 24: Le sourire

The wonderful high-definition transfer makes this film look almost distractingly beautiful at times. When there is an abundance of natural light depth, clarity and fluidity are quite simply outstanding (see any of the footage with the lake). The true strength of the high-definition transfer, however, is in its ability to recreate the delicate balance between the nuanced grays, whites and blacks in areas of the film where light is restricted. Here fluidity is fantastic (see screencapture #7) and the film can look as impressive as On the Waterfront (another terrific restoration project completed by Sony Pictures). Grain is beautifully distributed and resolved throughout the entire film. Also, there are no traces of sharpening adjustments. Overall image stability is outstanding. Lastly, large debris, damage marks, cuts, stains, scratches, and splices have been removed without affecting the integrity of the image. All in all, this is a wonderful organic presentation of Sundays and Cybele which will likely remain its definitive presentation on the home video market. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Sundays and Cybèle Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: French LPCM 1.0. For the record, Criterion have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

It is very easy to tell that the audio has been restored -- depth and clarity are excellent and there is absolutely no background hiss. Random sounds and noises are well defined and balanced. Maurice Jarre's atmospheric soundtrack also breathes easily throughout the entire film. The dialog is consistently crisp, clear, stable, and easy to follow. The English translation is excellent.

Sundays and Cybèle Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original trailer for Sundays and Cybele. In English, not subtitled. (3 min, 1080p).

• Serge Bourguignon - in this brand new video interview, director Serge Bourguignon discusses the creative environment in France during the nouvelle vague era, Bernard Eschassériaux's novel and the script it inspired (as well as some of the important differences and similarities between the two), the casting of Patricia Gozzi and her relationship with Hardy Krüger before the camera and in real life, Maurice Jarre's unique score, the structure of the narrative, etc. The interview was conducted exclusively for Criterion at the director's home in Paris in June 2014. In English, not subtitled. (27 min, 1080p).

• Patricia Gozzi - in this brand new interview, actress Patricia Gozzi recalls how she was approached and chosen to play Cybele, and discusses her interaction with Serge Bourguignon during the shooting of the Sundays and Cybele as well as her relationship with Hardy Krüger, the film's success at the Academy Awards, etc. The interview was conducted exclusively for Criterion in Paris in June 2014. In English, not subtitled. (12 min, 1080p).

• Hardy Krüger - in this brand new video interview, actor Hardy Krüger recalls how he was approached by producer Romain Pinès and offered the role of Pierre in Sundays and Cybele (initially, director Serge Bourguignon wanted Steve McQueen to play Pierre), and discusses his impressions of the script, the rather difficult funding of the film, his wonderful relationship with Patricia Gozzi (and how he ended it), the spectacular cinematography of the great Henri Decaë (The 400 Blows, Le Samouraï, Elevator to the Gallows), Mike Frankovich's (managing director at Columbia Pictures) initial reaction to the film, etc. The interview was conducted exclusively for Criterion in 2014. In English, not subtitled. (24 min, 1080p).

• Le sourire - presented here is director Serge Bourguignon's short film Le sourire a.k.a. The Smile which won the prestigious Palme d'Or Award for Best Short Film at the Cannes Film Festival in 1960. The film follows a young Buddhist monk in Burma. Color. In French, with optional English subtitles. (23 min, 1080p).

• Serge Bourguignon Introduces Le sourire - this new video introduction was filmed for Criterion in 2014. In English, not subtitled. (7 min, 1080p).

• Leaflet - illustrated leaflet featuring professor Ginette Vincendeau's essay "Innocent Love?" and production credits.

Sundays and Cybèle Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Releases such as this one are the reason why Criterion are considered by many to be the best in the business. I very much doubt that without them Serge Bourguignon's astonishingly beautiful Sundays and Cybele would have been treated with the same respect. Indeed, not only does the film look magnificent on Blu-ray, but the newly produced supplemental features are some of the best I have seen this year. The exclusive interview with Hardy Krüger alone is a good enough reason to highly recommend this release. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.