Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		5.0

Tess Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov January 21, 2014

Winner of three Cesar Awards, including Best Film and Best Director, Roman Polanski's "Tess" (1979) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; documentary film by Serge July and Daniel Ablin; three featurettes with various interviews with director Roman Polanski, Nastassja Kinski, producer Claude Berri, makeup artist Didier Lavergne, costume designer Anthony Powell, and actor Leigh Lawson, amongst others; an episode of The South Bank Show; and more. The release also arrives with an illustrated booklet featuring an essay by critic Colin MacCabe. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Tess

The poor drunkard John Durbeyfield (John Collin) is told by a parson that he is related to the d'Urbervilles, a wealthy family with a long history. The man immediately consults his wife and sends his beautiful daughter, Tess (Nastassja Kinski, Paris, Texas), to a local manor owned by the d'Urbervilles to ask for employment.

Upon arrival, Tess is seduced by her 'cousin' Alec (Leigh Lawson, Brother Sun, Sister Moon), a suave man always looking for new thrills. Tess becomes pregnant and quickly leaves the manor. Back home she gives birth but shortly after the baby dies. Alec is never told about the baby.

Tess leaves her family again and this time finds employment in a dairy farm, where she meets Angel Clare (Peter Firth, Equus), a young and very handsome dreamer who can't stop thinking about visiting Brazil. The two fall in love and eventually marry. But on the night when they begin confessing to each other the "wrongs" they have done in their lives, Angel realizes that Tess isn't the girl he thought she was and refuses to forgive her. Then much to Tess' surprise and disappointment, he packs his bags and heads to Brazil. Alone and penniless, Tess is forced to work terrible jobs to make ends meet.

Eventually, Alec appears again and offers to put an end to Tess' misery by having her live with him in his lavish house. At first Tess rejects him, insisting that she will remain loyal to Angel, but as time goes by Alec changes her mind and she becomes his wife. Sometime after that, Angle returns from Brazil, a reformed man who has realized that he should have never left the only person in his life who truly loved him.

Roman Polanski directed Tess in 1979. The film was nominated for six Oscar Awards, but won only three - Best Cinematography (Geoffrey Unsworth and Ghislain Cloquet), Best Costume Design (Anthony Powell), and Best Art Direction-Set Decoration (Pierre Guffroy and Jack Stephens).

Tess is loosely based on Thomas Hardy's novel Tess of the d'Urbervilles. It is essentially a period love story with enough romantic idealism to balance the different social comments that pop up here and there. None of them are particularly outrageous, but this is the kind of film where good and evil are very clearly identified with poor and rich.

The film works because of two key reasons. First, there is a degree of sincerity in it that makes it easy for the viewer to feel about Tess. How her story would end really isn't that important; what matters is how she deals with the pain now, while the camera follows her closely. Second, Tess is an astonishingly beautiful film. Even the cold winters from the British countryside where men and women are often seen working on the fields look quite remarkable. The framing and use of color by the two cinematographers, Ghislain Cloquet (Robert Bresson's Au Hasard Balthazar) and Geoffrey Unsworth (Bob Fosse's Cabaret), is simply terrific.

The acting is excellent. At times Kinski looks appropriately naive and brittle, but other times she is also convincing as a woman who has decided to remain loyal to the man she loves. Firth is also excellent as the young idealist who comes to realize that he should have never left the love of his life.

The outstanding costumes seen in the film were done by acclaimed designer Anthony Powell (Steven Spielberg's Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Hook). The film's soundtrack was composed by the legendary Philippe Sarde (Jose Giovanni's Two Men in Town, Andre Techine's Barocco).

Tess Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.39:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Roman Polanski's Tess arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

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

"Supervised by director Roman Polanski, this new digital transfer was created in 4K resolution on an ARRISCAN film scanner from the 35mm original camera negative at Eclair Laboratories in Epinay-sur-Seine, France.The film was also restored in 4K at Eclair Laboratories.

The original Dolby stereo soundtrack was remastered at 24-bit from the 35mm 4-track magnetic tracks and restored by L.E. Diapason in Epinay-sur-Seine, with the participation of Gerard Lamps.

Transfer supervisor: Roman Polanski; Philippe Tourret/Eclair Laboratories, Epinay-sur-Seine, France.
Colorist: Raymond Terrentin/Eclair Laboratories, Epinay-sur-Seine, France."

The foundation of Criterion's high-definition transfer is Pathe/Eclair Group and Le Diapason's outstanding 4K restoration of Tess which was released on Blu-ray in France in 2012 (see our review of the French release here). Needless to say, the film looks spectacular in high-definition. From start to finish detail is outstanding, while clarity is very pleasing. The daylight footage, in particularity, looks simply spectacular (see screencaptures #1 and 9). During the panoramic shots depth and fluidity are also might impressive. Perhaps the biggest improvements, however, are in the area of color reproduction. When compared to the old R1 DVD release, the new restoration introduces an entirely different range of very natural colors. (In terms of color temperature, I could not see any major discrepancies between the French release and this upcoming release). Furthermore, there are no problematic degraining corrections. Compromising sharpening adjustments also have not been applied. Image stability is outstanding. Debris, scratches, flecks, stains, and dirt have also been removed as best as possible. All in all, this is an excellent presentation of Pathe's restoration of Tess, which is guaranteed to make fans of the film in North America very happy. (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).

Tess Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. For the record, Criteiron have provided optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

The Criterion release retains the lossless 5.1 track from the Pathe release - and this is certainly very good news. The lossless track has a fantastic range of nuanced dynamics that open up the film in all the right places and greatly enhance the period atmosphere. Indeed, even seemingly casual nature sounds and noises (rain, thunders, heavy rain) are exceptionally easy to identify. Also, the dialog is always crisp, completely free of background hiss, stable, and very easy to follow.

Tess Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original trailer for Tess. Music only. (2 min, 1080p).

• Cine regards - this 1979 episode of the French television program Cine regards, producedby Pierre Andre Boutang, contains raw footage from the shooting of Tess in the French countryside. Also included are clips from an archival interview with Roman Polanski. The same episode/featurette is included on Pathe's Blu-ray release of Tess. In French and English, with optional English subtitles where necessary. (49 min, 1080p).

• Once Upon a Time... "Tess" - documentary film on the making of Tess by Serge July and Daniel Ablin. The film features numerous interviews with director Roman Polanski, producer Claude Berri, co-producer Timothy Burrill, composer Philippe Sarde, and Nastassja Kinski, amongst others. Produced by Arte France, Folamour Productions, TCM. 2006. The documentary also appears on Pathe's Blu-ray release. In English and French, with optional English subtitles where necessary. (53, 1080i).

• On the Making of Tess - three short documentaries directed by Laurent Bouzereau in 2004.
  
  1. From Novel to Screen - this featurette also appears on Pathe's Blu-ray release of Tess. In it director Roman Polanski recalls how Tess came to exist. Also included is information about Thomas Hardy and his novel Tess of the d'Urbervilles, as well as clips from archival interviews with Professor Michael Irvin, specialist in the work of Thomas Hardy, writer and researcher Claire Seymour, co-producer Timothy Burrill, producer and director Claude Berri (Jean de Florette, Manon des sources), screenwriter John Brownjohn, Nastassja Kinski, casting director Mary Selway, and actor Leigh Lawson (Alec d'Urberville), amongst others. In English and French, with optional English subtitles where necessary. (29 min, 1080i).
  
  2. Filming Tess - this featurette also appears on the Pathe release. In it director Roman Polanski recalls shooting process. Included here are clips from archival interviews with co-producer Timothy Burrill, executive producer Pierre Grunstein, actor Leigh Lawson, hairdresser Marc Ludovic Paris, chief electrician Jean-Claude Lebras, and costume designer Anthony Powell, amongst others. In English and French, with optional English subtitles where necessary. (27 min, 1080i).
  
  3. Tess: The Experience - this featurette also appears on the Pathe release. Director Roman Polanski recalls the experience of shooting Tess. Also included are interviews with makeup artist Didier Lavergne, costume designer Anthony Powell, and actor Leigh Lawson, amongst others. In English and French, with optional English subtitles where necessary. (20 min, 1080i).

• The South Bank Show - in this 1979 episode of the British television show, Melvyn Bragg interviews director Roman Polanski about Tess and his career. Also included are archival clips from the shooting of the film, actual clips from different films directed by Roman Polanski, stills, and personal photographs. In English, not subtitled. (51 min, 1080i).

• Booklet - an illustrated booklet featuring an essay by critic Colin MacCabe.

Tess Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Fans of Roman Polanski's Tess who have been patiently waiting for Pathe/Eclair Group and Le Diapason's beautiful 4K restoration of the film to come to North America will be enormously pleased with Criterion's upcoming Blu-ray release. Not only does the film look wonderful in high-definition, but Criterion have included all of the supplemental features from Pathe's release and added as a bonus an episode of the British television series The South Bank Show. It is only January, but I have a pretty good feeling that this release will end up on a lot of Top 10 lists at the end of the year. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.