The Conformist Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		2.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

The Conformist Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov December 13, 2023

Bernardo Bertolucci's "The Conformist" (1970) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Raro Video U.S. The supplemental features on the release include new audio commentary by film critic Bilge Ebiri; archival visual essay by Italian film critic and historian Adriano Apra; original vintage and recent trailers; and more. In Italian or English, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Rome, 1938. Marcello Clerici (Jean-Louis Trintignant, So Sweet...So Perverse, Le Combat dans l'ile) has started working for the Fascist secret police. His first assignment is to assassinate his old professor (Enzo Tarascio, The Designated Victim), a passionate communist and leader of an influential anti-fascist group who now lives in exile in Paris.

Marcello arrives in Paris with the beautiful but naïve Giulia (Stefania Sandrelli, The Nymph, Seduced and Abandoned), who is under the assumption that the two will be celebrating their honeymoon. He quickly arranges to meet the professor, who admits that he does not remember much about him.

During the meeting, it becomes clear that years ago Marcello was one of the professor’s brightest students. Like him, he also sympathized with the communists but never attempted to join them. Knowing that Marcello has become a fascist, the professor attempts to understand why.

By the end of the meeting Marcello is already madly in love with Anna (Dominique Sanda, A Room in Town, Novecento), the professor’s stunningly beautiful wife, who realizes that she could easily manipulate him if she wanted. Later on, the two meet and make love, but both realize that their lives are heading in completely different directions. Like her husband, Anna is also a communist but willing to compromise with her beliefs if she must.

While Marcello tries to gather the courage to kill the professor, flashbacks from his childhood reveal a disturbing experience with a homosexual chauffeur (Pierre Clémenti, I Cannibali, Belle de jour). The outcome of this experience partially reveals how Marcello’s life philosophy was shaped.

Based on Alberto Moravia’s famous novel, Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Conformist is one of the greatest films of the ‘70s. It is an incredibly dark, frightening, remarkably cruel yet indescribably beautiful film.

The film is not so much about Marcello’s mission to Paris as it is about various people caught in a labyrinth of ideas – there are fascists, communists, predators, traitors, idealists, and executioners who try to find a way out of it and in the process discover who they truly are. The film is particularly good at revealing their feelings and moods through beautiful images as they confront and learn about each other.

Marcello, of course, is the conformist, the most dangerous type, a man who joins with the stronger side not because he genuinely supports its cause, but because for the moment it is the only way to conform. Then later on, after Mussolini’s government collapses, he predictably turns his back on it.

From all the legendary films the great Vittorio Storaro lensed during the years, his work in The Conformist is undoubtedly his best. The lensing is so beautiful that at times it actually becomes distracting, and even prevents one from concentrating on the fractured narrative. The use of color, in particular, is incredibly original.

Trintignant is superb as the spiritually paralyzed and consumed by anger Marcello. There are numerous close-ups in the film where the camera looks straight into his eyes, and one immediately realizes how powerful the demons he struggles with are. The beautiful Sandrelli and Sanda are also terrific. Clementi has a small but memorable cameo.

The Conformist is complimented by an outstanding soundtrack courtesy of the great French composer Georges Delerue (Hiroshima Mon Amour, Le mépris, L' important c'est d'aimer).

The Conformist Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.66:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, The Conformist arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Raro Video.

The release introduces a brand new 4K restoration of The Conformist that was completed at Cineteca di Bologna and L'Immagine Ritrovata. Also included on a second disc is the older restoration of the film that was completed in 2009. This restoration was supervised by Bernardo Bertolucci and director of photography Vittorio Storaro. This restoration was first introduced on Blu-ray in 2014. You can see our listing and review of it here.

Please note that the screencaptures that are included with this article appear in the following order:

Screencaptures: 1-24: New 4K restoration of The Conformist.
Screencaptures: 30-40: Previous restoration of The Conformist from 2009.

I viewed the new 4K restoration earlier tonight. Unfortunately, I have to report that it is yet another awful makeover that almost completely destroys the native appearance of a classic film.

The new 4K restoration introduces a brand new color scheme that destabilizes and collapses key primaries, like blue, red, white, brown, and gray. For example, there is a rather dramatic shift from blue to turquoise/cyan, and from white to creamy yellow. As a result, the color temperature of entire sequences is compromised. Just as importantly, however, in many areas, there are serious issues with the dynamic range of the visuals. Some affect the gamma levels, while some go much further and flatten existing nuances and details. Unsurprisingly, depth is not optimal either. Some of the most obvious gamma fluctuations reveal blocking patterns, too. (You can see an example here). The most dramatic shifts in the color scheme, combined with other anomalies, produce visuals with digital qualities that would be most appropriate in a modern film. (You can see examples here and here). All of this is incredibly frustrating because the raw 4K files appear to be of exceptionally high quality. Density levels, for instance, are terrific. Grain exposure looks very, very good, too. The entire film is spotless as well. (Note: Both discs that are included with this release are Region-Free).

Fortunately, you can view the previous restoration as well, which is vastly superior. Yes, it does have some inconsistencies that could have been eliminated, plus it could have been encoded better, but it offers an all-around more satisfying presentation of The Conformist that does not compromise its native appearance. Also, now that 4K Blu-ray players are here and can upscale to 4K, I think that when bumped from 1080p to 4K it looks lovely. Not perfect, but the 4K upscaling strengthens the visuals very, very nicely.

The Conformist Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The new 4K restoration of The Conformist can be viewed with two audio tracks: original Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I viewed the new 4K restoration with the original Italian track. I thought that it was fantastic. Clarity was very, very good, and in several areas, the sound just felt quite a bit fuller. Stability was outstanding. I did not encounter any audio dropouts, pops, cracks, or distortions to report in our review. I did not test the English track.

The Conformist Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

BLU-RAY DISC ONE - 4K RESTORATION

• Interview with Valentina Ricciardelli - Valentina Ricciardelli, president of the Bernardo Bertolucci Foundation, discusses the foundation's goals and its first project, the new 4K restoration of The Conformist. In Italian, with optional English subtitles. (28 min).

• Re-Release Trailer - presented here is a new trailer for the recent 4K restoration of The Conformist. (2 min).

• Commentary - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by film critic Bilge Ebiri.

BLU-RAY DISC TWO - PREVIOUS RESTORATION FROM 2009

• In the Shade of the Conformist - in this visual essay, renowned Italian film critic and historian Adriano Apra takes a closer look at Bernardo Bertolucci's work with Pier Paolo Pasolini on La Commare Secca (Bertolucci's directorial debut) and discusses its poetic qualities and visual style; Before the Revolution, which was inspired by the French Nouvelle Vague; Agony, a segment from the anthology film Love and Anger; the politically charged Partner, with Pierre Clémenti, which was filmed during the '68 student riots; and The Spider's Stratagem. Adriano Apra also discusses The Conformist and its unusual color scheme (using some outstanding graphs), the camera movement, the lensing (while analyzing various shots with equally interesting diagrams), etc. Also included in the essay are clips from a very long interview with the Italian director in which he explains how The Conformist came to exist, and discusses its production history, its script and Alberto Moravia's novel, the casting process, the key conflicts in the film, etc. The interview was conducted in Rome on June 1, 2011. In Italian, with optional English subtitles. (58 min).

• Trailer One - presented here is the original 1970 U.S. theatrical trailer for The Conformist. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

• Trailer Two - presented here is the original U.S. trailer for 2014 re-release of The Conformist. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• Booklet - 8-page illustrated booklet featuring a message from Martin Scorsese and notes on the new 4K restoration of The Conformist.

The Conformist Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Raro Video's two-disc set of Bernardo Bertolucci's masterpiece The Conformist brings bad and good news. The bad news is that the new 4K restoration of the film that was completed at Cineteca di Bologna and L'Immagine Ritrovata alters its native appearance. In other words, the film does not look as it should. The good news is that the release also allows you to view the previous restoration of the film from 2009, which was supervised by Bertolucci and director of photography Vittorio Storaro. This restoration has some limitations but preserves the film's native appearance. It is a good restoration that can look lovely if it is upscaled to 4K. RECOMMENDED, but only if you do not already have Raro Video's original release of The Conformist from 2014.