Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		3.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

The Red Balloon Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov December 17, 2023

Albert Lamorisse's "Le ballon rouge" a.k.a. "The Red Balloon" (1956) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the release include exclusive new program with Pascal Lamorisse and two archival programs with Albert Lamorisse. In French, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Note: The text below was initially used in our review of Network Releasing's Blu-ray release of The Red Balloon/White Main from 2010.

They meet on the streets of Paris. At first, he seems a bit shy, but then warms up and goes for a walk with the young boy (Pascal Lamorisse). At school, the other kids are impressed with the boy’s new friend. He likes them too, but not as much as he likes the boy. Now the boy must go to class, but he would wait for him. Perhaps later on they could go for another walk and the boy would show him the neighborhood.

The boy invites his new friend to his place, but his grandmother immediately throws him out. Oh, well, if she won’t let him in through the door, he would let him in through the window. He is harmless -- why is she so mean to him?

On the following day, the boy is late for school. This gets him in trouble with one of the school officials, an elderly man, but then the elderly man gets in trouble with his new friend. The boy loves it. This is the type of friend he always wanted to have. They should have met earlier.

On the way back home, several kids attempt to steal his friend. They run away and try to hide, but lose each other. Later on, they meet again, but a kid throws a stone at his friend and hurts him badly. His friend falls, then quietly dies. The boy is heartbroken. He was the best friend he ever had, and it did not matter that he was just a giant red balloon.

Albert Lamorisse cast his son to play the young Pascal in Le ballon rouge, and he delivered an unforgettable performance. The unique chemistry between the boy and the balloon is indeed what makes this film so special. As strange as it may sound, for a while it does seem like they were meant to be together.

The special effects are excellent. The balloon’s moves are captured in a truly unique manner -- especially on the day after the boy befriends the balloon, and they play for the first time -- and in quite a few scenes it truly feels like the balloon is alive.

Cinematographer Edmond Sechan captures perfectly the timeless allure of the City of Lights, too. The gray cobblestone streets, the dark alleys, and the pastry shops are all shot in a way that makes one believe that miracles can happen. Maurice Leroux's music score is also an integral part of the magic as well.

The second film included on this release is Crin blanc: Le cheval sauvage a.k.a. The White Mane, which was shot by director Lamorisse a couple of years before Le ballon rouge. It is about a young boy, Folco (Alain Emery), who lives in the Camarque region in the South of France, where he befriends a beautiful white-haired wild horse. Their friendship is tested by a group of ranchers.

Similar to Le ballon rouge, Crin blanc: Le cheval sauvage is an incredibly beautiful and gentle film with only a few lines of dialog. It is also filled with symbolism that forces one to think about friendship, sacrifice, and peace.

In 1953, Crin blanc: Le cheval sauvage won the Grand Prize at Cannes Film Festival and the Prix Jean Vigo for Best Short Film. In 1956, Le ballon rouge won the prestigious Palme d'Or award at the Cannes Film Festival. A year later, the film won an Oscar for Best Screenplay.

The Red Balloon Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.37:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, The Red Balloon arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

The release introduces a new 4K restoration of The Red Balloon, which was approved by Pascal Lamorisse. It is included in The Red Balloon and Other Stories: Five Films by Albert Lamorisse, a two-disc set.

The following text appears inside the booklet that is provided with this release:

"These new digital masters (for all films in the two-disc set) were created from the 35mm original camera negatives, which were scanned in 4K resolution at Eclair Classics, in Paris, and approved by Pascal Lamorisse. The original monaural soundtracks were remastered from the 35mm oprical soundtrack negatives.

Color grading: Jean-Michel Petit and Thibaud Caquot/Films Montsouris Visuals.
Digital restoration: Prassad Corporation; Jean-Michel Petit and Thibaud Caquot/Films Montsouris Visuals.
Disc mastering: NexSpec."

The Red Balloon transitioned to Blu-ray with this release from British label Network Releasing back in 2010, which was one of my first imported releases and remains one of my favorites. Earlier tonight, I viewed the new 4K makeover and then did a number of comparisons with the original release. The Red Balloon looks quite different now. It has a much warmer appearance. Also, it looks softer and flatter, especially in darker areas where there should be plenty of nuances to be seen. The softness and flatness are introduced by improper gamma levels that affect the dynamic range of the visuals, and all of this is a byproduct of the color tweaks that were made to make the entire film appear warmer. The primaries that are affected the most are blues, which now shift toward turquoise, and reds, which now shift toward light brown. You can see how gamma levels are impacted here and here. Where the fluctuations are most obvious, it looks like filtering has been applied. You can see how the primaries and the dynamic range of the visuals are affected here (and compare here) and here (and compare here). While some of the color adjustments are easy to tolerate, the discrepancies in the dynamic range of the visuals are not because they directly impact delineation and depth. Unsurprisingly, quite a lot of footage looks better on the previous release. Also, in some of the darker areas where the gamma levels are not right, the gray(s) reveals light macroblocking patterns. Image stability is excellent. (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).

The Red Balloon Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: French LPCM 1.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The Red Balloon has a lovely orchestral score, which sounds quite good. However, the entire score has a chamber quality, so dynamic contrasts are very, very modest. I did not notice any age-related anomalies to report in our review, but you will probably notice that the upper register occasionally becomes a bit too thin. This is how the audio was recorded, and the same effect is present on the previous release of The Red Balloon. The film welcomes plenty of organic sounds and noises with unique qualities as well.

The Red Balloon Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Pascal Lamorisse - in this new program, Pascal Lamorisse, son of director Albert Lamorisse, discusses his father's background and cinematic legacy, as well as his own contribution to several of his films. In English, not subtitled. (24 min).

• Albert Lamorisse 1957 - presented here is a segment from the French television program Pile ou face featuring Albert Lamorisse discussing The Red Balloon, White Mane, and his directing methods before a group of young students. In French, with English subtitles. (9 min).

• Albert Lamorisse 1959 - presented here is a segment from the French television program Le criterium du film in which Albert Lamorisse discusses The Red Balloon and The White Mane. In French, with English subtitles. (7 min).

• Booklet - a 26-page illustrated booklet featuring critic David Cairns' essay "Head in the Clouds", film descriptions, and technical credits.

The Red Balloon Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Nearly seven decades later, The Red Balloon remains the most unique and poignant film to win the Palme d'Or award. Indeed, it is an almost incomprehensibly simple yet incredibly original and magical film that once seen cannot be forgotten. I genuinely believe that the term classic was invented to describe very special films like it. This release introduces a recent 4K restoration. It is included in The Red Balloon and Other Stories: Five Films by Albert Lamorisse, a two-disc set.