Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.0

The Trial Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov August 14, 2023

Orson Welles' "The Trial" (1962) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the release include exclusive new audio commentary by author and critic Joseph McBride; archival Q&A session with Orson Welles; archival program with director of photography Edmond Richard; restoration trailer; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

The Civilized Mob vs. The Guilty

The main protagonist in Orson Welles’ The Trial is a young man who looks normal. He is tall, handsome, and well-educated. He lives in a small but clean and well-organized apartment. He is single and has a steady office job. His name is Joseph K. (Anthony Perkins, Psycho).

Early into the film Joseph K. is awakened and arrested by two demanding respect detectives. They never specify why, which is why Joseph K. begins asking questions. But the more he insists on being told what is happening, the more hostile the detectives become. He asks his beautiful neighbor (Jeanne Moreau, Elevator to the Gallows) for advice, but all he gets is an uninspired kiss. Seriously frustrated, Joseph K. embarks on a journey to discover what he is being charged with, and how he can prove that he is an innocent man.

Soon after, Joseph K. encounters the Advocate (Orson Welles, Touch of Evil), an overconfident man with an impeccable reputation who is served by an unusually elegant maid (Romy Schneider, La Piscine). The Advocate further confuses Joseph K. after he reveals to him that his case is extremely serious. The poor man barely manages to remain calm as he has no clue what is happening -- or what might have happened before the detectives entered his apartment.

While looking for answers, Joseph K. enters a large courtroom, where he is told by a rude judge that he is late. He tries to defend himself -- despite the fact that he is still unsure what crime he has committed - but quickly loses his temper and angers the judge. When the court’s cleaning lady (Elsa Martinelli, The 10th Victim) and an aggressive man begin fighting, Joseph K. runs away -- and enters a huge industrial building with hundreds of typists working in giant halls and piles of documents and books scattered all over the place. Fearing that his mind might have started playing tricks on him, Joseph K. tries to leave the building but gets stuck in the dark and cold tunnels underneath it.

Orson Welles’ adaptation of Franz Kafka’s famous novel is a true masterpiece of cinema. It is a dark, bizarre, and hugely atmospheric visual feast that sums up what paranoia is better than any other film ever made.

Perkins plays the clueless Joseph K. to perfection. There are sequences throughout the film where he is calm and reasonable and then there are sequences where it looks like someone has unplugged his mental cord. He is the perfect visual replica of a human being that has fallen into the abyss of madness but does not know it.

But what if this man is perfectly sane and it is the social environment that he is a part of that has mutated into a giant grinding machine? The worst authoritarian societies were all grinding machines, breeding followers rather than free-thinkers and expunging those who were brave enough to question them. Perkins’ Joseph K. exists in precisely such a reality, a dark and surreal place where everything is twisted and the realization that he is not one of the normal ones slowly destroys him from the inside out.

The Trial blends the elegance of the classic film noirs and the spooky ambience of the great German expressionist horror films and produces an astonishing mind-bender with a sleek retro-industrial look whose visuals are even more impressive today. Particularly during the second half, several sequences look like something only the minds of David Cronenberg and David Lynch could have conceived. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it was lensed by cinematographer Edmond Richard, who worked closely with Luis Bunuel (The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie).

*In 1964, The Trial won Best Film Award at the French Syndicate of Cinema Critics Awards.

The Trial 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 Trial arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

This release introduces StudioCanal's recent 4K restoration of The Trial, which was made available on 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray in various European territories in 2022. (You can see our review of StudioCanal's 4K Blu-ray release here).

The 4K makeover is outstanding. It gives the entire film a fresh, very solid organic appearance that makes it possible to experience it in an entirely new way. (I still have in my library StudioCanal's original Blu-ray release from 2012 and its technical presentation of the film is very, very underwhelming). For example, now a lot of the indoor and darker footage boasts depth and clarity that are quite striking, so there is a lot more to see and appreciate. Also, Orson Welles carefully managed light and shadow to create a very particular atmosphere and now it is very easy to see and understand what he was going for in various sequences. (On the previous release, many subtle nuances are simply missing). I noticed the same minor gamma fluctuations that are present on StudioCanal's more recent release, so as I expected, it appears that they are on the restored 4K master. There are no traces of problematic digital work. Image stability is excellent. However, in several darker areas, I noticed light macroblocking that should have been avoided with encoding optimizations. (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 Trial Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

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

I did not encounter any issues to report. The audio is clear and clean. There are a few segments with small but noticeable fluctuations -- all appear during indoor footage -- but at this point it is easy to conclude that they are inherited. The upper register is definitely healthier now. (On the previous release, occasionally there was extremely light hiss).

The Trial Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by Joseph McBride, author of What Ever Happened to Orson Welles? A Portrait of an Independent Career. I have listened to several different commentaries that Mr. McBride has recorded for various releases -- for example, there is an outstanding one on Kino Lorber's release of The Lost Weekend -- and they always offer very diverse and interesting information. This commentary continues the trend. For example, Mr. McBride mentions that for a while Orson Welles regarded The Trial to be his best film but later changed his mind and moved Chimes at Midnight to the top spot. Further into the commentary, there is equally interesting information about the visual style of the film and its importance for the specific atmosphere that materializes in it as well as its Kafka-esque qualities.

• Filming "The Trial" - presented here is archival footage from a Q&A session with Orson Welles that took place after a screening of The Trial at the University of Southern California in 1981. Apparently, this footage, shot by cinematographer Gary Graver, was intended for a documentary that Welles wanted to make on the production of the film. Unfortunately, the documentary did not materialize. In English, not subtitled. (84 min).

• Vive le cinema! - presented here is an archival episode of the French television program Vive le cinema! hosted by actress Jeanne Moreau. Moreau and Orson Welles discuss their careers, philosophies of life, and a few minor triumphs and failures while having lunch at the Ritz Paris hotel. There is one particularly funny story about an improvised suicide attempt that nearly turned out to be successful. The episode was directed by Jacques Rozier in 1972. In French and English, with optional English subtitles where necessary. (29 min).

• Orson Welles, Architect of Light - in this archival video interview, director of photography Edmond Richard recalls his interaction with Orson Welles during the shooting of The Trial. The information about Zagreb, where some of the film's most memorable sequences were shot, is particularly interesting. In French, with optional English and German subtitles. (24 min).

• 4K Restoration Trailer - presented here is a recent trailer that was used to promote the new 4K restoration of The Trial. In English, not subtitled. (1 min).

• Leaflet - an illustrated leaflet featuring an essay by author Jonathan Lethem as well as technical credits.

The Trial Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Even though the brilliance of Citizen Kane is undeniable, if I had to pick one of Orson Welles' films that perfectly visualizes his creative genius, The Trial would be it. This film tackles a grand masterpiece of literature with such remarkable imagination, style, and provocative wit that it will never age. In fact, at this very moment, The Trial is a much more relevant film than it was in the early 1960s. This release introduces StudioCanal's recent 4K restoration of The Trial. The 4K restoration is excellent but I think that its technical presentation could have been more convincing. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.