6.9 | / 10 |
Users | 4.2 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.2 |
Viviane, a straightforward young woman, sets out on a birding expedition in New Guinea, where she meets Olivier, an adventurer who's about to leave with some friends on an expedition into the jungle. The goal is to discover an unknown valley in the phantom regions of the island marked only by blank spots ("obscured by clouds") on the map. Only the natives suspect the valley is where the gods live.
Starring: Monique Giraudy, Michael Gothard, Jean-Pierre Kalfon, Valérie Lagrange, Bulle OgierForeign | 100% |
Drama | 44% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
French: LPCM 2.0
English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
DVD copy
Region free
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Director Barbet Schroeder's second feature film "La vallee" a.k.a. "The Valley (Obscured by Clouds)" (1972) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of the British Film Institute. The supplemental features on the disc include theatrical trailers and three short films - "Le cochon aux patates douces", "Maquillages", and "Sing-Sing". The disc also arrives with an illustrated booklet featuring rare on-set photographs, newly commissioned essays, and an interview with director Barbet Schroeder. In French and English, with optional English subtitles. Region-Free.
Lovers
Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Barbet Schroeder's The Valley arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of the BFI.
The following text appears inside the booklet provided with this Blu-ray disc:
"The Valley (Obscured by Clouds)was transferred in High Definition from the original 35mm Techniscope negative. Audio was transferred from the original magnetic tracks. The picture was restored using HD-DVNR and MTI restoration systems, removing dirt, scratches and warps, repairing damaged frames and improving stability issues. Audio issues such as pops, crackle and noise/hiss were also improved.
Barbet Schroeder supervised and approved this new transfer. The restored 'optical effect' ending was produced digitally using the original 35mm Techniscope negative at Deluxe Digital, London, at Barbet Schroeder's request. The original 'optical effect' ending was transferred from a 35mm print.
All original film and sound materials were made available by Les Films de Losange.
Telecine Producer: James White.
Technical Assistant: Douglas Weir.
Telecine Colorist: Fabien Napoli, Scanlab, Paris."
The presentation is enormously satisfying. A quick comparison with the R1 DVD release of the film, courtesy of the now defunct Home Vision Entertainment, reveals a massive gap in quality. Not only are detail and clarity dramatically improved, but the film has literally been given a brand new color-scheme. The fuzzy and often bleeding greens, browns, blues, and grays from the DVD have been replaced with warm and natural colors that give the film an entirely new look, adding greatly to its unique atmosphere, not detracting from it. Additionally, on the standard definition transfer there is a very distracting shimmer that often pops up around the edges, but the high-definition transfer is completely free of it. There are no traces of overzealous sharpening either. Some extremely light noise has been retained - and portions of it appear mixed with the film grain - but the image consistently conveys wonderful depth and fluidity. Lastly, there are no damage marks, cuts, or warps to report in this review. All in all, this is a fabulous presentation that allows the viewer to immerse into the unusual world of director Barbet Schroeder. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location).
There is only one audio track on this Blu-ray disc: French LPCM 2.0 (with portions of English). For the record, the BFI have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature (which appear only when French is spoken). When turned on, they split the image frame and the black bar below it.
The loseless audio track is invaluable, because without it the beauty of Pink Floyd's legendary soundtrack is simply lost (this is certainly the case on the DVD release of The Valley). The sequences with the fascinating rituals in the village also benefit from it, though the overall dynamic amplitude is indeed quite limited. The dialog is consistently crisp, clean, stable, and very easy to follow. Also, there are no sync issues or problematic audio dropouts. The English translation is excellent.
In the lavish booklet offered with this Blu-ray release there is an excellent interview with director Barbet Schroeder, which was conducted by Emilie Bickerton in Paris in 2010. In it, the Franco-Swiss director notes: "The film is an object like nothing else. It is very surprising...Since it is not a dramatic film it is essential to be able to feel the sensuality of the image. That's why seeing it in Blu-ray is actually so important for me." I could not agree any more. I've owned The Valley on various formats, but this is the best presentation I have ever seen. Absolutely beautiful. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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