The Woman Next Door Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

The Woman Next Door Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov October 20, 2014

François Truffaut's "The Woman Next Door" a.k.a. "La femme d'à côté" (1981) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Artificial Eye. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; selected-scene commentary by actors Gerard Depardieu and Fanny Ardant; audio commentary by actress Véronique Silver; and recorded presentation by Serge Toubiana, president of Cinémathèque française. In French, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Mathilde

They have both moved on with their lives, but have not forgotten. Now, eight years later, they are anxious because they are going to be neighbors.

Bernard (Gerard Depardieu, Police, Going Places) loves his wife Arlette (Michèle Baumgartner) and is happy with what they have. They are not rich but have enough to enjoy the simple things in life. What truly makes their relationship special, however, is the fact that they both trust each other -- completely and unreservedly.

Mathilde (Fanny Ardant, Swann in Love, Ridicule) has recently married an older man (Henri Garcin, The Dress) who seems to understand her. He is an air controller and at times could be too pragmatic, but she feels comfortable around him. They also trust each other, though they are still learning their histories.

Unaware that Bernard and Mathilde are former lovers, Arlette invites the new neighbors to dinner. Much to her disappointment, however, Bernard fails to return home on time and she ends up entertaining the guests alone. Soon after, Bernard and Mathilde meet in the local supermarket and secretly begin seeing each other.

Bernard and Mathilde’s love affair becomes so intense that eventually it takes them out of their comfort zones and they make crucial mistakes that threaten to collapse their marriages. They agree to part ways, but fail to keep their promises and their lives spin out of control.

Francois Truffaut’s The Woman Next Door has a classic Hitchcockian structure -- it creates specific expectations and at the right moment it completely destroys them. As a result, one is forced to reevaluate the actions of its protagonists as well as the different motivations behind them.

What makes the film unique is the casual atmosphere that permeates it (an essential element for many of Truffaut’s films). Here the main protagonists are ordinary people who get a chance to rekindle an old romantic relationship. It is a temptation they fear but can’t resist. A large portion of the film is dedicated to their struggle to control their desires and emotions and the discomfort they bring to their lives. It is a long process full of casual conversations, lies, role playing and love making.

Because Truffaut does not overdramatize these events, the film works. There are surprises, but they don’t feel like they were scripted. They occur when it actually makes sense that they should; it is the fact that they occur in the lives of ordinary people that changes everything. (For exactly the same reason many of Austrian director Michael Haneke’s films are so incredibly unsettling).

The film opens up with an unusual introduction by one of its secondary characters, Madame Odile Jouve (Véronique Silver, Life is a Bed of Roses), whose own story is intertwined with Barnard and Mathilde’s story. Unlike them, there is crucial moment in the film where she resists the temptation to see a former lover.

Depardieu and Ardant’s acting styles are very different, but both are terrific to behold. Garcin, a very prolific but hugely underrated actor, is also excellent as Mathilde’s reserved husband.

The Woman Next Door was lensed by William Lubtchansky, one of the truly great French cinematographers from the ‘60s and ‘70s, who frequently assisted another prominent nouvelle vague director, Jacques Rivette. The two collaborated on the critically acclaimed Merry-Go-Round, La belle noiseuse, and Jeanne la Pucelle I & II.

The Woman Next Door Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.66:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Francois Truffaut's The Woman Next Door arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Artificial Eye.

The high-definition transfer has been struck from a pre-existing master, but the film looks very good in high-definition. Excluding a few indoor sequences where density could be better, depth and and clarity are consistently good (see screencapture #18). The outdoor sequences look wonderful (see screencaptures #1 and 19). There are no traces of problematic degraining corrections. Edge-enhancement is not an issue of concern, but there are a few sequences where some extremely light halo effects almost manage to sneak in. Regardless, from start to finish the film does have a solid organic appearance. There are no serious stability issues. Also, there are no large debris, cuts, damage marks, or splices to report in this review. The encoding is good. All in all, though there is some room for minor improvements, the Blu-ray release represents a strong upgrade in quality over the existing R2 UK DVD release. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Reigon-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

The Woman Next Door Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: French LPCM 2.0. For the record, Artificial Eye have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature.

The film is complimented by a wonderful soundtrack courtesy of award-winning French composer Georges Delerue. The beautiful string solos and the full orchestra sound terrific (for example, listen to the music during Bernard and Mathilde's final encounter around the 99-minute mark). The dialog is consistently crisp, stable, and very easy to follow. There is no distracting background hiss, pops, cracks, audio dropouts or distortions, to report in this review. The English translation is excellent.

The Woman Next Door Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original trailer for The Woman Next Door. In French, with optional English subtitles. (2 min).

• Presentation with Serge Toubiana - Serge Toubiana, president of Cinémathèque française, introduces The Woman Next Door. In French, with optional English subtitles. (4 min).

• Audio Commentary - in this audio commentary, actress Véronique Silver (Madame Odile Jouve) recalls her work with director Francois Truffaut on The Woman Next Door, her interactions with the rest of the cast, how specific sequences from the film were shot, and discusses the ordinary yet very complicated relationship between Gerard Depardieu and Fanny Ardant's characters, etc. This audio commentary initially appeared on MK2's DVD release of The Woman Next Door. In French, with optional English subtitles.

• Fanny Ardant and Gerard Depardieu Comment on a Few Scenes - presented here is a collection of scenes from The Woman Next Door with audio commentary by Fanny Ardant and Gerard Depardieu. In French, not subtitled. (26 min).

The Woman Next Door Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Confidentially Yours/Finally, Sunday and The Woman Next Door are my favorite late Francois Truffaut films. Both pay homage to Alfred Hitchcock and offer a little bit of everything that makes the French director's work so special. I am yet to see the former on Blu-ray, but the latter looks very good in high-definition. Artificial Eye's Blu-ray release has the two audio commentaries that are also included on MK2's Blu-ray release of the film. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.