Un éléphant ça trompe énormément Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Un éléphant ça trompe énormément Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov January 6, 2014

Nominated for Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Film, Yves Robert's Un elephant ça trompe enormement a.k.a Pardon Mon Affaire (1976) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of French label Gaumont. The supplemental features on the disc include original trailers; Pierre-Henri Gibert's new documentary "Le Paradis des copains"; exclusive new video interview with renowned composer Vladimir Cosma; and new video interview with Jean-Denis Robert. In French, with optional English and French SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

The Woman in Red

In the underground parking garage of the government agency where he works, happily married clerk Etienne (Jean Rochefort, The Hairdresser's Husband, Man on the Train) sees a beautiful woman (Anny Duperey, 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her). As she passes him on her way to the elevator, a heater blows up her elegant red dress and exposes her long legs. The short but spectacular view is enough for Etienne to immediately fall madly in love with the mysterious woman.

Barely able to contain his excitement, Etienne follows the woman inside the building and quickly discovers that she is a model and has been hired for an expensive advertising project. He immediately attempts to set up a blind date with her, but his message reaches an older coworker who has been dying to have a secret rendezvous.

In the days ahead, Etienne tries to meet the mysterious woman in quiet bistros around the city, but repeatedly fails and seriously angers his coworker. He also does his best to remain the boring and predictable husband and father he has been for years, but his wife Marthe (Daniele Delorme, We Will All Meet in Paradise) senses that something isn’t right. Around the same time, one of Marthe’s young and perpetually horny students confesses to her that he wishes to spend the rest of his life with her.

Meanwhile, Etienne’s best friends -- Daniel (Claude Brasseur, Band of Outsiders), Simon (Guy Bedos, A Taste for Women), and Bouly (Victor Lanoux, Cousin cousine) -- begin educating him how to seduce and keep a beautiful woman, despite the fact that all of them have been ditched by their demanding wives.

Based on a script by Jean-Loup Dabadie (Claude Sautet’s Cesar et Rosalie, Jean-Paul Rappeneau’s Call Me Savage) Yves Robert’s Un elephant ça trompe enormement a.k.a Pardon Mon Affaire is a simple but very entertaining film about the strange games grown-up men and women play when they realize that there is still time for them to once again fall madly in love. It was completed in 1976, and remade by Gene Wilder as The Woman in Red in 1984.

The film works as well as it does because of Dabadie’s excellent script and the terrific chemistry between Robert and the impressive cast. Right from the get-go it is fairly easy to figure out where the story is heading, but wonderfully scripted conversations and some great awkward moments (the best featuring the horny student) make the film look very fresh. The film also has a most appropriate airy atmosphere -- everyone looks extremely relaxed and happy to improvise if the right opportunity presents itself -- suggesting that Robert, who was also an experienced actor, knew exactly what buttons to push to get the best results.

Rochefort’s facial expressions are spectacular. There are various sequences where he single-handedly changes their tone simply by looking straight into the camera (see the surprising party he attends with Brasseur and Duperey). Brasseur, Lanoux, Bedos are convincing troublemakers. Duperey is also excellent as the mysterious woman.

Pardon Mon Affaire was lensed by cinematographer Rene Mathelin, who also collaborated with Robert on the outrageously funny The Tall Blond Man With One Black Shoe and The Return of the Tall Blond Man With One Black Shoe. The film’s beautiful soundtrack was created by renowned Romanian composer Vladimir Cosma (Jean-Jacques Beineix’s Diva, Daniel Duval’s La Derobade).

Un éléphant ça trompe énormément 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, Yves Robert's Pardon Mon Affaire arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of French label Gaumont.

The quality of the high-definition transfer is very similar to the quality of the nice high-definition transfers Gaumont used for the Blu-ray releases of the Maurice Pialat films (see Loulou). There are some light compression artifacts that pop up here and there, but the basics we typically address in our reviews are indeed solid. Generally speaking, depth and clarity remain pleasing throughout the entire film. Occasionally contrast fluctuates, but these fluctuations are part of the film's visual design. Sharpness levels remain stable. Color reproduction also does not disappoint. There is a good range of warm and soft but very natural colors. Noise, dirt, debris, scratches, and damage marks have been removed as best as possible. Also, there are no traces of excessive degraining. Problematic sharpening adjustments also have not been applied. Rather predictably, from start to finish the film has a solid organic look. Lastly, there are no serious stability issues to report in this review. All in all, this is a competent presentation of Pardon Mon Affaire which gives me a lot of hope that this year we will see plenty of wonderful Blu-ray releases from Gaumont. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location. For the record, there is no problematic PAL or 1080/50i content preceding the disc's main menu).

Un éléphant ça trompe énormément Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: French DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. For the record, Gaumont have provided optional English and French SDH subtitles for the main feature.

The lossless track is excellent. Depth and clarity are outstanding, while dynamic intensity is amongst the best I have heard on a dual mono track. Vladimir Cosma's beautiful soundtrack, in particular, benefits tremendously from the lossless treatment. During select sequences the music is lush and and very well rounded. The dialog is crisp, stable, and free of background hiss and distortions. The English translation is excellent.

Un éléphant ça trompe énormément Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Le Paradis des copains - this new documentary film focuses on the production history of Pardon Mon Affaire and Yves Robert's directing style. It features new interviews with actors Daniele Delorme (Marthe), Claude Brasseur (Daniel), Jean Rochefort (Etienne), Guy Bedos (Simon), Anny Duperey (Charlotte), Marthe Villalonga (Mouchy Messina), and Christophe Bourseiller (Lucien), scenarist Jean-Loup Dabadie, acclaimed composer Vladimir Cosma, and assistant director Élie Chouraqui. The documentary was produced by Pierre-Henri Gibert in 2013. In French, not subtitled. (77 min, 1080p).

• Partitions pour mouettes et elephant - in this new video interview, composer Vladimir Cosma (The Dinner Game, Diva) discusses the music of Pardon Mon Affaire. The interview was conducted by Pierre-Henri Gibert in 2013. In French, not subtitled. (14 min, 1080p).

• Le regard de Jean-Denis - new video interview with Jean-Denis Robert, son of director Yves Robert. The interview was conducted by Pierre-Henri Gibert in 2013. In French, not subtitled. (19 min, 1080p).

• Bandes-ammpmces - two original trailers. In French, not subtitled.
  
  1. Pardon Mon Affaire. (3 min, 1080p).
  
  2. We Will All Meet in Paradise. (3 min, 1080p).

Un éléphant ça trompe énormément Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I am very happy with Gaumont's new restoration of Yves Robert's charming comedy Pardon Mon Affaire. The film looks lovely in high-definition while the sound is absolutely fantastic. I can't wait to see what films the folks at Gaumont plan to bring to Blu-ray this year. I have a pretty good feeling that we will see some very special releases in 2014. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.