Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.5

Une Chambre en Ville Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov July 26, 2014

Jacques Demy's "Une Chambre en Ville" a.k.a. "A Room in the City" (1982) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; restoration demonstration; Agnes Varda's documentary film "The World of Jacques Demy" (1995); new visual essay created by film scholar James Quandt; and an archival Q&A session with the French director. The release also arrives with an illustrated booklet featuring essays by critics Ginette Vincendeau, Terrence Rafferty, Jim Ridley, Jonathan Rosenbaum, Anne E. Duggan, and Geoff Andrew, and a postscript by Berthomé. In French, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

The Baroness

Note: Une Chambre en Ville is part of Criterion's upcoming The Essential Jacques Demy Blu-ray box set.

Une Chambre en Ville is unquestionably the most pessimistic of the six films in Criterion’s The Essential Jacques Demy box set. It is set in Nantes during the early '50s, where the French director grew up, and follows closely a group of disillusioned characters during a massive strike that has partially paralyzed the beautiful city.

The eldest character is a lonely baroness (Danielle Darrieux, The Earrings of Madame de..., Le Plaisir), who lives with the feisty shipyard worker François Guilbaud (Richard Berry, La Balance). Though the baroness likes him, they are not a couple -- she only rents a tiny room to him so that she can pay off the debts of her late son. Francois senses that the baroness is attracted to him, but he despises everything she represents and tries to spend as little time with her as possible. This is why Francois has never met the baroness’ daughter, Edith Leroyer (Dominique Sanda, The Conformist, Conversation Piece), who frequently visits her to ask for money. Edith is married to the frugal and impotent television shop owner Edmond Leroyer (Michel Piccoli, La grande bouffe, Dillinger Is Dead), who, after years of physical abuse, has driven her on the verge of a serious nervous breakdown.

As the strike intensifies, these men and women of different ages make important discoveries that have the potential to dramatically alter their lives. First, the sexually frustrated Edith, who has been secretly working as a prostitute, meets Francois and the two make love in a cheap hotel. By the early morning hours they realize that they have fallen in love and that Francois is living with Edith’s mother. Meanwhile, the angry Edmond visits the baroness and when he discovers that his wife did not spend the night at her posh appartment vows to teach her a lesson she would never forget. Then before Francois returns home, in a local café his young and naive girlfriend, Violette Pelletier (Fabienne Guyon), reveals to his best friend that she is carrying his child and is ready to marry him.

Structurally and stylistically Demy’s Une Chambre en Ville is similar to his two most popular musicals, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg and The Young Girls of Rochefort. It is broken into multiple episodes and the entre dialog in it is sung. However, emotionally Une Chambre en Ville has more in common with Demy’s final film, 3 places pour le 26. Indeed, it is firmly grounded in reality and sees life as a long series of compromises, some of which can be enormously painful.

Une Chambre en Ville is one of only three films Demy directed that was not scored by his regular collaborator Michel Legrand -- and it is rather easy to tell. Michel Colombier’s score carries a certain weight that never truly allows the music and the visuals to become one. To be perfectly clear, instead of effortlessly driving the narrative and its dynamics the music has only a carefully timed complimentary role.

The end result, however, is still quite wonderful. Demy’s unique use of light and colors give Une Chambre en Ville the striking rich look that viewers never forget once they experience his work. Admittedly, it has a contemporary vibe that isn’t present in any of the French director's previous films (including Model Shop), but its poetic beauty is very familiar.

Une Chambre en Ville was lensed by renowned cinematographer Jean Penzer (Bertrand Blier’s Buffet Froid, Notre Histoire).

Une Chambre en Ville Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.67:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Jacques Demy's Une Chambre en Ville arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

The following text appears inside the booklet provided with this Blu-ray release:

"Approved by Mathieu Demy, this new digital transfer was created in 4K resolution on a Scanity film scanner from the 35mm original camera negative at Digimage-Classics in Paris, where the film was restored in 2K resolution. This 2013 restoration was undertaken by Cine-Tamaris and the Institut Lumiere, with the support of the CNC's Archives francaises du film. The original 2.0 surround soundtrack was remastered at 24-bit from the four-track magnetic recording."

Newly restored, Une Chambre en Ville looks every bit as impressive as Bay of Angels and Donkey Skin. Both the indoor and outdoor footage boast outstanding depth and clarity, allowing one to easily see very small details (see screencaptures #5 and 11). The few panoramic shots also impress with wonderful fluidity (see the clashes street demonstrations and clashes). Contrast levels remain stable throughout the entire film. There are no traces of problematic degraining or sharpening adjustments. Rather predictably, grain is very easy to spot. Also, because of the high-quality scanning, the grain appears evenly distributed and exceptionally well resolved. Color reproduction is very good -- there is a wide range of wonderfully saturated and natural reds, blues, greens, browns, and grays. Finally, the entire film looks very healthy. Indeed, there are absolutely no debris, scratches, flecks, or stains. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Une Chambre en Ville 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, Criterion have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature.

Even during the opening credits one can easily tell that the lossless track is outstanding -- the sound is very well rounded and has plenty of depth. Furthermore, the beautiful piano themes are wonderfully balanced with the orchestra, making it very easy for the viewer to appreciate the wide range of nuanced dynamics (pay attention to the strings). The singing is clear and stable. The English translation is excellent.

Une Chambre en Ville Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original trailer for the new restoration of Une Chambre en Ville. In French, with optional English subtitles. (2 min, 1080p).

• Restoration Demonstration - this featurette focuses on the recent restoration (2013) of Une Chambre en Ville. Included with it are visual comparisons and excellent comments by Mathieu Demy, Thierry Delannoy (restoration department/Digimage-Classics Film Lab), Rosalie Varda-Demy, Jerome Bigueur, and Christelle Vinchon. In French, with optional English subtitles. (6 min, 1080p).

• The World of Jacques Demy - presented here is Agnes Varda's 1995 documentary about the life and career of Jacques Demy. Included in it are numerous archival interviews with many of the late French's director's collaborators. The film was restored in 2K by Digimage-Classics in 2013. In French, with optional English subtitles. (92 min, 1080p).
  
  1. Lola
  2. Trois places pour le 26
  3. Donkey Skin
  4. A Slightly Pregnant Man
  5. Childhood
  6. Une Chambre en Ville
  7. Early Film Work
  8. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg
  9. Model Shop
  10. The Pied Piper
  11. Parking
  12. Bay of Angels
  13. Lady Oscar
  14. La naissance du jour
  15. The Young Girls of Rochefort
  16. A fan's letter

• Jacques Demy, A to Z - this wonderful new visual essay takes a close look at the cinematic world of Jacques Demy, his maturation as a director and the evolution of his style, and some of the unique themes in his films. The essay was created by film scholar James Quandt in 2014. In English, not subtitled. (62 min, 1080p).
  
  1. Artifice/Autobiography
  2. Bresson
  3. Cocteau
  4. Death
  5. The Eternal Return
  6. La Foule/La Famille
  7. Godard
  8. Happy Endings
  9. Influence
  10. Johnny Guitar
  11. Kelly
  12. Legrand
  13. Mirrors
  14. Noir et Blanc
  15. Ophuls
  16. Paintings
  17. Queer
  18. Resnais
  19. Symmetry
  20. Time
  21. Une Chambre en Ville
  22. Varda
  23. Work
  24. X
  25. The Young Girls of Rochefort
  26. Ziegfeld Follies

• Jacques Demy at the Midnight Sun Film Festival - presented here is an archival Q&A session from the 1987 Midnight Sun Film Festival in Sodankyla, Finland, in which director Jacques Demy discusses his cultural background and explains how and why his films reflect bits of his personality, how they came to exist, etc. The session was moderated by Peter von Bagh. In French and Finnish, with optional English subtitles where necessary. (17 min, 1080i).

• Booklet - an illustrated booklet featuring essays by critics Ginette Vincendeau, Terrence Rafferty, Jim Ridley, Jonathan Rosenbaum, Anne E. Duggan, and Geoff Andrew, and a postscript by Berthomé.

Une Chambre en Ville Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Une Chambre en Ville is unquestionably the most pessimistic of the six films in Criterion's The Essential Jacques Demy box set. I am fairly certain that it is also the French director's least seen film in North America. Une Chambre en Ville has been recently restored in France and now looks simply superb on Blu-ray. I was particularly impressed with the excellent audio restoration. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.