Vice and Virtue Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		4.0

Vice and Virtue Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov March 6, 2015

Roger Vadim's "Vice and Virtue" a.k.a. "Le vice et la vertu" (1963) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The only bonus feature on the disc is a restored original French trailer for the film. In French, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

The castle

In occupied Paris, the young and stunningly beautiful Justine (Catherine Denueve, Belle de jour) is getting ready to marry the man of her dreams. But he is a member of the Resistance, and shortly after he is arrested by Gestapo agents, Justine becomes a target.

Meanwhile, Justine’s sister, Juliette (Annie Girardot, La Gifle), spends the majority of her time entertaining the ambitious General von Bamberg (O. E. Hasse, The Adventures of Arsène Lupin). They are not in love, but both enjoy what the other has to offer -- Von Bamberg can’t get enough of Juliette’s elegant body, while Juliette likes the general’s protection and expensive gifts.

After a long night of excess, Von Bamberg is visited by SS Colonel Erik Schörndorf (Robert Hossein, Crime and Punishment), quite possibly the most powerful man in Paris. Schörndorf suspects that Von Bamberg is a traitor and the key figure in a secret plan to change not only the balance of power in Berlin but possibly in war-torn Europe. After a series of heated exchanges, all in the presence of Juliette, Schörndorf poisons the inebriated Von Bamberg.

Without her protector the vulnerable Juliette reluctantly becomes Schörndorf’s mistress. Instead of gifts and expensive champagne, however, this time Juliette is offered the best seat in the secret chamber where the Nazis torture the members of the Resistance. While observing her reactions, Schörndorf falls madly in love with her.

Around the same time, the terrified Justine is arrested and sent to a heavily guarded castle somewhere in the French countryside, where she is trained to become a mistress for the Nazi leaders. Justine is warned by other girls living in the castle to follow the orders of the castle’s sadistic Madam if she wishes to stay alive.

There are a number of obvious similarities between Roger Vadim’s Vice and Virtue and Pier Paolo Pasolini’s Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom -- and this is hardly surprising as both films are loosely based on novels by Marquis de Sade -- but the former actually has a lot more in common with Tinto Brass’ Salon Kitty. Indeed, instead of challenging the viewer’s tolerance for graphic violence and humiliation as Pasolini’s controversial film does, Vice and Virtue actually looks for beauty and attempts to engage the viewer with a very specific period atmosphere. Considering the film’s subject matter it is obvious that this isn’t an approach that can work for a wide variety of viewers, but the unapologetic enthusiasm and especially the attention to detail will surely appeal to those who enjoyed the far more graphic Salon Kitty.

The film’s most obvious flaw is the inclusion of clips from archival World War II footage. It does not any way help the story and the majority of the time its placement seems quite random. During the second half, in particular, there are a few transitions that are especially problematic.

Still, Jean Andre’s (...And God Created Woman, Spirits of the Dead) decors and Marc Doelnitz’s (Zazie dans le métro) period costumes are terrific, and cinematographer Marcel Grignon’s (Walerian Borowczyk's original short The Beast) lensing is frequently exquisite.

Vice and Virtue Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Roger Vadim's Vice and Virtue arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The release uses as a foundation French label Gaumont's 2K restoration of the film, which first appeared on Blu-ray in France last year. Excluding the fact that sharpness levels have been slightly elevated, this is unquestionably the best presentation of the film that I have seen to date. Indeed, the majority of the well-lit close-ups boast very pleasing depth and clarity and as a result one can easily see even exceptionally small details (see screencaptures #2 and 14). During the wider panoramic vistas fluidity is good and again depth does not disappoint (see screencaptures #12 and 13). As mentioned earlier, sharpness levels have been slightly elevated, but there are no serious anomalies to report in this review. In fact, even the most obvious examples where the elevation makes its presence felt will likely be missed by the overwhelming majority of viewers (one such example can be seen in screencapture #9). There are no traces of problematic degraining corrections. Predictably, the film does have a consistent pleasing organic appearance. This being said, please keep in mind that there are more than a few inserts of raw documentary footage where clarity, definition and sharpness fluctuate. Obviously, however, they are part of the film's intended visual design. Lastly, there are no stability issues to report in this review. All in all, this is a solid presentation of Vice and Virtue, and in my opinion one of the best restorations of a black and white film from Gaumont's catalog. (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).

Vice and Virtue Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: French LPCM 2.0. For the record, Kino Lorber have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

The lossless track is excellent. Michel Magne's score easily breathes throughout the entire film and is very well balanced with the dialog. Depth and clarity are also very good and there is no problematic background hiss. Also, it is easy to tell that clicks, pops, and crackle have been carefully removed. There are no audio dropouts or digital distortions to report in this review.

Vice and Virtue Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - restored original French trailer for Vice and Virtue. In French, with optional English subtitles. (4 min, 1080p).

• Cover - reversible cover with original poster art.

Vice and Virtue Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I think that Roger Vadim's Vice and Virtue will appeal primarily to viewers that liked the unapologetic enthusiasm, attention to detail, and very specific atmosphere of Tinto Brass' Salon Kitty. Obviously, Vadim's film is nowhere near as explicit and its cast is a lot more impressive, but it sees Nazism through the same dated prism. Like Salon Kitty, I think that it is a fascinating time capsule that is very much worth seeing. Kino Lorber's release uses as a foundation French label Gaumont's recent 2K restoration of Vice and Virtue. As far as I am concerned, the film has never looked this good before. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.