7.1 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
In Godard and Gorin's free interpretation of the Chicago Eight trial, Judge Hoffman becomes Judge Himmler (who doodles notes on Playboy centerfolds), the Chicago Eight become microcosms of French revolutionary society, and Godard and Gorin play Lenin and Karl Rosa, respectively, discussing politics and how to show them through the cinema.
Director: Jean-Luc GodardForeign | 100% |
Drama | 80% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.37:1
French: LPCM Mono
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Note: This film is available as part of the box set Jean-Luc Godard + Jean-Pierre Gorin: Five Films, 1968-1971.
If you were asked to name just one film by iconic director Jean-Luc Godard, which one would you choose? Chances are for many of you it would
probably be his legendary pioneering New Wave entry Breathless,
or perhaps one of his better remembered titles from a bit later in his career like Alphaville or Masculin Féminin
.
Even if your particular choice wouldn’t in fact be one of these three films, this very trio in and of itself proves quite admirably how widely variant
the
content in Godard’s films can be, even if his style is often instantly recognizable. As perhaps evidenced by the title of what is the last film Godard
has
come out with (he’s still alive and kicking at 87 as this review is being written), 2014’s Goodbye to Language, Godard is often interested in the visceral intensity of imagery, imagery that is often either
divorced or at least tangentially related to any perceived content. In our recent Faces Places Blu-ray review, a film which has both subliminal and overt references to Jean-Luc Godard, I jokingly
referred to the five films in this set as among the "vaguest" of the Nouvelle Vague. In fact what is repeatedly so fascinating about these
five
admittedly odd films is how their presentational aspects are almost deliberately opaque, while some of their actual content is virtually screed like,
as Godard, probably already prone toward anarchistic tendencies, tipped over into what some have called "radicalization" in the wake of
sociopolitical unrest in the France of the late sixties.
It's a sometimes discomfiting mix, one that Godard and Gorin no doubt concocted intentionally, but it makes each of this quintet a rather peculiar
viewing experience at times.
All of the features included in Jean-Luc Godard + Jean-Pierre Gorin: Five Films, 1968-1971 are presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Academy with AVC encoded 1080p transfers in 1.33:1. Arrow's insert booklet contains only some very basic information on the transfers, stating:
The films in this collection were restored from the original film and audio elements by Gaumont. The presentations of these films are in keeping with their original 16mm original productions.Vladimir et Rosa has moments that I'd probably score at more of a 4.25 level, at least in terms of overall detail levels and palette accuracy, but this presentation has probably the most damage, albeit slight. There is intermittent warping and frame misalignment on display, not necessarily limited always to edit points. In terms of age related wear and tear like scratches or other blemishes, the news is actually excellent, with nothing of any major import to report. The palette looks great throughout this presentation, and reds look at least relatively more accurately red here than in some of the other orange leaning offerings in this set. As with the other releases in this set, grain looks commendably organic throughout the presentation and offers no compression hurdles to overcome.
This film, along with Le vent d'est, is getting a slightly lower score for its LPCM Mono track in French, and in fact I'd probably rate this film the least pleasing sonically, at least in the early going. The first couple of minutes of the film are pretty boxy sounding, in terms of both the voiceover and the funky rock score, but things do improve as things go along, and in fact a bristling electric guitar solo toward the beginning of the film seems to be the "turning point" in terms of generally better sounding audio. There's a bit less of the disjunctive approach here in terms of audio elements not aligning with visual elements, and as such this is a somewhat more "normal" sounding track than some of the other films in this set.
For me personally, Vladimir et Rosa was the most generally enjoyable film in this often fairly difficult set. One reason is that it's just flat out goofy, so that even its screed like elements seem to be informed with a bit of whimsy and maybe even humor. Video is generally fine, despite some intermittent issues with things like warping, and audio improves after a somewhat boxy opening few minutes.
(Still not reliable for this title)
A Film Like Any Other
1968
Struggle in Italy
1971
Wind from the East
1970
See You at Mao
1969
1969
郊游 / Jiao you
2013
2015
1972
2017
Ahlat Ağacı
2018
Adieu au langage
2014
La fleur du mal | 4K Restoration
2003
Cristo si è fermato a Eboli
1979
Нелюбовь / Nelyubov
2017
煉獄エロイカ
1970
Przypadek
1987
Här har du ditt liv
1966
L'avenir
2016
Le livre d'image
2018
1927