Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.5

Wooden Crosses Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov March 8, 2015

Raymond Bernard's "Wooden Crosses" a.k.a. "Les Croix de Bois" (1932) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Eureka Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include an archival interview with the French director; video interviews with film historians Marc Ferro and Laurent Veray; archival interview with writer Roland Dorgelès; archival documentary footage from Pathe's vaults; and a lot more. The release also arrives with a 40-page illustrated booklet featuring: "Les Croix de Bois" by Emmanuel Burdeau; "Echoes of the Past" by Ramond Bernard (extracted from Échos de naguère, Raymond Bernard’s autobiography); Interview with Laurent Veray; "Wooden Crosses and its Adaptations"; "Restoring Wooden Crosses"; and technical credits. In French, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

On the battlefield

The film opens up with an unsettling shot of a giant cemetery. Its wooden crosses are perfectly aligned, like soldiers waiting to be dismissed. There are hundreds, possibly even thousands of them. Then men of different ages are seen gathering and enthusiastically joining the French Army. There are so many of them that they have to wait hours to sign a piece of paper and receive their uniforms.

Gilbert Demachy (Pierre Blanchar), a law student, is ordered to join a small brigade somewhere in the Champagne region. Soon after, the men are told that they will be dispatched to an area where French and German soldiers are engaged in a fierce battle. While waiting, they drink, dance and talk about the women they have left back home.

Gilbert does not have a lot in common with the older soldiers, but he genuinely likes them. They are simple men -- farmers, cooks, butchers, and small shop owners -- who have stepped up to defend their country and Gilbert admires their patriotism. Had it not been for the war, Gilbert would have never met men like Bouffiou, the fat cook who never washes, or Vieuble, the friendly joker.

The men quickly move from one location to another. Sometimes they replace other brigades, sometimes they clash with small German units that have moved deep into friendly territories.

Eventually, the men enter the Champagne battlefields, and many of them are killed in the trenches. The survivors constantly regroup and try to keep moving forward, but it seems impossible. As time passes by, more and more men die like flies.

It is impossible not to compare Raymond Bernard’s Wooden Crosses to Lewis Milestone’s All Quiet on the Western Front. They are monumental war films, both adapted from tremendous novels, whose pacifist messages will continue to resonate with viewers for as long as cinema lives.

But they are very different films. While Milestone’s film effectively welcomes the viewer into the intimate world of its young protagonists and lets him befriend them, Bernard’s film treats the viewer as an impartial observer. Both also have episodic structures, but the latter is far more chaotic, very much looking like an elaborate documentary feature.

Bernard shot the film with war veterans who did not have to create characters and make them look authentic – all they had to do is remember what they had experienced in the trenches. The massive battle scenes also remain some of the most impressive ever staged for a period war film. (The film features on-location footage from the real trenches of Fort de la Pompelle and Mount Cornillet).

Two different cinematographers lensed the film: Jules Kruger, who also collaborated with Abel Gance on the silent epic Napoleon, and Rene Ribault (Sacha Guitry’s La Poison).

Wooden Crosses was recently restored and reconstructed by Pathe and L'Immagine Ritrovata, Bologna, with the support of Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée (CNC). The new 4K restoration of the film premiered at Cannes Classics in 2014.

Wooden Crosses Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.19:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Raymond Bernard's Wooden Crosses arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Eureka Entertainment.

Wooden Crosses was recently restored in 4K at L'Immagine Ritrovata, Bologna, with the support of Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée (CNC). Eureka Entertainment's releases uses as a foundation the new 4K restoration of the film, which was initially released by Pathe in France on November 12, 2014. (You can see our review of the French release here).

The film looks vibrant and healthy, but Eureka Entertainment's presentation is not identical to Pathe's presentation. In terms of detail and clarity there are no major discrepancies, but on this new release the film looks notably darker. The discrepancies are quite obvious during the entire film, but the nighttime footage, in particular, looks very different. Obviously, there are inherited fluctuations -- with grain exposure, in particular, fluctuating between different areas of the film where time has left its mark -- but in select areas there are actually details that are simply impossible to see (compare screencapture #15 with screencapture #4 from our review of the French release). Because different elements were used during the restoration, some minor adjustments were applied to rebalance the image as best as possible (some very delicate denoising adjustments have been applied, but the integrity of the image has been preserved). Also, it is very easy to see that various stability enhancements have been performed because the big transition and stability issues from the R1 DVD release have been eliminated. Lastly, large debris, cuts, damage marks, and stains have been removed as best as possible. All in all, I think that the new 4K restoration of Wooden Crosses offers substantial improvements that allow one to experience the film in an entirely new way. However, I personally prefer the sightly brighter look of the Pathe release as it offers a slightly better balanced presentation of the film. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Wooden Crosses Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

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

There are minor depth and sharpness fluctuations, but even though time has clearly left its mark one has to remember that Wooden Crosses was shot with a fairly basic equipment in the very early stages of the sound era. Naturally, the sound can be somewhat uneven at times, but the unevenness is essentially a source limitation. The dialog is clean and stable (it is very easy to tell that the audio was in fact rebalanced as best as possible and age-related imperfections carefully removed). There are no audio dropouts or digital distortions to report in this review.

Wooden Crosses Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• The Restoration - this documentary feature focuses on the recent 4K restoration and reconstruction of Wooden Crosses. Included in it are interviews with Davide Pozzi (L'immagine Ritrovata director), image restoration specialists Ariane Baudat, Celine Stephanie Pozzi, Matteo Rossi, and Giandomenico Zeppa, and audio restoration specialist Gilles Barberis. In French and English, with imposed English subtitles where necessary. (24 min).

• Marc Ferro and Laurent Veray - video interview with film historian and Directeur d'etudes at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales Marc Ferro and Professor Laurent Veray from University of Paris Sorbonne Nouvelle. The two gentlemen explain why Wooden Crosses is a timeless masterpiece. In French, with optional English subtitles. (33 min).

• Wooden Crosses: A Sonic Adventure - in this video interview, Professor of Cinema Studies at University Lumière-Lyon Martin Barnier discusses the production history of Wooden Crosses (and specifically the use of sound throughout the film) and its brilliance. In French, with optional English subtitles. (12 min).

• Raymond Bernard Interview. - in this archival interview, director Raymond Bernard explains how Wooden Crosses came to exist and discusses some of the major obstacles he faced during the shooting of the film. In French, with optional English subtitles. (11 min).

• Roland Dorgeles Interview - presented here is an archival interview with writer Roland Dorgelès from Pathe's vaults. In French, with optional English subtitles. (5 min).

• Newsreels - archival documentary footage from Pathe's vaults. In French, with optional English subtitles. (3 min).

• Adrien Barrere - this featurette takes a closer look at the life and legacy of French poster artist and cartoonist Adrien Barrere, who worked closely with Pathe and provided sketches for Wooden Crosses. In French, with optional English subtitles. (10 min).

• The Absent Battle, The Omnipresent War - during WWI, Andre Schnellbach was in the 39th Infantry Regiment, as was Roland Dorgeles, the author of Wooden Crosses. Andre Schnellbach took numerous pictures and wrote more than 1300 letters, many of which were later on gathered in large albums. This feaurette takes a closer look at his pictures and writings documenting his experiences during the war. In French, with optional English subtitles. (15 min).

• Booklet - 40-page illustrated booklet featuring: "Les Croix de Bois" by Emmanuel Burdeau; "Echoes of the Past" by Ramond Bernard (extracted from Échos de naguère, Raymond Bernard's autobiography); Interview with Laurent Veray; "Wooden Crosses and its Adaptations"; "Restoring Wooden Crosses"; and technical credits.

Wooden Crosses Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The recent 4K restoration of Raymond Bernard's Wooden Crosses is undoubtedly one of Pathe's very best jobs. I think that all of the hard work that has gone into it easily shows and the people that were involved with the project deserve a lot of credit. Eureka Entertainment's upcoming Blu-ray release also includes all of the big supplemental features from Pathe's release, which should make it a lot more attractive to English speakers. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.