The Criterion Collection has announced the technical specs and special features for the upcoming Blu-ray releases of '
The 400 Blows' and '
The Last Metro', both of which are due to hit store shelves on March 24th. Both titles will receive 1080p video transfers with 'The 400 Blows' having a 2.35:1 aspect ratio and 'The Last Metro' having a 1.66:1 aspect ratio.
Audio for both titles has been listed as French Dolby Digital Mono, but we expect that is only a place holder for a DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack, similar to previous Criterion releases. The listed extras for 'Blows' does list an uncompressed mono soundtrack, which may indicate a secondary PCM soundtrack.
Extras for 'The 400 Blows' include:
- New, restored high-definition digital transfer, with an uncompressed monaural soundtrack
- Two audio commentaries: one by cinema professor Brian Stonehill and another by Francois Truffaut's lifelong friend Robert Lachenay
- Rare audition footage of Jean-Pierre Leaud, Patrick Auffay, and Richard Kanayan
- Newsreel footage of Leaud in Cannes for the showing of The 400 Blows
- Excerpt from a TV program in which Truffaut discusses his youth, his critical writings, and the origins of Antoine
- TV interview with Truffaut about the global reception of The 400 Blows and his own critical impression of the film
- Theatrical trailer PLUS: An essay by film scholar Annette Insdorf
For 'The Last Metro' extras include:
- New, restored high-definition digital transfer
- Two audio commentaries: one featuring Annette Insdorf, author of Francois Truffaut, and one with actor Gerard Depardieu, historian Jean-Pierre Azema, and Truffat biographer Serge Toubiana
- Deleted scene
- French television excerpts of interviews with Truffaut, actress Catherine Deneuve, Depardieu, and actor Jean Poiret
- New video interviews with actresses Andrea Ferreol, Sabine Haudepin, and Paulette Dubost, assistant director Alain Tasma, and camera assistants Florent Bazin and Tessa Racine
- Une histoire d'eau, Truffaut's 1958 short film co-directed by Jean-Luc Godard
- Theatrical trailer
- New and improved English subtitle translation PLUS: A new essay by Armond White