French Cancan

[antnield]

French Cancan



The legendary Jean Gabin plays Danglard, mentor and lover of the stage stars of 1890s Paris. When he discovers a naive young laundress (Francoise Arnoul) dancing in a nightclub he is inspired by her talent to revive the long-forgotten cancan in a show that the whole of Paris, rich and poor, will never forget.

Based on the true story of Moulin Rouge founder Charles Zidler, Jean Renoir's exuberant tale of an impresario's commitment to his art is a masterpiece of Technicolor brilliance, which features luminaries of the 1950s Parisian cafe-concert scene, Edith Piaf and Patachou, as period artistes.

Extras
- Presented in both High Definition and Standard Definition
- Brand new restoration
- The Show Must Go On! The Joys of Life by Jean Renoir (2010, 57 mins): documentary on the making of French Cancan.
- French Cancan Restored (2010, 5 mins): a look at the technical work which went into the restoration.
- Fully illustrated booklet with essay, biography and review.

[eerik]

Just classified by the BBFC, so we should expect a DVD (and hopefully Blu-ray) after its theatrical re-release in the UK which kicks off on August 5th.

French Blu-ray looks amazing so I'm pretty sure it will be a dual format release.

[ellipsis7]

Also hope the BFI may considering upgrading their RULES OF THE GAME to dual format BR/DVD, now Editions Montparnasse are releasing a French Blu... French Blu of CANCAN is great, slight glitch is Danglard is rendered as 'Danglar' throughout the subs... Nice piece also on CANCAN in September S&S...

BBFC gives the DVD/BR release date as 07/11/11...

[Peacock]

Kinda disappointing that this is the Renoir Blu they are releasing what with the amazing French one, however then again it doesn't have a UK dvd so fair dos.

The French Blu is cropped on all sides according to the caps on dvdbeaver (check out the horse and carriage wide shot), so I wonder if the BFI will sort that, or if that was intended.

Such a wonderful film, if anyone here doesn't own the French release I hope they'll rush to order this one.

[John Hodson]

Doesn't the running time passed by the BBFC indicate SD only?

[antnield]

All of the running times indicated SD only, John. (Take a look at Deep End, for example, or Requiem for a Dream.) I'm guessing they submit check-DVDs as opposed to check-Blus for the BBFC to view.

[John Hodson]

Ah...

[MichaelB]

All of the running times indicated SD only, John. (Take a look at Deep End, for example, or Requiem for a Dream.) I'm guessing they submit check-DVDs as opposed to check-Blus for the BBFC to view.

That is indeed the case - if the Blu-ray is identical in content aside from picture definition, it doesn't need separate classification. And it's obviously much easier and cheaper to knock out a DVD check disc for BBFC purposes, so that's standard practice.

That said, I have no idea what the BFI's plans for this title are.

[ellipsis7]

On recent BFI form, it seems unlikely that a significant film, in recent comprehensive restoration,theatrically rereleased, and with an existent HD master of the same, would not merit a dual format release, but we'll have to wait and see...

[MichaelB]

Oh, I certainly agree that it's very very likely - it's just that I've seen countless examples of people collectively compiling an idealised fantasy version of a particular release, and then express disappointment when the final version fails to live up to it, even though the label in question never promised anything more.

The BFI hasn't announced its October slate yet, never mind November, so this is all speculation.

[colinr0380]

Well as long as the disc is hand delivered to my door by a parade of real can-can dancers imported from the Moulin Rouge, I won't be disappointed (Don't let me down! [-( )

[Calvin]

BFI replied to my tweet: "The rumours are true, we're releasing it on 7 November!"

[antnield]

Central Books states dual format edition.

[antnield]

[ellipsis7]

Specs:

French Cancan A film by Jean Renoir

The legendary Jean Gabin plays Danglard, mentor to, and lover of, the stage stars of 1890s Paris. When he discovers a naïve young laundress (Francoise Arnoul) dancing in a nightclub he is inspired by her talent to revive the forgotten cancan in a show that the whole of Paris, rich and poor, will never forget.

Based on the true story of Moulin Rouge founder Charles Zidler, Jean Renoir's exuberant tale of an impresario s commitment to his art is a masterpiece of Technicolor brilliance, which features luminaries of the 1950s Parisian café-concert scene, Edith Piaf and Patachou, as period artistes.

Special Features:
Brand new restoration presented in both High Definition and Standard Definition
The show must go on! The joys of life by Jean Renoir (2010, 57 mins): documentary on the making of French Cancan
Fully illustrated booklet with new essays, biographies and notes on the soundtrack

That docu also on the Gaumont BR, however not Eng subbed (only the feature is)....

[MichaelB]

Full specs announced:

French Cancan
A film by Jean Renoir

After bursting on to cinema screens in August, in a new Digital restoration, the BFI now releases Jean Renoir’s exuberant French Cancan in a Dual Format Edition (DVD & Blu-ray discs together), accompanied by an hour-long documentary on the making of the film.
This Technicolor tour-de-force, set in the Paris of the belle époque, brings to ravishing, dazzling life the world of Jean Renoir’s father, Pierre Auguste, and other Impressionists such as Degas, Toulouse-Lautrec and Manet, in one of the great films about the complex relationship between life and the theatre.

French Cancan is loosely based on the founding of the world famous Parisian cabaret club, the Moulin Rouge. Henri Danglard (Jean Gabin) is a brilliant impresario whose life is fraught with romantic entanglements and financial problems. Falling in love with Nini (Françoise Arnoul), a pretty young laundry girl from Montmartre, he decides to make her the star of his latest venture – a club called the Moulin Rouge which will offer ‘high life for modest purses’. Its principal attraction will be the cancan, an old working-class dance which Danglard plans to revive and revamp. Along the way, however, his dream is threatened by the jealousy of his belly-dancer lover Lola (a flamboyant performance from Mexican star María Félix).

This was the film that marked Renoir’s return to France following a fifteen-year exile in Hollywood, reuniting him with his favourite Jean Gabin (Les Bas-Fonds, La Grande Illusion, La Bête Humaine) and with the Montmartre where he was born in 1894.

Featuring a cameo performance from Edith Piaf and culminating in one of the most spectacular dance scenes in all of cinema history, French Cancan combines truly exhilarating entertainment with remarkable human observation and depth of feeling.

Special features
• Presented in both High Definition and Standard Definition;
• Brand new restoration;
• The show must go on! The joys of life by Jean Renoir (2010, 57 mins): documentary on the making of French Cancan;
• French Cancan Restored (2010, 5 mins): a look at the technical work which went into the restoration;
• 18-page illustrated booklet with essays, notes and credits

Release date: 7 November 2011
RRP: £19.99 / cat. no. BFIB1118 / Cert PG
France, Italy / 1954 / colour / French language with optional English subtitles / 104 mins / Original aspect ratio 1.33:1 / Region B
Disc 1: BD50 / 1080p / 24fps / PCM mono audio (48k/24-bit)
Disc 2: DVD9 / PAL / Dolby Digital mono audio (320kbps)

[djvaso]

My copy is ready for dispatch .

[antnield]

The Digital Fix.

[Peacock]

The French disk is of course gorgeous, that said it's somewhat cropped on the sides, I wonder if you could check the Beaver review and say whether or not it has the same problem or if it's closer to the DVDs in that respect?? (The shot with the horses is a good example)

[antnield]

I've just compared to Gary's screencaps two and four, and in those cases the framing is identical to the Gaumont Blu as you would expect.

[Peacock]

Thanks my friend.

[skeets kelly]

watched this tonight. every frame of this film is total eye-candy.