74 La Gueule ouverte

[sidehacker]

I'm not a big fan of this one, either. I saw it a couple months back, and aside from a few nice Pialat-ian moments here and there, I found it kind of flat. It could probably use a rewatch, though.

[manicsounds]

Aspect Ratio Q:

The main feature is in 1.75:1, while the extras such as the trailer shows the movie in 1.66:1, and actually in much better quality than the main feature. The transfer itself is quite weak, considering now that we've been spoiled by HD releases these days. I know Gaumont France released a few Pialat titles on BD, but this one still hasn't been re-released. I'm wondering if the "1.75:1 Original Aspect Ratio" on the back cover is right, were movies projected at that ratio in Europe at the time?

[zedz]

It's a very odd ratio for A European production of that era. 1.66 was standard European widescreen; this is probably just a compromise for widescreen TVs.

Unfortunately, the French Pialat Blus never progressed beyond that first batch. I'd love to see this and the remaining titles from the Coffrets (apart from Le Garcu) get an upgrade.

[GaryC]

It's a very odd ratio for A European production of that era. 1.66 was standard European widescreen; this is probably just a compromise for widescreen TVs.

Unfortunately, the French Pialat Blus never progressed beyond that first batch. I'd love to see this and the remaining titles from the Coffrets (apart from Le Garcu) get an upgrade.

It's also worth mentioning that Nestor Almendros's book A Man with a Camera gives the OAR of La gueule ouverte as 1.33:1 - which is equally odd as Pialat's other features that I've seen are all 1.66:1. I don't know if Academy Ratio would have been due to Almendros's influence as he did shoot films for Rohmer and others in that ratio. On the other hand all Almendros's films for Truffaut are 1.66:1 and he does specify a preference for that ratio over Academy and 1.85:1 in his book.

[Drucker]

I agree with Dom's point from years ago. This is the first Pialat film that hasn't stuck with me a few days after viewing it. I'm still spending more time remembering how Pialat enters the dinner table scene at the end of A Nos Amour.

Am I crazy to think the film is asking us...to do too much? Not only observe the sudden and heartbreaking health issues that strip a woman of her life, and the way her family goes about seemingly wasting theirs? If as is said here, and in the booklet, "This is how life is, take it!" that feels very empty. There's a real beauty in the pain of A Nos Amour. The heartbreaking moments contrast so nicely with the scenes of love. But that contrast feels like a missing piece here, and we are left with mostly a portrait of two selfish men seemingly destined to not revere life enough. Even the booklet in this one feels a little light to me, with commentary about framing and blocking of shots that honestly did not shine through to me while watching the film.