1326 Three Films by Leos Carax

[Rrobynne]

I’m not sure if screenshots from the Blu-ray.com site reviewer are suitable on their own. Other than that I don’t have another source to validate this other than my eyesight and a little bit of experience in that regard. Sorry that I can’t be more specific.

No worries, I can believe it.

[Peacock]

And both seem to have forced English subs. Shout has a pretty great set of special features however.

My copy of the Artificial Eye release has optional subs, not forced. But it's the release with the incorrect picture it seems.

Ah great to know! Blu-ray.com’s review is mistaken then.

[Captain Paranoia]

I imported a copy of the Japanese Blu-Ray. Les Amants du Pont-Neuf for the purpose of comparing with the US disc.

Both the US BD and Japanese BD appears to be the same transfer though the US BD appears to more robust. Would be interesting to see how it compares to the US Blu-Ray.

A comparison I did:
https://slow.pics/c/OgunH9HE

The US BD contains opening logos for Miramax (a shortened version of the 2011 logo) and StudioCanal (the 2011 logo) whereas the JP BD contains no logo. I recall a few DVD releases opened with the 1980s Gaumont logo (which may be how it opened in French theaters.)

It's worth noting the Japanese BD contains a 5.1 mix alongside the stereo track (if Criterion contains a surround mix over I only ask they include the original stereo track alongside it, one of my biggest pet peeves).

In contrast to the US BD and DVD, the Japanese BD contains the making of documentary (with burned-in Japanese subs however).

As for the supplements on this forthcoming release they look satisfactory, I'm at least glad they included the making-of documentary for Amants, and even more so included a video essay and new interviews.

[Rupert Pupkin]

I have the Japanese Blu-Ray for "Les Amants du Pont Neuf", and Artificial Eye Blu-Ray UK + Carlotta US release (double-dip) for "Mauvais Sang" and the other movies.
Still no test/review with screenshots of the Leos Carax Criterion box set ?

[Rupert Pupkin]

nicolas, did you test the Criterion box set ? It's very expensive to buy it from France.
a test of the first movie "Boy Meets Girl" has been posted here at criterionforum. Thanks.

I already have 2 blu-ray US releases of "Mauvais Sang" (Artificial Eye then I redip for the Carlotta US release- I have a slight "problem" with Julie Delpy); so I'm expecting a "definitive" Carax box set.
For "Les Amants du Pont Neuf" I have the Japanese Blu-Ray (and Boy Meets Girl from Artificial Eye UK)

PS: there is no way to see the new/tests with screenshots at DVDBeaver like it was possible before ? or did I miss something?

[Matt]

PS: there is no way to see the new/tests with screenshots at DVDBeaver like it was possible before ? or did I miss something?

They're still there. If you go to the home page, you can see a list of new reviews along the left-hand side. There's no review for this release yet.

[nicolas]

nicolas, did you test the Criterion box set ? It's very expensive to buy it from France.
a test of the first movie "Boy Meets Girl" has been posted here at criterionforum. Thanks.

I already have 2 blu-ray US releases of "Mauvais Sang" (Artificial Eye then I redip for the Carlotta US release- I have a slight "problem" with Julie Delpy); so I'm expecting a "definitive" Carax box set.
For "Les Amants du Pont Neuf" I have the Japanese Blu-Ray (and Boy Meets Girl from Artificial Eye UK)

PS: there is no way to see the new/tests with screenshots at DVDBeaver like it was possible before ? or did I miss something?

Hello, I haven’t yet received my set and probably won’t get it until mid-October. Chris will probably be faster with his reviews. No problem as his reviews are excellent and I agree with his observations pretty much all the time. You can use them as a reference.

[Rupert Pupkin]

nicolas, did you test the Criterion box set ? It's very expensive to buy it from France.
a test of the first movie "Boy Meets Girl" has been posted here at criterionforum. Thanks.

I already have 2 blu-ray US releases of "Mauvais Sang" (Artificial Eye then I redip for the Carlotta US release- I have a slight "problem" with Julie Delpy); so I'm expecting a "definitive" Carax box set.
For "Les Amants du Pont Neuf" I have the Japanese Blu-Ray (and Boy Meets Girl from Artificial Eye UK)

PS: there is no way to see the new/tests with screenshots at DVDBeaver like it was possible before ? or did I miss something?

Hello, I haven’t yet received my set and probably won’t get it until mid-October. Chris will probably be faster with his reviews. No problem as his reviews are excellent and I agree with his observations pretty much all the time. You can use them as a reference.

thanks! I will wait for the complete test then; and I'm always interested by your comments
Is it a digipack by the way ?

[Matt]

Is it a digipack by the way ?

Yes

[Rupert Pupkin]

Is it a digipack by the way ?

Yes

thanks! love the back of the digipack with Denis Lavant walk'in on dancin' on "Modern Love"

[Rrobynne]

Here are some picture comparisons with the 2014 Carlotta BDs for the first two films, and with the Kino Lorber for Les Amants. I'd upload to caps-a-holic but afaik they don't allow user submissions generally.

Boy Meets Girl: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HTlqXqqXIAA ... =4096x4096
Mauvais Sang: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HTlqdtAXAAA ... =4096x4096
Les Amants Du Pont-Neuf: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HTlqh4ZWQAA ... =4096x4096

Another for Mauvais Sang:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HT0GyGvWEAA ... =4096x4096

And a third for Mauvais Sang, including the 2007 Artificial Eye DVD from the BMG/MS/Pola X boxset:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HT0RbRUW0AA ... =4096x4096

[Rupert Pupkin]

looks great to me- what do you think of the color grading in comparison to the Carlotta release ?

[Rrobynne]

looks great to me- what do you think of the color grading in comparison to the Carlotta release ?

At first I was in two minds, the Mauvais Sang looked a lot more green/yellow than the Carlotta, but having compared them on my HD plasma screen TV (my preference for home cinema) I think that colour bias was just my laptop screen. Looks magical on the plasma. On the Boy Meets Girl disc, I thought there was less visual information in dark areas on the new disc than the Carlotta, but again, on my plasma this was rectified. My laptop isn't shoddy itself so goes to remind me the difference a really good screen makes. If anyone else makes a similar first observation I recommend trying a different screen.

[Rrobynne]

Here's some comparisons between the old BDs and the new set: https://slow.pics/c/YE9fA6qr

[hearthesilence]

Is it just me or does Criterion's Mauvais Sang look kind of plastic from DNR?

Anyway, tough call, feels like a mixed bag: if it weren't for what appears to be DNR, I think I would've preferred the transfer of Mauvais Sang from Criterion. (It's crazy how the film element moves from one to the other - it's like it wasn't completely flat when scanned, either from warping/shrinkage or human error.)

I thought Boy Meets Girl might come off better with HDR or Dolby Vision on, but I just noticed it's actually SDR-only. Surprising because the standard Blu-ray looks really dark. It's possible Carlotta's disc is simply too bright, looking more artificial as if they clearly brought in some lights to brighten up the actors...but then again IIRC from the very first shot the film leans into fairy tale-like artifice, so maybe the brighter image IS correct?

I probably lean towards Criterion on Les Amants Du Pont-Neuf, it's a noticeable upgrade mainly because the color is better in certain shots.

[Rrobynne]

Is it just me or does Criterion's Mauvais Sang look kind of plastic from DNR?

You may be right. Degrained and then lightly regrained artificially? Les Amants looks strikingly more grain-heavy despite the same DP and same/similar 35mm stock - I note with interest the 3 films were restored by different lab teams.

[malachi_lui]

I’m familiar with the first two films through the 2014 Carlotta masters that are also on the UK Artificial Eye set with Holy Motors. Unfortunately I haven’t seen prints of the first three films and the other issues in assessing the Criterion masters against the older Carlotta masters are a) are the colours on the Carlotta masters correct to the prints, and b) were those older masters even sourced from the original negatives? Because if the Carlotta masters came from later elements, it partially explains why they’d be grainier, though Mauvais sang in those Criterion screenshots does look a little waxy.

From those screenshots, it’s pretty clear that Boy Meets Girl is way too dark, to the point where it looks simply wrong, almost like a bad HDR to SDR conversion, even though that’s not the case here. Part of what makes that film cast such a dreamlike spell is the intense contrast in the black and white images. Similarly, I’m not sure if the blue tint to the lighting on the Carlotta/Artificial Eye Mauvais sang is correct to how it would’ve looked on prints in the 80s, as it does have an ‘earlier/outdated HD transfer’ feel to it (despite looking pretty good in terms of grain), but the Criterion still looks a bit flattened. The deviations in frame alignment are down to the restorations being different/technology having evolved in the past decade, or again, maybe the older masters were taken from later elements. Les Amants du Pont-neuf in those Criterion screenshots looks unequivocally better than the Kino, however.

I ordered the new Criterion 4K combo pack in the flash sale, so when that arrives, I’ll watch the Artificial Eye Blu-rays of the first two, then compare with the new Criterion Blu-rays, then the 4Ks. Thankfully, Carax’s first four films, and especially those first two, are among my absolute favourite films of all time and I can rewatch them endlessly.