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Posted: **Fri Jan 31, 2014 6:26 pm**

Out in June, this has been described in the latest BFI press release as:

Blu-ray and DVD box sets making the controversial French director/writer’s enigmatic and sexually-charged films available for the very first time. Digitally remastered presentations of all films, including Trans-Europ Express (1966) and Successive Slidings of Pleasure (1974), as well as interviews and exclusive audio commentaries by world-renowned cult cinema authority, Tim Lucas.

Posted: **Fri Jan 31, 2014 7:14 pm**

Amazon pre-order here.

The six films are The Immortal One (1964), Trans-Europ Express (1967), The Man Who Lies (1968), Eden and After (1970), N. Rolls the Dice (1971) and Successive Slidings Into Pleasure (1974).

Special features include:
-Video introductions by Catherine Robbe-Grillet
-Filmed interviews with Alain Robbe-Grillet by Frederic Taddei
-Exclusive, full-length audio commentaries by Tim Lucas
-Illustrated booklet with extended essay by David Taylor, and full film credits

I've only seen the first three (all fascinating films and absolutely necessary viewing for anyone with interest in the nouveau romanistes), but this is easily my most anticipated release now. So glad that the BFI seems to have sorted out whatever rights issues there were and are giving these films the scholarly attention they deserve (rather than treating them as passé, soft-core kitsch, which is how most of the academic establishment here in the states would like to dismiss R-G's novels).

Posted: **Fri Jan 31, 2014 7:16 pm**

Wow, now that's worth a delay!

Posted: **Fri Jan 31, 2014 7:34 pm**

FerdinandGriffon wrote:So glad that the BFI seems to have sorted out whatever rights issues there were and are giving these films the scholarly attention they deserve (rather than treating them as passé, soft-core kitsch, which is how most of the academic establishment here in the states would like to dismiss R-G's novels).

Which reminds me - how bizarre that massive Alain Robbe-Grillet and Walerian Borowczyk Blu-ray boxes should be coming out at roughly the same time, with similarly scholarly aims. And who could have predicted this even a year ago?

Posted: **Fri Jan 31, 2014 10:34 pm**

Strange, albeit very welcome, choice from the BFI (always good to see them stepping beyond the anglocentric archival remit). Is this a French co-production? High sales can't be likely.

Robbe-Grillet is certainly one of the best filmmakers to be better known as a novelist, although I admit I'd be more excited by a Marguerite Duras set. R-G was the more radical novelist of the two, but Duras arguably the more radical filmmaker, and mercifully free of his leering sexploitation streak (although that may be the hook used to sell this set).

Posted: **Fri Jan 31, 2014 10:43 pm**

I'd have to agree on Duras and will be over the moon if there was any kind of release of her film work. I'm also a big fan of her literary work, more so even Robbe-Grillet, she was unlike anybody else I've ever read. Outstanding news that we're getting a box of Robbe-Grillet with all of the trimmings.

Posted: **Fri Jan 31, 2014 10:48 pm**

The Amazon listing also says it's a Limited Edition. I wonder of how many?

Gropius wrote:R-G was the more radical novelist of the two, but Duras arguably the more radical filmmaker.

Agreed. A set of her films would be incredible.

Posted: **Sat Feb 01, 2014 2:56 am**

Excuse my ignorance, as I've read a couple of Robbe-Grillet books, and seen Marienbad, but I don't remember anything S&My about them. All I can remember is the narrator recounting every palm tree and coconut he sees in Jealousy. Are these films as lurid as they appear, or is that mostly the advertising?

Posted: **Sat Feb 01, 2014 11:03 am**

Zot! wrote:Excuse my ignorance, as I've read a couple of Robbe-Grillet books, and seen Marienbad, but I don't remember anything S&My about them.

That was a trait that crept in later, notably in the 70s films, not that I've seen them recently enough to remember clearly. What does stick in my mind is a screening, presented by the man himself, of his last film, Gradiva (2006), which was truly embarrassing, and a rather undignified end to a great career.

Posted: **Sun Feb 02, 2014 2:03 am**

It's certainly a facet of Last Year though Resnais injects it with a great deal of subtlety to the point where I didn't notice until my second viewing.

Posted: **Sun Feb 02, 2014 9:52 am**

Well, having seen a number films by Jess Franco, Jean Rollin and various other 'eurotrash' examples of cinema, if La Belle Captive is anything to go by, I find it hard to consider his work "lurid".
Maybe it's all in the eye of the beholder.

I'm very much looking forward to checking out the films in this boxset (almost a shame the BFI couldn't squeeze in Playing with Fire, in order to complete his 70's work, not that I'm complaining or anything)

Posted: **Sun Feb 02, 2014 5:49 pm**

Zot! wrote:Excuse my ignorance, as I've read a couple of Robbe-Grillet books, and seen Marienbad, but I don't remember anything S&My about them. All I can remember is the narrator recounting every palm tree and coconut he sees in Jealousy.

Starting with La Maison de rendez-vous (1965), his novels introduce stronger imagery of sexuality and sadism. That novel and Projet pour une révolution à New-York (1970), La Belle Captive (1975), Topologie d'une cité fantôme (1976) and Souvenirs du Triangle d'Or (1978) have all been translated into English. However, one could argue that his earlier novels up to Dans le labyrinthe (1959) represent his best work.

Posted: **Mon Feb 03, 2014 10:01 am**

Great recent "contextualising" article on the Robbe-Grillet's:

http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/ ... ostitution" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Posted: **Mon Feb 03, 2014 10:54 am**

In May, Dalkey Archive will release Robbe-Grillet's last novel, A Sentimental Novel.

Posted: **Wed Feb 12, 2014 10:55 am**

As mentioned in Beavers review of the new Redemtion/Kino blu-ray of Trans-Europ Express, the audio is notably hollow sounding. More so I would say than on the older RHV DVD. It is no doubt an fairly weak audio-track to begin with, but it is strange that the newer uncompressed one should sound worse (at least to my ears).

Here is a short sample for comparison (I've slowed down the DVD-sample so that PAL-speedup isn't a factor).

Hopefully BFI will do a better job of it.

Posted: **Wed Feb 12, 2014 9:12 pm**

It has what sounds like a rather metallic aspect, but it also seems to me that the ratio dialog / floor noise is worse on the BD than on the DVD.

Posted: **Sun Jun 01, 2014 9:03 pm**

Trailer.

Posted: **Mon Jun 02, 2014 12:51 pm**

Full specs announced:

Alain Robbe-Grillet Six Films 1963-1974

Impossible to see for decades, Alain Robbe-Grillet’s enigmatic, sexually-charged films are collected together for the first time, beautifully remastered in High Definition and released by the BFI on 30 June 2014 in both Blu-ray and DVD box sets.

Extra features include new video introductions by Catherine Robbe-Grillet, previously unseen filmed interviews with Alain Robbe-Grillet by Frederic Taddei, and newly-recorded, exclusive feature-length commentaries by cult cinema authority Tim Lucas.

Perhaps best known as the writer of Alain Resnais’ classic cine-conundrum Last Year in Marienbad (1961), and as a leading novelist in the nouveau roman movement of the 1950s, Alain Robbe-Grillet (1922-2008) was also the director a number of stylish, controversial and erotic films which starred such icons of French cinema as Jean-Louis Trintignant (Haneke’s Amour, Bertolucci’s The Conformist) and Isabelle Huppert (Claire Denis’ White Material, Haneke’s Amour).

The six films included here are from his most productive period of filmmaking and include Trans-Europ-Express and Successive Slidings of Pleasure:

• The Immortal One (L’Immortelle) (1963)
• Trans-Europ-Express (1967)
• The Man Who Lies (L’Homme qui ment) (1968)
• Eden and After (L’Eden et après) (1970)
• N. Took the Dice (N. a pris les dés…) (1971)
• Successive Slidings of Pleasure (Glissements progressifs du plaisir) (1974)

Special features
• All six films presented in High Definition on Blu-ray, and digitally remastered in High Definition on DVD
• Newly filmed introductions by Catherine Robbe-Grillet (2013)
• Filmed interviews with Alain Robbe-Grillet by critic Frederic Taddei (2007)
• New and exclusive full-length audio commentaries for each film by Tim Lucas
• Original theatrical trailers
• Illustrated booklet with a new essay by David Taylor, full film credits and on-set photographs

Blu-ray product details
RRP: £59.99 / cat. no. BFIB1188 / Cert 18
France, Italy, Turkey, Czechoslovakia / 1963-1974 / black and white, and colour / French language, with optional English subtitles / 577 mins / Original aspect ratio 1.33:1 and 1.66:1 / BD50 x 3 / 1080p / PCM mono audio (48k/24-bit)

DVD product details
RRP: £49.99 / cat. no. BFIV2000 / Cert 18
France, Italy, Turkey, Czechoslovakia / 1963-1974 / black and white, and colour / French language, with optional English subtitles / 554 mins / Original aspect ratio 1.33:1 and 1.66:1 (16x9 anamorphic) / DVD9 x 5 / Dolby Digital mono audio (192 kbps)

Posted: **Mon Jun 02, 2014 1:11 pm**

It doesn't note any difference in content between the Blu-ray and DVD boxsets, so presumably the 23 minute difference in the given running times is a 4% difference coming from the Blu-rays running at 24fps and the DVDs 25fps...

Posted: **Mon Jun 02, 2014 1:16 pm**

Obviously.

Posted: **Mon Jun 02, 2014 2:30 pm**

According to Beaver (Redemption disc's):

The Immortal One is 29,01 GB
The Man Who Lies 30,09 GB
Trans-Europ-Express 28,60 GB
and
Eden and After 23,39 GB sharing the disc with
N. Took the Dice (together on a 48 GB size disc)
and Successive Slidings on Pleasure is on a 50 GB disc (the film is probably about 32 GB).

Now BFI has announced a 3 BD set. It's obvious that almost all films are going to be squeezed to smaller files. Most probably 20-30 % reduced from the Redemption / Kino BDS's.

So the questions is: How much worse are the BFI Disc's going to be, compared with Redemption / Kino!

Posted: **Tue Jun 10, 2014 9:59 pm**

Beaver.

Posted: **Tue Jun 10, 2014 10:23 pm**

EddieLarkin wrote:It's very interesting to hear about your preferred method for treating a transfer like City of the Living Dead; I was looking at caps for Eden and After (particularly this one) and felt it looked similar (Trans-Europ Express looks the same, with the rest being better). Tube telecine noise as you describe it (though please correct me if I'm mistaken). Will your encode of this transfer maybe alleviate this issue at all?

After looking at the Beaver caps, I'll take that as a yes. Trans-Europ and Eden and After look much more pleasing now (although get ready for some being unhappy because they're a tad softer), and are also free of the few instances of compression artifacts visible on the Redemption caps. And I'm really happy the slight window boxing has been removed as well!

Posted: **Fri Jun 20, 2014 8:01 pm**

Mondo Digital.

Posted: **Fri Jun 27, 2014 9:32 am**

Concise review:

http://celluloidwickerman.com/2014/06/2 ... -1974-bfi/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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Alain Robbe-Grillet: Six Films 1964-1974

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Re: Alain Robbe-Grillet: Six Films 1964-1974