La Belle Noiseuse Blu-ray - Emmanuelle Béart

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

(aka 'The Beautiful Troublemaker')

directed by Jacques Rivette
France 1991

The Grand Prix winner at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival, La Belle Noiseuse (aka The Beautiful Troublemaker) is legendary French New Wave director Jacques Rivette's intimately epic exploration of the convergence between artistry and eroticism. Edouard Frenhofer (Michel Piccoli) is a reclusive painter living in the French countryside with his wife (French cultural icon Jane Birkin). Their lives are radically upended with the arrival of a younger artist (David Bursztein) and his girlfriend (Emmanuel Beart), who becomes the muse that awakens Edouard's fading passions. Rivette creates a layered character study, while also offering an immersive meditation on the creative process.

***

A direct investigation of the creative artistic process as Edouard Frenhofer (Michel Piccoli) observes and puts to canvas Marianne (Emmanuelle Béart) in an open and expressive vision that also discreetly exposes the relationship of model and artist. A long film by most standards La Belle Noiseuse seems to have not a wasted a single frame in its indulgence regardless of the minimal plot. Possibly my favorite Rivette film for a number of valid reasons. The expressions of body language are deeply felt through many scenes, especially those in which dialogue is minimal. I strongly recommend viewing and immersing yourself in this, often unseen, world. A true masterpiece of cinema. out of

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Theatrical Release: September 4th, 1991 - France

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Comparison:

Artificial Eye (2 disc) - Region 2 - PAL vs. New Yorker (2 disc) - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Cohen Media (2-disc) - Region FREE - Blu-ray

Big thanks to Per-Olof Strandberg for the Artificial Eye DVD Screen Caps!

1) Artificial Eye (2 disc) - Region 2 - PAL - LEFT

2) New Yorker (2 disc) - Region 1 - NTSC - MIDDLE

3) Cohen Media - Region FREE Blu-ray - RIGHT

Box Covers

Distribution	Artificial Eye - Region 2 - PAL	New Yorker Video - Region 1- NTSC	Cohen - Region FREE - Blu-ray
Runtime	2:09:00 (Disc1) + 139:51(Disc 2) = 3:48:51(4% PAL Speedup)	2:08:24 (Disc 1) + 1:39:42 (Disc 2) = 3:48:06	2:14:28.041 + 1:44:16.166
Video	1.30:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: ? mb/s PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s	1.30:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 5.67 mb/s (both DVDs) NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	1.37:1 - 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 45,067,398,997 bytes Feature: 42,933,104,640 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Video Bitrate: 36.00 Mbps 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 38,517,508,897 bytes Feature: 33,291,608,064 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Video Bitrate: 36.00 Mbps
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate: NY'er Disc 1
Bitrate: Ny'er Disc 2
Bitrate: Blu-ray Disc 1
Bitrate: Blu-ray Disc 2
Audio	French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)	French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)	LPCM Audio French 2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit Commentary: LPCM Audio English 2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit
Subtitles	English, and none	English, and none	English, and none
Features	Release Information: Studio: Artificial Eye Film Company Aspect Ratio: Original aspect Ratio 1.30:1 Edition Details: • Theatrical trailer (4:3 - 1:02) • Interview with director Jacques Rivette (13:26, 4:3 - removable English subs) • Interview with co-writers Pascal Bonitzer and Christine Laurent(21:09, 4:3 - removable English subs) • Number of discs: 2 (1 DUAL layered , 1 single layered) DVD Release Date: June 30, 2003 Keep Case Chapters: 24	Release Information: Studio: New Yorker Video Aspect Ratio: Original aspect Ratio 1.30:1 Edition Details: • Theatrical trailer (4:3 - 1:02) • Interview with director Jacques Rivette (13:26, 4:3 - removable English subs) • Interview with co-writers Pascal Bonitzer and Christine Laurent(21:09, 4:3 - removable English subs) • Filmography • Number of discs: 2 (1 DUAL layered , 1 single layered) DVD Release Date: June 29, 2004 Keep Case Chapters: 24	Release Information: Studio: Cohen Media 1.37:1 - 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 45,067,398,997 bytes Feature: 42,933,104,640 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Video Bitrate: 36.00 Mbps 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 38,517,508,897 bytes Feature: 33,291,608,064 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Video Bitrate: 36.00 Mbps Edition Details: • Audio commentary with Richard Suchenski • Interview with director Jacques Rivette (13:28) • Interview with co-writers Pascal Bonitzer and Christine Laurent (21:10) • 2017 Re-Release Trailer (1:51) Blu-ray Release Date: May 8th, 2018 Standard Blu-ray Case Chapters: 14 + 12

Comments:

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the disc

ADDITION: Cohen Media - 2-disc - Region FREE: The Cohen has spread the 4-hour film over 2 dual-layered Blu-ray discs - each with max'ed out bitrates. It is advertised as a 'new 4K restoration'. The 1080P detail is remarkable, While the DVDs had a decidedly green hue to them - contrarily the Blu-ray has the unfortunate teal-leaning that we have seen many times. The Blu-ray does show more information in its accurate 1.37:1 frame and generally looks excellent. Flesh tones, of which the film sports many, dramatically improve to be more realistic as does contrast gets some pleasing layering. I was able to accept the teal-leaning but others may find it distracting. It should be noted that this is the only one of the three editions compared without PAL speedup - the Blu-ray is in its proper theatrical running time.

Cohen use a strong linear PCM 2.0 channel track (24-bit) in the original French language. There are no effects but La Belle Noiseuse plenty of silent pauses. There is no credited score but some will recognize two pieces by Igor Stravinsky - Agon performed by Sinfonie-Orchester des Südwestfunks and Petrouchka performed by 'Orchestre National de la RTF. There re optional English subtitles and the Cohen Media Blu-ray is Region FREE, playable world wide.

Cohen add extras including a feature-length audio commentary by Richard Suchenski Associate Professor of Film and Electronic Arts, director and founded of CIMA ( Center for Moving Image Arts), author of Projections of Memory: Romanticism, Modernism, and the Aesthetics of Film, AND a financial contributor to DVDBeaver many years ago. His analysis is excellent and I applaud his efforts - those keen on Rivette will find it refreshing and illuminating. Also included are the interview with director Jacques Rivette and second one with co-writers Pascal Bonitzer and Christine Laurent - both found on the previous DVDs. There is also a 2017 Re-Release trailer.

Despite the teal - a fabulous Blu-ray release by Cohen! It was such a pleasure seeing it look so superior to the old SD transfers. What a film! - our highest recommendation!

***

ON THE DVDS: The New Yorker disc was again taken from a PAL source (check times) and there will be inherent artifact deficiencies because of that - although I honestly did not notice many when I was watching the Region 1 DVD. It is obvious that it is a direct port of the Artificial Eye disc, with the same menus and extra features. Only thing added is a filmography (text screens). The Artificial Eye Region 2 DVD is sharper, but because it's so dark and low lit, the picture becomes very muddy... as do the colors. The AE contrast is superior. Subtitles are larger on the New Yorker disc (even in the interviews). Unless you are sensitive to the AE darkness (or NY'er brightness) and find the removable subs and issue (font size) then our suggestion is to but the most inexpensive version you have access to. The sharpness and contrast are pretty much negligible. We hope there is a superior version on the horizon.

- Gary W. Tooze

Recommended Reading in French Cinema (CLICK COVERS or TITLES for more information)


The Films in My Life by Francois Truffaut, Leonard Mayhew	French Cinema: A Student's Guide by Philip Powrie, Keith Reader	Agnes Varda by Alison Smith	Godard on Godard : Critical Writings by Jean-Luc Godard	Notes on the Cinematographer by Robert Bresson	Robert Bresson (Cinematheque Ontario Monographs, No. 2) by James Quandt	The Art of Cinema by Jean Cocteau	French New Wave by Jean Douchet, Robert Bonnono, Cedric Anger, Robert Bononno	French Cinema: From Its Beginnings to the Present by Remi Fournier Lanzoni	Truffaut: A Biography by Antoine do Baecque and Serge Toubiana