- Nicolas Philibert's - To Be and to Have - Être et avoir DVD Review Nicolas Philibert To Be and to Have Être et avoir DVD Review Nicolas Philibert To Be and to Have Être et avoir DVD Review Nicolas Philibert To Be and to Have Être et avoir DVD Review Nicolas Philibert To Be and to Have Être et avoir DVD Review Nicolas Philibert To Be and to Have Être et avoir DVD Review Nicolas Philibert To Be and to Have Être et avoir DVD Review Nicolas Philibert To Be and to Have Être et avoir DVD Review

(aka 'To Be and To Have')

directed by Nicolas Philibert
France 2002

The National Society of Film Critics awarded director Nicolas Philibert's wonderful To Be and to Have the Best Documentary prize for 2003. It warms the screen with grace, confidence and realism. Philibert researched over 500 schools to eventually settle on a one-room schoolhouse in France's rural Auvergne region. The children's ages varied accentuating the realistic presentation of a true small remote village education environment. The 35-year veteran teacher of Spanish origin shares the spotlight with his students. His quiet demeanor and soft-spoken mannerisms transfer to his students whose innocence overwhelms the screen. I would have to say that this in on the best best films I have seen this year - as warm and touching as anything I can remember seeing. out of

NOTE: CLICK HERE for Article on legal action since the film's release!

Gary W. Tooze

Theatrical Release: May 19th, 2002 - Cannes Film Festival - France

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DVD Comparison:

New Yorker Video - Region 1- NTSC vs. Absolut Medien (German) - Region 0 - PAL

Big thanks to Christian Liemke at at our German 'sister' site for the Absolut screen captures!

(New Yorker Video - Region 1- NTSC LEFT vs. Absolut Medien (German) - Region 0 - PAL - RIGHT)

DVD Box Covers
Distribution	New Yorker Video Region 1- NTSC	Absolut Medien Region 2 - PAL
Runtime	1:39:48	1:39:57 (4% PAL speedup)
Video	1.66:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 7.49 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	1.66:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 4.40 mb/s PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate: NY'er
Bitrate: Absolut Medien
Audio	French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Dolby)	French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Dolby)
Subtitles	English, None	German, and none NO ENGLISH SUBS!
Features	Release Information: Studio: New Yorker Video Aspect Ratio: Original aspect Ratio 1.66:1 Edition Details: • Interview with Director 4:3 widescreen (20:45) • Theatrical trailer (2:20) • French Trailer (1:38) • Children of the film recite poetry 4:3 widescreen (2:47) DVD Release Date: October 19th, 2004 Keep Case Chapters: 20	Release Information: Studio: Absolut Medien (Germany) Aspect Ratio: Original aspect Ratio 1.66:1 Edition Details: • Photo gallery [9 pages] • Photo gallery with maps of France, the region of Auvergne, Departement Puy-de-dôme and Livradois Forez - Saint-Etienne-sur-Usson [4 pages] • German Trailer [1.66:1 non-anamorphic, 1:41 Min., French with burned-in German subtitles] • Interview with Nicolas Philibert [1.33:1, 20:13 Min., French with optional German subtitles] The Interview was made by Peter Paul Huth. • Excerpts from "Le Pays des sourds / In the Land of the Deaf" [1992, Nicolas Philibert; 3:05 Min., 1.66:1 non-anamorphic, French with burned-in German subtitles] available from "absolut medien" on VHS • Trailer for "A Tickle in the Heart", "Berlin Babylon", "El Acordeon del Diablo", "Der Einstein des Sex" and "Gendernauts", available from "absolut medien" on DVD DVD Release Date: October 20th, 2003 Keep Case Chapters: 19

Comments:

The New Yorker is admittedly this is a softer image, although anamorphic - most movement sequences have poor detail, but there are some surprisingly non-kinetic scenes of relative clarity. The time-codes indicate it was taken from a PAL source and hence has all the artifact deficiencies of such a transfer. The Absolut Medien colors are more vibrant, but some of their skin tones look awfully red. The German DVD is sharper and has better contrast. I didn't notice a dominant haze over the NY'er image but their English subtitles are very well done and I like their extras, although the German boasts to have even more in that department. The trouble with this German release is that it has no English subtitles. Hopefully we will soon add the French and Australian releases to this comparison and find a definitive release for English audiences.

Gary W. Tooze

NOTE: There is another NTSC version from Seville Pictures in Canada (I suspect the Ny'er is a direct port):

I'd love to compare it in the near future as well as with the PAL releases from France and Australian.

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

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(New Yorker Video - Region 1- NTSC LEFT vs. Absolut Medien (German) - Region 0 - PAL - RIGHT)

Screen Captures