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

ADDITION: Kino Blu-ray (June 2019): Jean-Luc Godard's rather brilliant "Hélas Pour Moi" (aka "Oh, Woe Is Me") now appears on a dual-layered Blu-ray with a nicely maxed out bitrate, via Kino Lorber. The sumptuous 1.33:1 photography of DP Caroline Champetier is on full display throughout the film, faithfully rendered in 1080p on this new Blu-ray from Kino. As with Kino's other recent Godard releases ( "First Name: Carmen", and "Détective") this presentation is quite impressive, though I sense that perhaps those other 2 releases might have a fraction more of distinguishable detail to the image. Though the clarity of the image on this disc is nothing to snicker at. Lush greens and blues appear and well-defined shadows appear before sunlight-dappled vistas, showing some truly majestic high contrast imagery.

NOTE: We have added 24 more large resolution Kino Blu-ray captures for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE.

The film's audio track is a French 2.0 24-bit lossless DTS-HD Master audio track (with optional English subtitles). Though largely unscored, when music does appear we are treated to Keith Jarrett's piano rendition of "24 Prelude and Fugue, op. 87" as well as Kim Kashkasjian's viola stylings for "Vom Winde beweint". Though my understanding of the French language is entry-level basic (at best), the dialogue sounds clear and intelligible. This is a Region 'A' Blu-ray from Kino.

Kino include an audio commentary by film critic Samm Deighan. This is yet another essential commentary from Deighan, who is well versed in all things Godard. For those that are understandably a little lost or confused when it comes to the director's intentions, listening to Deighan's track can even act as a bit of a Rosetta Stone. As with their other Godard releases of late, Kino have included the film's trailer and a handful of other trailers for Godard films. There is a 12-page booklet included that features an essay by Jordan Cronk. The piece, "Anatomy of a Miracle: Jean-Luc Godard's 'Hélas Pour Moi' is a rather in-depth and thoughtful analysis of the film, not unlike Deighan's commentary (in fact, the two make great companions). Kudos to Kino for another stellar Godard release on Blu-ray.

Kino now have scored 3 for 3 with their latest Godard Blu-ray release following "First Name: Carmen", and "Détective". This definitely gives me hope for the soon to be released "Alphaville" Blu-ray. Samm Deighan is an excellent choice for this commentary, for her scholarly work and critical dissection helps to elucidate the otherwise elusive intentions of Godard. This track makes me wish that Deighan could provide a commentary for the entire of Godard's catalogue. One can hope. Highly recommend picking up this disc, along with the other Godard Blu-rays from Kino. 

Colin Zavitz