Whirlpool of Fate Blu-ray - Catherine Hessling

Firstly, a massive thank you to our Patreon supporters. Your generosity touches me deeply. These supporters have become the single biggest contributing factor to the survival of DVDBeaver. Your assistance has become essential.

What do Patrons receive, that you don't?

1) Our weekly Newsletter sent to your Inbox every Monday morning!
2) Patron-only Silent Auctions - so far over 30 Out-of-Print titles have moved to deserved, appreciative, hands!
3) Access to over 20,000 unpublished screen captures in lossless high-resolution format!

Please consider keeping us in existence with a couple of dollars or more each month (your pocket change!) so we can continue to do our best in giving you timely, thorough reviews, calendar updates and detailed comparisons. Thank you very much.

Search DVDBeaver

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

(aka "Whirlpool of Fate" )

France 1925

Whirlpool of Fate (1925) is Jean Renoir’s debut feature, a lyrical tale of the tragic life of an orphan girl. An independent feature shot on family friend Paul Cézanne’s property, La Nicotiere, it is a dreamy episodic melodrama that follows the poor girl as she endures the loss of her father, the abuse of her alcoholic uncle, and a perilous fall down a well that erases her memory and triggers surreal dreams.

***

Jean Renoir's directional debut and first silent film stars his wife, Catherine Hessling, as a young girl who manages to turn her tragic family life into one of joy and happiness.

Posters

Theatrical Release: March 20th, 1925

Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews

Comparison:

Lionsgate (Jean Renoir - 3-Disc Collector's Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

Box Cover
		Bonus Captures:
Distribution	Lionsgate - Region 1 - NTSC	Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:11:06	1:23:12.416
Video	1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 4.86 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	1.33:1 1080P Single-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 24,559,141,290 bytes Feature: 22,468,202,496 bytes Video Bitrate: 32.46 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate DVD:
Bitrate Blu-ray:
Audio	Dolby Digital 2.0	DTS-HD Master Audio English 1018 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1018 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 384 kbps / 24-bit) Commentary: DTS-HD Master Audio English 720 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 720 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 384 kbps / 16-bit)
Subtitles	English, None	English, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Studio Canal, Lionsgate Aspect Ratio: Fullscreen - 1.33:1 Edition Details: none DVD Release Date: April 24, 2007 Keepcase Chapters 20	Release Information: Studio: Kino 1.33:1 1080P Single-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 24,559,141,290 bytes Feature: 22,468,202,496 bytes Video Bitrate: 32.46 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • Audio commentary by film critic Nick Pinkerton Blu-ray Release Date: July 20th, 2021 Standard Blu-ray Case Chapters 10

Comments:

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

ADDITION: Kino Blu-ray (July 2021): Kino have transferred Jean Renoir's Whirlpool of Fate to Blu-ray. It is cited as being from a "Presented in a beautiful new 4K restoration". An opening text screen states "The elements which were used for the restoration of this film are preserved by the Cinémathèque française." We commented in the DVD review about the boosting and lack of extras. The heightening of the contrast of the SD transfers (see the third matched capture below) don't do the visuals any favors losing detail. It is also significantly cropped as compared to this new 1080P. The Blu-ray is duller but is a notable improvement with almost 8 X the bitrate. This looked wonderful on my system - consistent, still occasional marks (albeit fewer), frame-rate adjustment, but a stronger, 4K-restored, transfer - far more worthy of Jean Renoir's first-released film Whirlpool of Fate.

NOTE: We have added 18 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Kino use a DTS-HD Master stereo track (24-bit) with music composed and performed by Antonio Coppola. This sounds excellent adding to Whirlpool of Fate's impressions as cinema. Kino offer optional English subtitles, over French intertitles, on their Region 'A' Blu-ray.

The Kino Blu-ray offers a commentary by film critic Nick Pinkerton. He is, as usual, excellent drawing upon sources like Andre Bazin's books on Renoir, Pascal Merigeau's biography of the director as well as Renior's biography My Life and My Films. It is essential listening and will advance understanding and appreciation.

Jean Renoir's Whirlpool of Fate is fascinating. It's a film starring his wife Catherine Hessling. As Dave Kehr describes "...that follows the dreams and adventures of an orphan who escapes the advances of her uncle by hiding in a Gypsy camp. The results are more pictorial than most of later Renoir—he saw the film largely as an opportunity to experiment with various visual effects—but full of charm and poetry". It extends beyond Silent Era fans and the Kino Blu-ray with Pinkerton commentary should be considered mandatory for keen cinephiles everywhere. Strongly recommended!