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

ADDITION: IFC Films Blu-ray (August 2024): IFC Films have transferred Claire Denis' Bastards to Blu-ray. It is on a dual-layered disc with a high bitrate. It is Denis' first feature film that was shot digitally and may show a few weaknesses (rendering light and blackness) of the process from over 10-years ago - it has significantly improved. Generally it looks as pristine as you might expect a modern film would; pleasing detail in close-ups and true colors. The HD presentation is clean and consistent. 

NOTE: We have added 54 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, IFC Films use a DTS-HD Master 5.1 surround track (24-bit) in the original French language. Bastards has aggressive moments that come through with healthy depth and there are a few head-turning separations. The pulsating score was creited to Stuart Staples (Sans adieu, Denis' Let the Sunshine In, White Material etc.) He is also known as the lead singer of indie band Tindersticks. The audio is clean with consistent dialogue in the lossless transfer. IFC Films offer, strangely, burned-in (?) English subtitles on their Region 'A' Blu-ray.

The IFC Films Blu-ray includes a new commentary by film historian Samm Deighan (The Legacy of World War II in European Arthouse Cinema.) Samm is always great and provides her own interpretations and excellent overview of the director and her work. We also get a 13-minute new video essay by Alexandra Heller-Nicolas (Rape-Revenge Films: A Critical Study) entitled 'Adapting William Faulkner's Sanctuary'. She discusses one of the most celebrated writers of American literature and Sanctuary Faulkner's 1931 novel about the rape and abduction of an upper-class Mississippi college girl, Temple Drake, during Prohibition. Denis took inspiration from the novel. Included is a 20-minute archival casting featurette featuring commentary by Claire Denis and a trailer. The package has a 20-page liner note booklet with an photos and an essay by Madelyn Sutton - She's Filled With Secrets.

You wouldn't be wrong in categorizing Claire Denis' Bastards as a neo-noir. The title is derived from Akira Kurosawa's The Bad Sleep Well (French  'Les Salauds Dorment en Paix' as 'Bastards Sleep in Peace'.) DVDBeaver loves Claire Denis' work since the website began 25-years ago. Details on the evolving story of Bastards is paced deliberately with slow, perhaps inconsequential, tracking shots. The characters are dark, the story is darker... and, brilliantly, realized. We have unspeakable crimes and the pointlessness of revenge. I really enjoyed it. The IFC Films Blu-ray has the film in 1080P and surround with an expert commentary, visual essay, booklet and more. Absolutely recommended.

Gary Tooze