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

ADDITION: Criterion Blu-ray (January 2024): Criterion have transferred nine Chantal Akerman film from 1968-1978 - to Blu-ray. The films are Saute ma ville (1968), L’enfant aimé, ou Je joue à être une femme mariée (1971), La chambre (1972), Hotel Monterey (1972), Le 15/8 (1973), Je tu il elle (1975), Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975), News from Home (1976), and Les rendez-vous d’Anna (1978). The package is cited as "New 4K digital restoration of Les rendez-vous d’Anna and 2K digital restorations of Saute ma ville; L’enfant aimé ou Je joue à être une femme mariée; La chambre; Hotel Monterey; Le 15/8; Je tu il elle; Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles; and News from Home".

In 2007, a label in Europe, Cinéart, put 5 of these films on PAL DVD - Hôtel Monterey (1972), Je, tu, il, elle (1975), Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975) , News from Home (1976) and Les rendez- vous d’Anna (1978) - on 2010 Criterion's sub-label Eclipse (Series 19 - 'Chantal Akerman in the Seventies') put four of the films on DVD (minus Saute ma ville that Cinéart included as an extra) and we compared them HERE. Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du commerce, 1080 Bruxelles received its own DVD (2-disc) release from Criterion in 2009 and on Blu-ray in 2017, compared HERE. We have compared some captures below to Criterion's 2024 Chantal Akerman Masterpieces, 1968–1978 three Blu-ray package.

Firstly, Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles in 1080P looks about the same as Criterion's 2017 Blu-ray release. However, Hotel Monterey and Je tu il elle appear quite differently from the image found in Criterion's 2010 Eclipse release, as well as the 2007 Belgian Cinéart DVD package. I can only speculate as why the 1080P is both brighter and much grainer that it came from a different source. Hotel Monterey was shot in 16mm but colors appear quite a bit paler on the BD over both older SD transfers. Most Blu-ray presentations start with a notice that the restorations were by the Cinematek (Royal Film Archive of Belgium.) We will look into this further why the noticeable image disparity exists on these two entries. "The digital restoration of Le 15/8 was carried out in 2013, based on the original 16mm printing elements conserved by the Cinémathèque royale de Belgique. A positive print, originally shown at the 1975 edition of the Venice Film Festival and conserved by the Archivio Storico delle Arti Contemporanee of the Biennale di Venezia was also used. We warmly thank Chantal Akerman for her precious collaboration in the restoration project." The rest of the films in the set look quite pleasing. News from Home (which I love) and Les rendez-vous d’Anna improve over the previous DVDs with generally deeper, richer colors and more consistent grain.

NOTE: We have added 60 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Criterion use linear PCM mono tracks (24-bit) in the original French languages (and some German in Les rendez-vous d’Anna.) News from Home is presented with its original French soundtrack and an alternate English-language track option. There are almost no scores in Akerman's films - often with only brief music interludes, ex. Marguerite Monnot's Les Amants d'un Jour performed by Aurore Clément in Les rendez-vous d’Anna, but generally the film have extensive pauses / reflections / limited dialogue - and some outdoor noise noticeable in films like Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles. The uncompressed mono does its job without issue. Criterion offer optional English subtitles on their Region 'A' Blu-ray.

Criterion offer many extras although no commentaries. Quite a few of these were available on their 2017 Blu-ray of Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du commerce, 1080 Bruxelles reviewed HERE and the Cinéart DVD set. Firstly Saute ma ville has a brief introduction by Akerman. The supplements include excerpted footage from Chantal Akerman par Chantal Akerman (Chantal on Chantal,) a 1997 episode of the French television program Cinéma, de notre temps. Included are four 'Film-school tests' in 1967 shot by Akerman, each running about 3-minutes. They were part of her application to Belgium's INSAS film school. Though she dropped out shortly after enrolling, the exercises offer insight into some of the director's earliest cinematic instincts. In a new 20-minute interview, conducted by the Criterion Collection in 2023, critic B. Ruby Rich offers a comprehensive primer to Chantal Akerman's prodigious first decade of filmmaking. Rich believes that Je Tu Il Elle can be viewed as a "cinematic Rosetta Stone of female sexuality". In Her Own Words is a new 23-minute visual essay that builds upon rare radio interviews that Chantal Akerman gave in 1975 and 1977, in which she reflects on her films and her ascendance to critical success. I enjoyed listening to her. Hanging Out Yonkers is an unfinished 1/2 hour documentary film from 1973 by Chantal Akerman in a juvenile rehabilitation center in Yonkers, New York, with cinematographer Babette Mangolte. After the sound rushes were lost, the film was never finished. Its most complete version is presented here and there is no audio. Autour de “Jeanne Dielman,” is a 2-hour documentary made during the filming of Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles, shot by actor Sami Frey and edited by Agnès Ravez and Akerman. This long documentary looks at the on-set relationships among Akerman, actor Delphine Seyrig, and the crew. Included are a number of interviews. Conducted for the Criterion Collection in April 2009, this features cinematographer and longtime Akerman collaborator Babette Mangolte discussing Jeanne Dielman - running almost 23-minutes. Chantal Akerman conducted an 18-minute interview with actor Aurore Clément, the star of Les rendez-vous d'Anna, at Clément's home in 2007. There is a 7-minute segment from the French television program Les rendez-vous du dimanche, hosted by Michel Drucker, featuring director Chantal Akerman and actor Delphine Seyrig discussing their work together on Jeanne Dielman. It originally aired on February 15th, 1976. Part of these interviews is a 2007, an off-camera 1/2 hour interview of Natalia Akerman Chantal Akerman's mother, discussing her daughter's films. The producers of the interview intended to edit out Chantal's questions but ultimately decided to preserve the candid mother-daughter rapport. Lastly is a 10-minute "Appreciation by Filmmaker Ira Sachs". In this 2019 installment of the Criterion Channel series Under the Influence, Sachs discusses the place that Chantal Akerman's provocative movie occupies in his personal canon and analyzes the minimalist, durational style that she achieved with her first feature-length work. The package has a liner notes booklet with an essay and notes on the films by critic Beatrice Loayza.

Chantal Akerman had an immense influence on feminist and avant-garde filmmaking, although isolating rigidly to just that cinema is unnecessarily limiting, imo. She is best known for Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975), News from Home (1977), and Je Tu Il Elle (1974) all included here in Chantal Akerman Masterpieces, 1968–1978. I remain very keen on the latter two. Jeanne Dielman was ranked #1 in Sight & Sound magazine's 2022 "Greatest Films of All Time" critics poll, followed by, #2, Hitchcock's Vertigo and, #3, Orson Welles Citizen Kane. This was the first time that a woman was to top the poll. Paul Schrader questioned the 2022 listing stating that "The sudden appearance of Jeanne Dielman in the number one slot undermines the S&S poll's credibility" considering the positioning a "politically correct rejiggering," while still, personally, considering Akerman's film a favorite. Jeanne Dielman was ranked 4th in the "Director's Poll' that same year. I find it difficult putting my finger on why Akerman's cinema is so deeply resonating - while fully accepting that it truly exists - every time I watch her work. It's quite an amazing awareness. This is surely considered pure filmmaking and rightfully recognized as such. I have felt the same way of other directors; Bresson, the Dardennes etc. I was not at all deterred by the image quality of Hotel Monterey and Je tu il elle via Criterion's Blu-ray transfers, but we will investigate. Overall this set is such a keepsake - films capturing ordinary existence that you can watch for the rest of your life. Two other favorite directors, Kelly Reichardt (Meek's Cutoff) and Gus Van Sant (Gerry, Paranoid Park), cite Akerman as highly influential. It shows in their work. Chantal moved on - October 2015 in Paris at age 65 - reportedly she committed suicide.  

Gary Tooze