La Prisonnière: Woman in Chains Blu-ray

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

Directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot
France 1968

The final film of Henri-Georges Clouzot’s (Les Diabolique, The Wages of Fear) brilliant career, La Prisonnière (1968) is a sensuously colorful film of voyeuristic sexual obsession. It maps a love triangle between abstract sculptor Gilbert (Bernard Fresson), his TV editor girlfriend Josée (Elisabeth Wiener), and art gallery owner Stanislas (Laurent Terzieff). At an art opening, Gilbert ditches Josée, so she ends up going home with Stanislas, who shows her a photograph of a woman in bondage. The image is shocking and alluring, and Josée asks to attend his next erotic photo shoot, her first step in unlocking the depths of her desires. Making full use of the psychedelic optical effects that Clouzot developed for the unfinished L’Enfer, La Prisonnière is a visionary swansong for this legendary cinema artist.

***

A young female film editor specializes in discovering why other women degrade themselves in pornography and prostitution. She has a relationship with a boring artist, and her life is uneventful until she encounters an older, more worldly art dealer. The man shows her his photographs and she is mesmerized by a picture of a naked woman in chains. The man tries to hide the photo, but she is insistent on seeing it. The man admits this is how he gets aroused, by taking pictures of the bound beauties. The woman asks to come to a photo session where she is repulsed and intrigued at the same time. She leaves, but later returns to the man at his office and becomes hooked on his sadomasochistic voyeurism and begs to become the next model for his camera in the upcoming photo session. He brings in another woman and the session degenerates into a lesbian love fest that the man eagerly captures on film. Shamed, debased and degraded, she pulls her car onto a train track and contemplates her demise. Injured but not dead, she is straddled in her hospital bed when the man comes to visit. She goes into a psychedelic hallucination dream sequence in which her sexual escapades flash before her eyes as the man and her artist boyfriend engage in fisticuffs. Yikes!

Excerpt from B+N located HERE

Posters

Theatrical Release: November 20th, 1968

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Review: Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

Box Cover		CLICK to order from: There is also a Studio Canal Blu-ray Release available in the UK:
Distribution	Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:46:57.202
Video	1.66:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 41,310,895,115 bytes Feature: 32,937,695,232 bytes Video Bitrate: 34.98 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate Blu-ray:
Audio	DTS-HD Master Audio French 1768 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1768 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit) Commentary: DTS-HD Master Audio English 2039 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2039 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Subtitles	English, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Kino 1.66:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 41,310,895,115 bytes Feature: 32,937,695,232 bytes Video Bitrate: 34.98 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • Audio commentary by film historian Kat Ellinger • Booklet essay by film critic Elena Lazic The Rebellious Elisabeth Wiener (25:55 minutes) • Trailer (04:02) • "The Nun" trailer (01:32) Blu-ray Release Date: May 28th, 2019 Standard Blu-ray Case Chapters 11

Comments:

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

ADDITION: Kino Blu-ray (May 2019): Kino Lorber transfer Henri-Georges Clouzot’s final film, "La Prisonnière (Woman in Chains)" to a dual layered Blu-ray. The film is shown in the 1.66:1 aspect ratio, with a maxed-out bitrate. The colors are deep and bold, in accordance with the film's kaleidoscopic palette but there is a teal-leaning that surfaces now and again. There is a thick, film-like, grain texture visible throughout, most likely due to the film stock used during production. Those deep colors are surely thanks to, in part, a robust contrast showing a healthy amount of range when it comes to black levels. There is also a decent clarity to the picture, with fine detail shown throughout the film.

The film is presented in 24-bit 2.0 mono. This French DTS-HD lossless track has a very clean sound, with little to no hiss for example. "La Prisonnière" features music conducted by Gilbert Amy, who would go on to compose music for "L'alliance (The Wedding Ring)" (with Anna Karina) a few years later. There are optional English subtitles on this Region 'A' Blu-ray from Kino.

Kino Lorber have provided some lovely extras, starting with a commentary from film historian Kat Ellinger. As with all of Ellinger's tracks, this is a must-listen. Ellinger notes that this film was sadly Clouzot's "most misaligned, misinterpreted, and underappreciated" film, and hopes that this new transfer from Kino will expose the film to a wider audience. Also here is "The Rebellious Elisabeth Wiener", a 25-minute piece with the actress. Rounding out the Blu-ray is a trailer. There is also a booklet included in the release, featuring an essay by critic Elena Lazic, entitled "The Cage of Freedom". The essay is quite elucidating, providing context to the film (much like Ellinger's commentary).

Though apparently Clouzot's most overlooked film, his final offering to the world is a steamy, psychological trip, in gorgeous color (his only non Black & White film). This Blu-ray from Kino has a gorgeous transfer, and the extras are of the kind that you can really sink your teeth into. Oh, and if anyone can tell me where to find any of the modern art contraptions shown in the film, I'm all ears. This is strongly recommended.