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S E A R C H    D V D B e a v e r

(aka "First Name: Carmen" )

 

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/direct-chair/godard.htm
France 1983

"I'm the girl who shouldn't be called Carmen," says the voice of Maruschka Detmers following the title card. Godard's modern variation on Prosper Merimee's CARMEN (also done by Otto Preminger with CARMEN JONES [1954] and Radley Metzger with CARMEN, BABY [1967]) begins with Carmen asking her voluntarily institutionalized eccentric filmmaker uncle (Godard himself in a funny performance) for the use of his house by the beach to make a film (actually she plans to use it as a hideout after a heist). The ensuing heist leads to the meeting of Carmen and security guard Joseph (Jacques Bonnaffe) who fall in love. Joseph joins the gang in plans to abduct an industrialist and hold him for ransom but its Joseph's obsession and Carmen's faithlessness (here more of an alienated response) that brings about the tragic ending more so than the kidnapping - which Godard's character turns up to direct - gone wrong.

The rhythms of the film are driven by musical performances of Beethoven quartets (in sequences featuring Joseph's lovesick friend played by Myriam Roussel) which also underlines the notion that the characters themselves are being driven to embody mythic characters and situations (also explored somewhat in Godard's HELAS POUR MOI and even back to CONTEMPT). Detmers' Carmen even quotes from Preminger's
CARMEN JONES when she tells Bonaffe's Joseph "If I love you, that's the end of you."

Ending with the dedication "In memoriam small movies," Godard's film indeed strikes not so much a compromise as a balance between his Brechtian aesthetics and the mainstream. Coutard's gorgeous award-winning cinematography - the film also won for a technical award for sound - has a 1980's slickness comparable to Jean-Jacques Beineix's DIVA and BETTY BLUE while retaining Godard's abstract framing and natural lighting. Not mentioned in the credits is the use of Tom Waitt's beautiful "Ruby's Arms" for one of the few truly "mainstream cinematic" moments in the film.

Eric Cotenas

Posters

Theatrical Release: January 11th, 1984

Reviews                                                                      More Reviews                                                                       DVD Reviews

 

Comparison:

Lionsgate (from Jean-Luc Godard Box Set) - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Raro Video (Eccentriche Visioni) - Region 0 - PAL vs. Warner Bros. (3 Films by Jean-Luc Godard Vol. 2) - Region 2 - PAL vs. Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

Big thanks to Eric Cotenas for all the DVD Screen Caps!

1) Lionsgate - Region 1 - NTSC LEFT

2) Raro Video (Eccentriche Visioni) - Region 0 - PAL - SERCOND

3) Warner Bros. (3 Films by Jean-Luc Godard Vol. 2) - Region 2 - PAL - THIRD

4) Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray- RIGHT

 

Box Covers

  

Bonus Captures for Patrons:

Distribution

Lionsgate

Region 1 - NTSC

Raro Video

Region 0 - PAL

Warner Bros.
Region 2 - PAL
Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime 1:24:33 1:20:45 (4% PAL speedup) 1:20:48 (4% PAL speedup) 1:24:46.247
Video 1.33:1 Aspect Ratio
Average Bitrate: 5.65 mb/s
NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s

1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio
Average Bitrate: 5.81 mb/s
PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s

1.66:1 Aspect Ratio
Average Bitrate: 7.18 mb/s
PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s

1.33:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 31,346,890,566 bytes

Feature: 26,266,220,544 bytes

Video Bitrate: 34.99 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.

Bitrate:

 

Lionsgate

 

Bitrate:

 

Raro Video (Eccentriche Visioni)

 

Bitrate:

 

Warner Bros. (3 Films by Jean-Luc Godard Vol. 2)

Bitrate:

Blu-ray

Audio French Dolby Digital 2.0 mono French Dolby Digital 2.0 mono; Italian Dolby Digital 2.0 mono

French Dolby Digital 2.0 mono

DTS-HD Master Audio French 2018 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2018 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Commentary:

DTS-HD Master Audio English 2016 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2016 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)

Subtitles English, Spanish, none English, Italian, none English (burned in) English, none
Features Release Information:
Studio:
Lionsgate 

Aspect Ratio:
Fullscreen - 1.33:1

Edition Details:
• shares disc with Passion (
1:28:09) and package with Detective and Oh, Woe is Me

DVD Release Date: February 5th, 2008
standard keep case inside cardboard sleeve

Chapters 20

Release Information:
Studio: Raro Video

Aspect Ratio:
Fullscreen - 1.33:1

Edition Details:
• Godard and His Camera (14:20 - English and Italian subtitles)
• Interview with Bernardo Bertolucci (34:34 - English subtitles)
• Video Essay by Enrico Ghazzi (19:17 - no subtitles)

DVD Release Date:
Amaray

Chapters 10

Release Information:
Studio: Warner Bros.

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen letterboxed - 1.66:1

Edition Details:
 

DVD Release Date: 4 April 2005
Digipack in slipcover

Chapters 20

Release Information:
Studio:
Kino

 

1.33:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 31,346,890,566 bytes

Feature: 26,266,220,544 bytes

Video Bitrate: 34.99 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Edition Details:

• Le changement à plus d’un titre: Changer d’image (a short film by Jean-Luc Godard, © INA 1982) (10:33)
• Feature and short film commentary by film historian Craig Keller
• Booklet essay by film critic Kristen Yoonsoo Kim / Trailers


Blu-ray Release Date:
June 18th, 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 (June 2019): "First Name: Carmen" (1983) comes to Blu-ray on an all new dual-layered disc with a maxed out bitrate. Kino Lorber's presentation of Jean-Luc Godard’s film matches the high bar set by their other recent release of Godard's "Detective". The 1.33:1 1080p image has a crystal-clear clarity. Even the most minute details can be seen with the naked eye, among consistent film-like grain and some very deep blacks (with a wide range of said blacks). This is really a significant improvement over the DVDs, which were cropped differently and much fuzzier with a lack of definition. Even to the casual viewer, Kino's presentation looks rather sumptuous.

NOTE: We have added 30 more large resolution Kino Blu-ray captures for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE.

The
Blu-ray from Kino features a 24-bit DTS-HD Master audio track (in French 2.0). Though my French is a bit rusty, to my ears the dialogue is clear and intelligible. There are optional English subtitles on this Region 'A' Blu-ray from Kino Lorber.

"Changer d’image" is a 10-minute short film by Jean-Luc Godard that is presented here with the option of a commentary by film historian, Craig Keller. Keller also offers a feature-length commentary over the film. Film critic Kristen Yoonsoo Kim writes the essay "The Loves of Carmen" that is provided in the accompanying booklet. I especially loved Kim's reference to Richard Brody's book on Godard (Everything is Cinema) in which someone refers to Godard's wishes as 'disturbingly vague'. Trailers for other Godard films available on Kino are provided here; "Detective", "Film Socialisme", "Goodbye to Language", "Helas pour moi", and "The Image Book". As previously mentioned, a 12-page booklet is included in the
Blu-ray packaging.

This is a wonderful
Blu-ray release from Kino Lorber, and makes a great double-bill with Kino's other recent Blu-ray release of Godard's "Detective". Highly recommended to cinephiles and Godard fans alike.

Colin Zavitz

***

ADDITION: Lionsgate - February 08': Wow! What an improvement. This new Lionsgate package is the DVD of the Year for Godard fans. It is vastly improved in the areas of color and detail. It is dual-layered (sharing), and progressive. I suspect a shade of black boosting manipulation but it's nothing I could clearly define (even with extensive zooming-in). There is some noise that looks very much like good grain. It maintains the 1.33 aspect ratio and has removable subtitles - the monaural audio is clear and consistent. No extras but it does share the disc with Godard's Passion (1982) - it may be it's DVD debut for English-language audiences. It is included in the ubiquitously titled Jean-Luc Godard Box Set which also has Detective from 85' (compared soon!) and Oh, Woe is Me (1993) - both making their digital debut for NTSC.

Fabulous news - these Lionsgate packages are a very welcome addition to my collection - and the price is sure right for 4 smartly transferred Godard films (about $8 each). SOLD!

****

ON THE RARO VS. THE WARNER: The Raro presentation is unmatted fullscreen whereas the Warner Bros. disc (part of the 3 FILMS BY JEAN-LUC GODARD VOL. 2 set) is letterboxed at 1.66:1 (without 16:9 enhancement). The Warner disc has a higher bitrate but some of the encoding efficiency is sacrificed to the black borders on all four sides (the forced subtitles also look a tad noisy) compared to the nicer fullscreen image on the Italian disc at a slightly lesser average bitrate. Raro has optional English subtitles while Warner Bros. has permanent English subtitles superimposed on transparent gray bars. Although the Warner Bros. 3 disc set is out of print (new copies can still be found on eBay), the reason a visual comparison is included is for people interested in that set as well as to show what Studio Canal will likely supply to another company that licenses the title (Optimum have already released two 5-film sets of Godard so this may be a future Optimum release).

There are also an R4 Australian release (HERE) with French and German audio and English, Swedish, Spanish, and Norwegian subtitles (suggesting its a port of another R2 release) bearing the Studio Canal logo and listing its specs as "1.33:1 letterbox." The sometimes erratic IMDB database lists the aspect ratio for this film as "1.37:1" and I'm inclined to think they may be right about this one. The 1.66:1 matting does not crop vital information but the 1.33:1 transfer comes off as better composed (striking compositions can usually be accomplished with 1.66:1 but here it seems more like the image was "protected" for theatrical matting).

The Italian disc seems to have a smoother image with more accurate-looking colors (check out the top of the red car in the second capture). The 1.33:1 framing also looks superior to the British 1.66:1 image which also has faces looking a tad elongated (although it is not anamorphically enhanced, there is a black border on both sides (perhaps without that border, the faces would look less narrow). Sound on both is great with Tom Waitts' "Ruby's Arms" coming through soulfully in one of the film's most iconic images.

As for extras, the Warner disc is barebones with just scene selection and a static menu. The Raro disc has motion menus and several English friendly extras "Godard and His Camera" (in French with English and Italian subtitles), an interview with Bernardo Bertolucci (in Italian with English subtitles), and a video essay by "Eccentriche Visioni" series editor Enrico Ghezzi (the only extra without subtitles) as well as a thick dual-language (Italian and English) booklet on the film. In the Bertoulcci interview, he remarks that he has not seen the film since its Venice Film Festival screening and actually has little to say about the film and speaks mostly about the ceremony surrounding it (PRENOM CARMEN won the festival's Golden Lion award - see last cap in the menu space above - and an award for cinematography). The Ghezzi piece is poorly shot but has him analyzing scenes off of his computer screen (complete with flicker) and unfortunately has no English subtitles (but the essays in the booklet are very in-depth). The Godard documentary's full title is "Godard and His Camera" is hosted by critic/actor Andre S. Labarthe. This is very much the stuff you learn in a film class about the New Wave, Godard, and BREATHLESS and how they revolutionized filmmaking; that said, for people less familiar it might make a convenient distillation of concepts delivered by someone who actually participated as both actor and critic.

 - Eric Cotenas


DVD Menus

Lionsgate - Region 1 - NTSC

 

 


(
Raro Video (Eccentriche Visioni) - Region 0 - PAL - LEFT vs. Warner Bros. (3 Films by Jean-Luc Godard Vol. 2) - Region 2 - PAL - RIGHT)


 

 
 

 

 

 

Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

 


 

Screen Captures

Subtitle sample

1) Lionsgate - Region 1 - NTSC TOP

2) Raro Video (Eccentriche Visioni) - Region 0 - PAL - SERCOND

3) Warner Bros. (3 Films by Jean-Luc Godard Vol. 2) - Region 2 - PAL - THIRD

4) Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray- BOTTOM

 

 


1) Lionsgate - Region 1 - NTSC TOP

2) Raro Video (Eccentriche Visioni) - Region 0 - PAL - SERCOND

3) Warner Bros. (3 Films by Jean-Luc Godard Vol. 2) - Region 2 - PAL - THIRD

4) Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray- BOTTOM

 

 


1) Lionsgate - Region 1 - NTSC TOP

2) Raro Video (Eccentriche Visioni) - Region 0 - PAL - SERCOND

3) Warner Bros. (3 Films by Jean-Luc Godard Vol. 2) - Region 2 - PAL - THIRD

4) Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray- BOTTOM

 

 


1) Lionsgate - Region 1 - NTSC TOP

2) Raro Video (Eccentriche Visioni) - Region 0 - PAL - SERCOND

3) Warner Bros. (3 Films by Jean-Luc Godard Vol. 2) - Region 2 - PAL - THIRD

4) Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray- BOTTOM

 

 


1) Lionsgate - Region 1 - NTSC TOP

2) Raro Video (Eccentriche Visioni) - Region 0 - PAL - SERCOND

3) Warner Bros. (3 Films by Jean-Luc Godard Vol. 2) - Region 2 - PAL - THIRD

4) Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray- BOTTOM

 

 


1) Lionsgate - Region 1 - NTSC TOP

2) Raro Video (Eccentriche Visioni) - Region 0 - PAL - SERCOND

3) Warner Bros. (3 Films by Jean-Luc Godard Vol. 2) - Region 2 - PAL - THIRD

4) Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray- BOTTOM

 

 


1) Lionsgate - Region 1 - NTSC TOP

2) Raro Video (Eccentriche Visioni) - Region 0 - PAL - SERCOND

3) Warner Bros. (3 Films by Jean-Luc Godard Vol. 2) - Region 2 - PAL - THIRD

4) Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray- BOTTOM

 

Jean-Luc Godard as the filmmaker

 

More full resolution (1920 X 1080) Blu-ray Captures for DVDBeaver Patreon Supporters HERE

 

 


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Report Card:

 

Image:

Blu-ray

Sound:

Blu-ray

Extras: Blu-ray
 

DVD Box Covers

  

Bonus Captures for Patrons:

Distribution

Lionsgate

Region 1 - NTSC

Raro Video

Region 0 - PAL

Warner Bros.
Region 2 - PAL
Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray




 

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