The Most Important Thing: Love

(aka "Nachtblende" or "That Most Important Thing: Love" or "The Main Thing is to Love" or "L'Importante è amare" )

directed by Andrzej Zulawski
France/Italy/Germany 1975

Sure it comes across as an arthouse melodrama but Zulawski's L'IMPORTANT C'EST D'AIMER is one of the most moving and agonizingly emotional statements of a theme that runs through much of Zulawski's work (up to his most recent LA FIDELITE) that, as the title states, the most important thing is to love. For Zulawski, love is more important than bourgeousis concerns of honor and fidelity which is illustrated in the love triangle of actress (Romy Schneider in what she considered her finest performance for which she won a César award) torn between her moral obligation to husband (Jacques Dutronc) and her growing love for a photographer (Fabio Testi). Sparsely but beautifully scored by Georges Delerue with the same sensitivity evident in his score for Godard's CONTEMPT, Zulawski depicts a world of actors, pornographers, drugs, and violence in which love can be the only saving grace (note the change in Schneider's character between the mirrored opening and closing scenes).

Eric Cotenas

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Theatrical Release: 12 February 1975

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DVD Review: New Entertainment - Region 2 - PAL

Big thanks to Eric Cotenas for the Review!

DVD Box Cover		CLICK to order from:
Distribution	New Entertainment Region 2 - PAL
Runtime	1:48:12 (4% PAL speedup)
Video	1.78:1 Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 6.48 mb/s PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate
Audio	German Dolby Digital 2.0; English Dolby Digital 2.0; French Dolby Digital 2.0
Subtitles	German, none
Features	Release Information: Studio: New Entertainment Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1.78:1 Edition Details: • Still Gallery • Uber NACHTBLENDE (scrolling liner notes in German) • French Trailer (2:58) • German Trailer (2:44) • Soundtrack (5 tracks - 8:13) • Trailer: The Infernal Trio (2:55) • Trailer: Iguana with the Tongue of Fire (4:08) • Trailer: Caroline Cheri (3:48) • DVD-ROM weblink • DVD-ROM Spanish and German lobby card galleries • DVD-ROM Poster Gallery • DVD-ROM Ipod .mp4 version of the film in German (320x240 - 668 MB - 29.97 fps - 1:48:18 - 4:3 letter DVD Release Date: Clamshell Chapters 24

Comments:

New Entertainment's anamorphic widescreen transfer is not OAR. It is cropped to 1.78:1 from 1.66:1 (I believe the French DVD is 1.66:1 although I'm not sure if its anamorphic and it does not feature English subtitles or audio). That said, the transfer is sharp given the seventies film stock (and possible cropping of a 1.66:1 anamorphic source rather than telecining it at 1.78:1) and this is currently the only English-friendly release of an extremely underrated film. It is regrettable that English subtitles were not included for the French audio track (New Entertainment's DVD of BEATRICE CENCI includes English subtitles but that film was never dubbed into English). The soundtrack extra includes five tracks on five separate screens running roughly 8 1/2 minutes. French and German trailers are included in rather rough shape along with a still gallery and trailers for three other New Entertainment DVD releases (THE INFERNAL TRIO - also with Romy Schneider, the Italian thriller IGUANA WITH THE TONGUE OF FIRE, and the Elke Sommer film CAROLINE CHERIE). The scrolling liner notes are in German only. Most interesting are the DVD-ROM supplements which include a folder of TIFF images of the Spanish and German lobby cards, five posters for the film (they are all featured in the DVD's still gallery but the ROM versions are higher resolution TIFF files), AND a video folder containing an .mp4 of the German language version of the film for Ipod.

NOTE that this DVD is also available from New Entertainment with two alternate covers (one marked as limited edition which is the only one to feature the French poster - the other two have German poster art - but the contents of all are the same). Amazon.de lists two other DVDs of the film as NACHTBLENDE from AVU but they do not have English audio or subtitles. Those DVDs are rated 16 and list a 108 minute running time. New Entertainment's DVD also lists a 108 minute running time but is rated 18 and billed as "uncut edition" but I am not sure what was cut from the original German version. That the New Entertainment DVD is rated 18 means that it cannot be sold at Amazon.de.

- Eric Cotenas

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