The White Mane - Lamorisse

(aka 'White Mane')

Directed by Albert Lamorisse
France 1953

A lesser-known short by the French master filmmaker Albert Lamorisse, whose Red Balloon is an all-time classic, White Mane is a beautiful but somewhat disturbing allegory that looks at first glance like a boy's adventure story, but actually contains real good vs. evil battles that can only be interpreted as a reflection of Lamorisse's own post-war angst.

Shot in stunningly bright black and while in 1953, just eight years after the war's end and featuring narration co-written by the great James Agee, White Mane takes us to a vast marsh in southern France where herds of wild horses roam free. The horse known as White Mane, who stands out because of his coloration, is a herd leader and much sought after by the French cowboys who ride around the marsh trying to capture and break horses. Rounded up and taken to a pen, White Mane resists captivity and escapes dramatically, and the incident is observed by a boy named Folco (Alain Emery), who lives a subsistence existence with his fisherman grandfather and too-cute toddler brother (Lamorisse's own son) in the middle of the marsh.

Excerpt from Don Willmott's review at filmcritic.com located HERE

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Theatrical Release: April 1953 - Cannes Film Festival

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DVD Review: Janus Films / Criterion Collection - Region 1 - NTSC

DVD Box Cover		CLICK to order from:
Distribution	Janus Films / Criterion Collection - Region 1 - NTSC
Runtime	40:00
Video	1.33:1 Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 8.69 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate:
Audio	French (Dolby Digital mono), DUB: English (Dolby Digital mono)
Subtitles	English, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Janus Films / Criterion Collection Aspect Ratio: Original Aspect Ratio 1.33:1 Edition Details: • Trailer (1:24) • 8-page liner notes DVD Release Date: April 29th, 2008 Transparent Keep Case Chapters: 11

Comments:

NOTE: This Criterion transfer is again pictureboxed (see our description of 'pictureboxing' in our Kind Hearts and Coronets review). Criterion have included a thick black border around the edge of the frame to counter overscan on production-made television sets.

Like The Red Balloon, this is advertised as 'released by Janus Films, in association with the Criterion Collection' and is a single-layered, progressive DVD that bears the professionalism of the latter organization, although it has no spine number. The 1:33 ratio film is clean and very bright with minimal noise. Contrast is exceptionally strong retaining the heavy 'white' emphasis of the film and detail is somewhat stronger than The Red Balloon. Aside from the original French mono (mostly a narration), there is an English DUB provided - I assume, extensively for the sake of children. There are also optional English subtitles (see sample below) This short runs exactly 40 minutes long and is a wonderful tandem piece to The Red Balloon.

Released simultaneously on April 29th (along with White Mane) are Paddle to the Sea (Bill Mason, 1966) and The Red Balloon (Albert Lamorisse, 1956).

There is a trailer and some liner notes with an essay by Michael Koresky. Criterion have stated in their blog that they may 'SE' this title along with The Red Balloon this year. If so, I'm sure we will compare but at this price - it is an easy purchase to show my young boys.