La Vie De Jesus Blu-ray - Marjorie Cottreel

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

(aka "Th Life of Jesus" )

directed by Bruno Dumont
France 1997

With his stunning debut feature, the risk-taking auteur Bruno Dumont immediately established his reputation as an uncompromising iconoclast on the cutting edge of French cinema. Blending unflinching realism with moments of startling, light-filled beauty, La vie de Jésus finds unexpected philosophical richness in the quotidian, small-town existence of Freddy (nonprofessional David Douche in a revelatory, one-off performance), an aimless young man with epilepsy who, in his childlike simplicity, embodies both great tenderness and terrifying brutality. Leaving the film’s cryptic title tantalizingly open to interpretation, Dumont dares viewers to see the divine in a seemingly dead-end world.

***

A shocker at Cannes because of its unromanticized coverage of real sex, Bruno Dumont's provocatively-titled, Cinemascope film is about a group of misdirected friends in the Northern French countryside. It centers on epileptic, chronically unemployed Freddy, his intense couplings with sexy Marie, and his motorcycle rides with his bored, nothing-else-to-do pals. One day, an Arab boy appears in the town, and has eyes for Marie. Racism and revenge follow. Dumont used local, non-professional actors to create a naturalistic portrait of rural Flanders for one of the most critically praised French films of recent years.

Excerpt of review from Harvard Film Archive located HERE

Poster

Theatrical Release: France 4 June 1997

Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews

Comparison:

Fox Lorber - Region 0 - NTSC vs. Eureka / Masters of Cinema #60 - Region 0 - PAL vs. Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

Big thanks to Per-Olof Strandberg and Per-olof Strandberg for the DVD Screen Caps!

1) Fox Lorber - Region 0 - NTSC - LEFT

2) Eureka / Masters of Cinema #60 - Region 0 - PAL - MIDDLE

3) Criterion Spine #980 - Region 'A' - Blu-ray RIGHT

Box Covers
Distribution	Fox Lorber Region 0 - NTSC	Eureka / Masters of Cinema #60 Region 0 - PAL	Criterion Spine #980 - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:31:48	1:32:23 (4% PAL speedup)	1:36:34.288
Video	2.35:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 6,17 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	2.35:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: mb/s PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s	2.35:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 48,409,264,928 bytes Feature: 29,037,250,560 bytes Video Bitrate: 35.98 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate: Fox Lorber
Bitrate: Eureka / Masters of Cinema #60	NO AVAILABLE
Bitrate: Blu-ray
Audio	French (Dolby Digital 2.0)	French (Dolby Digital 2.0)	LPCM Audio French 2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit
Subtitles	English, None	English, None	English, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Fox Lorber Aspect Ratio: Widescreen letterboxed - 2.35:1 Edition Details: • Trailer (1:36) • Production credits • DVD-5 DVD Release Date: 27 April 1999 Keep Case Chapters 8	Release Information: Studio: Eureka / Masters of Cinema #60 Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 2.35:1 Edition Details: • Trailer (1:35) • Booklet (40 pages) • DVD-5 DVD Release Date: 21 Jul 2008 Transparent keep-case Chapters 17	Release Information: Studio: Criterion 2.35:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 48,409,264,928 bytes Feature: 29,037,250,560 bytes Video Bitrate: 35.98 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • New interview with Dumont (15:46) • Conversation between Dumont and critic Philippe Rouyer from 2014 (39:17) • Excerpts from two 1997 episodes of the French television program Le cercle de minuit (26:18) • Trailer (01:43) PLUS: An essay by critic Nicholas Elliott New cover by Vivienne Flesher Blu-ray Release Date: June 18th, 2019 Transparent Blu-ray Case Chapters 24

Comments

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

ADDITION: Criterion Blu-ray (May 2019): Criterion release an all new 4K digital restoration of Bruno Dumont's debut film, "La Vie De Jesus". This is quite an improvement over previous SD DVD editions of the film. The dual-layered Blu-ray showcases the film in the 2.35:1 aspect ratio with a completely maxed out bitrate. Gone is the jaundiced looking tint of the DVD releases, showing much deeper greens and blues, while holding back on the yellows. The framing also reveals slightly more information, especially on the right side of the frame (while showing a little less on top, and more on the bottom). A robust contrast with a wide range of blacks gives the film a deeper, and less flat image. Certain shots can look a little over-exposed (notice the screen capture of the sun peeking through the clouds), though this is most likely due to the film being used. Probably the most notable upgrade from the standard definition DVDs is the clarity of the image. Background details that were once blobs have now sharpened, showing much more information. More outstanding work from Criterion.

Criterion include the film's original uncompressed 2.0 audio track, in 24-bit linear PCM. Composer Richard Cuvillier (L'Humanite, Xueiv) is credited with composing music for the film. It must be the diegetic music (marching band/music on the radio) since the film eschews the typical score underlying each beat. This vérité-like choice to eschew a typical score, emphasizes the day-to-day sounds in the film, whether they be the roaring motorbikes, blistering winds, or bleak silences. There are optional English subtitles on this Region 'A' Blu-ray.

Criterion's Blu-ray of "La Vie de Jesus" contains a handful of bonus features. "Bruno Dumont" is a new 16-minute interview with the director, shot by the Criterion Collection in 2019. In this talk, Dumont discusses his debut feature film. "Le Cercle de Minuit" is a 26-minutes of segments from 2 episodes of the French television program, hosted by Laure Adler. These segments feature interviews with director Dumont. The first episode was broadcast in May, 1997 and the second in June of the same year. These are surprisingly in-depth conversations with the filmmaker, something that was surely missing from North American television in the 90's. "Philippe Rouyer" is a 40-minute back-and-forth between Dumont and critic Philippe Rouyer from 2014. Also on this Blu-ray is the film's trailer. The cover features new artwork from Vivienne Flesher, and there is an essay from critic Nicholas Elliot in the accompanying booklet (not available to us at the time of review).

1997's "La Vie De Jesus" announced director Bruno Dumont as a new standout director. As he would continue to prove, Dumont is never one to shy away from controversy, and it should be noted that this film does feature a particularly racy sequence (penetration shot). That said, Dumont found a truly indelible cast of non-actors, reminding me of Passolini's casting of non-actors, welcoming their unique unpolished characteristics and talent. We get the real impression left is that of a true small-town bunch of young people, with their bottled up emotions ready to explode at any moment. Criterion's new 4K-restored Blu-ray is really appreciated, given the lackluster attention this film has previously received on physical media (could be due to that aforementioned adult shot). Recommended to adult cinephiles.

***

ON THE DVD: There are films that I feel far to valuable to view with shabby transfers. Bruno Dumont's La vie de Jésus is one of them. I never managed to watch more than ten minutes, with a projector, from the Fox Lorber transfer of the film. It was that poor. I had always hopped that some cinema fans will give the film a decent transfer. After waiting for eight years I was, today, finally satisfied... and it was worth the wait

Where the Eureka / Masters of Cinema transfer is 16X9 enhanced and progressive, the old Fox Lorber DVD is non-anamorphic and taken from an unconverted PAL source, bringing visible combing/ghosting. There is very little to compare here, the screen captures tell everything. The new MoC DVD has more information on both sides and the picture and is stable throughout. On a projector (low light) the color timing seems correct, but on a computer display it looks like the image is brightened a bit to fit home viewing. As a result the colors may appear a shade dull. The transfer is excellent, but not without some minor problems. Most of the close-ups of people are sharp and looks generally fine, but there's occasionally visible edge enhancement - especially in some of the images of fields, streets and part of the scene where people are on a parade.

Both transfers are on single layered discs. The MoC has occupied 4.14 Gb, and the Fox Lorber 4.27 Gb of size. The difference between the two images is however readily visible when displayed. The Fox Lorber looks resoundingly poorer in motion.

The Dolby Digital 2.0 sound on the MoC DVD is clear, and sounds most probably as it was originally intended.

Both have as extra material a trailer for the film. The MoC edition has two text interviews and some notes of the film in their included 40-page booklet.

Now all the four feature films from Bruno Dumont (L'Humanité, Twentynine Palms and Flanders) are available on decent DVD transfers. Thank you MoC for La vie de Jésus.

- Per-Olof Strandberg

DVD Menus
(Fox Lorber - Region 0 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Eureka / Masters of Cinema #60 - Region 0 - PAL - RIGHT)

CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

Screen Captures

1) Fox Lorber - Region 0 - NTSC - TOP

2) Eureka / Masters of Cinema #60 - Region 0 - PAL - MIDDLE

3) Criterion Spine #980 - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

Subtitle sample

1) Fox Lorber - Region 0 - NTSC - TOP

2) Eureka / Masters of Cinema #60 - Region 0 - PAL - MIDDLE

3) Criterion Spine #980 - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

1) Fox Lorber - Region 0 - NTSC - TOP

2) Eureka / Masters of Cinema #60 - Region 0 - PAL - MIDDLE

3) Criterion Spine #980 - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

1) Fox Lorber - Region 0 - NTSC - TOP

2) Eureka / Masters of Cinema #60 - Region 0 - PAL - MIDDLE

3) Criterion Spine #980 - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

1) Fox Lorber - Region 0 - NTSC - TOP

2) Eureka / Masters of Cinema #60 - Region 0 - PAL - MIDDLE

3) Criterion Spine #980 - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

1) Fox Lorber - Region 0 - NTSC - TOP

2) Eureka / Masters of Cinema #60 - Region 0 - PAL - MIDDLE

3) Criterion Spine #980 - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

1) Fox Lorber - Region 0 - NTSC - TOP

2) Eureka / Masters of Cinema #60 - Region 0 - PAL - MIDDLE

3) Criterion Spine #980 - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

Combing on Fox Lorber