Model Shop - Anouk Aimée Gary Lockwood

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

Directed by Jacques Demy
USA 1969

Maybe Tomorrow. Maybe Never. Maybe.

French New Wave writer / director Jacques Demy, best known for his stylish musical The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, reunites with French star Anouk Aimée (their first pairing, 1961's Lola) to direct his first film in America. Gary Lockwood (2001: A Space Odyssey) plays shiftless but innocuous George Matthews, who can't seem to get himself worked up about anything: the girlfriend he is about to lose, his soon-to-be repossessed car or even his draft notice. Until one day, he sees a beautiful but detached model (Aimée), and he begins to follow her. From Malibu Beach to Beverly Hills mansions to Santa Monica Boulevard's cheap strip joints, Los Angeles is critically examined...

***

Model Shop (1969) offers the great French filmmaker Jacques Demy’s take on America of the era, and specifically, on Los Angeles. Bringing his celebrated character, Lola (the divine Anouk Aimée, reiterating her eponymous role from Demy’s 1960 film), to the City of Angels, he introduces an American, George (Gary Lockwood, giving a sensitive performance): unemployed, broke, about to be drafted to Vietnam, and suddenly madly in love with Lola, a woman he has only briefly glimpsed. As George searches for his potential amour, Demy gives us a portrait of the city that captured his heart in the same, lightning-bolt way.

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Theatrical Release: February 11th, 1969

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Comparison:

Sony - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Twilight Time - Region FREE - Blu-ray

1) Sony - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT

2) Twilight Time - Region FREE - Blu-ray - RIGHT

Box Covers
Distribution	Sony Home Video - Region 1 - NTSC	Twilight Time - Region FREE - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:37:00	1:37:06.862
Video	1.33:1 Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 4.8 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	Disc Size: 26,295,128,873 bytes Feature Size: 25,886,625,792 bytes Average Bitrate: 29.99 Mbps Dual-layered Blu-ray MPEG-4 AVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate:
Bitrate: Blu-ray
Audio	English (Dolby Digital 2.0)	DTS-HD Master Audio English 1809 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1809 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit) Isolated Score: DTS-HD Master Audio English 1643 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1643 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Subtitles	English, None	English (SDH), None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Sony Aspect Ratio: Original Aspect Ratio 1.85:1 Edition Details: • Trailer (2:59) DVD Release Date: September 8th, 2009 Keep Case Chapters: 12	Release Information: Studio: Twilight Time Aspect Ratio: Original Aspect Ratio 1.78:1 Disc Size: 26,295,128,873 bytes Feature Size: 25,886,625,792 bytes Average Bitrate: 29.99 Mbps Dual-layered Blu-ray MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • Isolated Music Track • TV Spots (0:19 + 0:12) • Original Theatrical Trailer (0:59) Linear Notes Blu-ray Release Date: April, 2018 Transparent Blu-ray Case Chapters: 24

Comments:

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

The Twilight Time 1080P is opened-up a shade in the 1.78:1 aspect ratio. The Blu-ray visuals are more detailed than the SD, flesh tones warm, there is consistent, fine, film grain and plenty of depth. It's a remarkable bump over the DVD.

Twilight Time uses a DTS-HD Master 2.0 mono transfer (24-bit). No effects - lost of car driving, traffic background noise and conversation. The score is credited to 'Spirit' including pieces like The Moving Van, Mellow Fellow, California, Model Shop, Song For Lola etc. and some will not, on the radio in Lola's car, Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade. The score is offered as an isolated option. There are optional English subtitles on the region FREE Blu-ray disc.

No extras aside from the isolated score option, 2 TV Spots and a Trailer, plus some liner notes by Julie Kirgo.

I know I usually warm further to films after seeing them in HD. Not this time. I just couldn't buy-into the performances of Gary Lockwood and Alexandra Hay. Always great to see iconic Anouk Aimée though - but her beauty couldn't carry this. Demy didn't capture the free-spirit essence, although he tried. This Blu-ray, does its job but I needed some supplements and a commentary to appreciate Model Shop. I don't know - maybe I need to see it again. Fans of the director may wish to indulge as the DVD is way out-of-print.

Gary Tooze

***

ON THE DVD: The single-layered, anamorphic transfer looks acceptable if never brilliantly stellar. The image is clean with, at times, surprising detail and some grain visible in backgrounds. Noise is not much of a factor. The film has many outdoor shots and the colors are only slightly dulled. It is consistent and seems to report reliably. It may be that any of the DVD visual weaknesses are the result of the single-layering. I suspect the film would look quite strong in 1080P definition. The 2.0 channel audio is unremarkable but clear and close, I'll wager, to the way it was produced with no strong hiss or pops surfacing. There are optional English subtitles.

There is only a theatrical trailer as an extra but the very reasonable price reflects the lack of supplements. The film doesn't share the essence of Lola but it's not so far off to be hyper-critical of the result. The camera work is highly interesting (hence I added more than the usual number of screen captures). Demy and/or Anouk Aimée fans will want to indulge as I believe this is the first time the film has reached DVD. I think it's definitely worth picking-up at only $13.