The Film:
We talk about people "inventing
themselves." That assumes they know
who they want to invent. "Coco
Before Chanel" begins with an
abandoned orphan girl named
Gabrielle, watches her grow into a
music hall chanteuse, who then
sidesteps prostitution by becoming a
mistress. All the while from behind
the clouds of her cigarettes she
regards the world with unforgiving
realism and stubborn ambition. She
doesn't set out to become the most
influential fashion icon of the 20th
century. She begins by designing a
hat, making a little money and
striving to better herself. She
wants money and independence. One
suspects she would have been
similarly driven if she had invented
a better mousetrap and founded a
home-appliance empire.
Excerpt of review from Roger Ebert
located HERE
Image:
NOTE:
The below
Blu-ray
captures were taken directly from the
Blu-ray
disc.
The disc sports a transfer using a
MPEG-4 AVC codec in 1080p, using the
original aspect ratio of 2.35:1. I
didn't see much grain throughout the
picture, but overall the disc sports
what Gary would probably call a
"film like" image. The director
decided to go with natural lighting
throughout the film, and that
results in a marked difference for
scenes shot indoors and outdoors.
Indoor shots tend to be less well
defined, lacking the clarity and
range of colors that the outdoor
shots have. Blacks in particular
suffer here, with certain articles
of clothing looking like dark
amorphous blobs. However, I believe
that this accurately represents the
director's intended look. Once we
travel outdoors, the image really
begins to shine, showcasing some
very strong visuals in the sunlight.
Here, the colors come to life and
the clarity reaches the levels that
most would expect of a recent major
production in high definition.
What's more, I saw no obvious signs
of artificial manipulation or
artifact. Overall, its a pretty good
transfer.
CLICK EACH
BLU-RAY
CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
Audio & Music:
The lossless audio here sounds
wonderful. Presented in DTS-HD MA
5.1, the dialogue, music, and sound
effects all came off as crystal
clear, without any hint or trace of
damage or disruption to the track.
In fact, the sound is so good in
this release that there's really not
much more to say. Small details like
the sounds of a party, the chatter
of a dance hall, or the clip
clopping of a horse come across
almost as distinct and clear as they
would be if you were really there.
The audio is genuinely that good.
Extras:
Aside from BD Live and a gallery of
trailers for Sony Pictures Classics
Blu-Ray releases, there are four
bonus features. First, there's a
commentary featuring the
writer/director, producer, and
editor of the film in French with
English subtitles. Although time
constraints have limited my ability
to listen to the commentary all of
the way through, what I have heard
was generally insightful material
about the film, editing choices,
director's intent, etc. Second,
there's a nearly 50 minute long
"making of..." documentary that is
divided into seven parts, ranging
from the historical Coco Chanel to
the production of the film. Third,
there's a feature where the cast and
crew members discuss their
impressions of Chanel, her fashion,
and the filmmakers. Finally, there's
a documentary chronicling the film's
premiers in LA and New York.
Although I did learn a bit about the
film's subject and stars by watching
these, they were really pretty
standard extras.
Bottom line:
I have to admit that I was
pleasantly surprised by this film.
Going in to the viewing, I dreaded
the idea of watching a film about
fashion (the same reason that my
wife wanted to watch it).
Thankfully, the film always
maintained a nice balance between
biography and drama without ever
losing my interest. It's not a great
film, but it is a good film with
loving detail put in to every shot.
Recommended.
Brian Montgomery
February 16th, 2010
