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Elles [Blu-ray]
(Malgorzata Szumowska, 2011)
Review by Gary Tooze
Production: Theatrical: Slot Machine Video: Artificial Eye / Kino Lorber
Disc: Region: 'B' / Region 'A' (as verified by the Momitsu region FREE Blu-ray player)Runtime: 1:39:13.291 / 1:39:32.800Disc Size: 21,079,096,428 bytes / 23,802,726,019 bytes Feature Size: 18,705,334,272 bytes / 22,285,768,704 bytes Video Bitrate: 19.99 Mbps / 24.11 Mbps Chapters: 12 / 10 Case: Standard Blu-ray case Release date: August 20th, 2012 / September 11th, 2012
Video: Aspect ratio: 1.85:1 Resolution: 1080p / 23.976 fps Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio French 2009 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 2009 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit) LPCM Audio French 1536 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1536 kbps / 16-bit
DTS-HD
Master Audio French 2277 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 2277 kbps /
16-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit)
Subtitles: English (SDH), none English. none
Extras: • Director Interview (10:34)• Theatrical trailer (1:52) • Uncensored Theatrical Trailer (1:55) • Still Gallery
Bitrate: (Artificial Eye - Region 'B' - Blu-ray TOP vs. Kino Lorber - Region 'A'- Blu-ray BOTTOM)
Description: Anne (Juliette Binoche) is a journalist who, during her investigation into prostitution, encounters two young girls who use their bodies as a way to make easy money. Fascinated by them, she is drawn into their world, which stands in marked contrast to her own bourgeois life. Juliette Binoche gives a characteristically committed performance in Malgorzata Szunowska's frank drama, whose camera never shies away from the details of the girl s work, always capturing Anne's response to it.
The Film: A writer is given a new perspective on her life by two women she initially imagines could not be more different than her in this drama from filmmaker Malgoska Szumowska. Anne (Juliette Binoche) is a wife and mother who maintains a busy schedule looking after her young son (Pablo Beugnet) who is obsessed with video games, her teenage son (Francois Civil) who spends much of his time stoned on marijuana, and her aging father (Jean-Marie Binoche) whose health is failing. Anne's husband (Louis-Do de Lencquesaing) is too preoccupied with his own career to worry about the household chores, and she has to juggle it all while keeping up with her work as a journalist. Anne is researching a magazine piece about prostitutes, and she's been conducting extensive interviews with Alicja (Joanna Kulig) and Charlotte (Anais Demoustier), both of whom are attractive, well-adjusted women in their early twenties who have turned to sex work to support themselves. As Anne develops a greater understanding of Alicja and Charlotte's lives and work, she sees a contrast in the way the younger women have chosen a trade that, despite its reputation, affords them freedom while Anne's personal and professional life have become something of a trap. Elles was an official selection at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival. Excerpt from MRQE located HERE
In case you have forgotten, all women are prostitutes, and all men are
johns. Strip away the trappings of upscale bourgeois life, and a wife —
even an upscale professional wife — is a household slave, expected to
cook, clean and take care of the children. Her husband might deign to
make love to her after she cooks a fancy dinner for his boss. All it
takes for her to keep the peace is some well-timed flirtatious
role-playing. But he has to initiate the amorous reward. Sounds very
1970s, doesn’t it?
Image : NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc. Elles gets a solid transfer to Blu-ray from Artificial Eye. The hour-40-minute feature is on a single-layered disc with a supportive bitrate. Everything from colors to contrast looks adeptly rendered. The 1080P supports solid visuals exhibiting healthy, rich black levels and some minor depth in the 1.85:1 frame. It's pristinely clean showcasing some hi-def detail and there are really no flaws to complain about. This Blu-ray probably looks like exactly the theatrical version of the film which is all we can ask from the format.
Not significant differences between the UK and US image transfers. The US is slightly more robust but few, if any, would be discerning enough to make issue.
CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
(Artificial Eye - Region 'B' - Blu-ray TOP vs. Kino Lorber - Region 'A'- Blu-ray BOTTOM)
(Artificial Eye - Region 'B' - Blu-ray TOP vs. Kino Lorber - Region 'A'- Blu-ray BOTTOM)
(Artificial Eye - Region 'B' - Blu-ray TOP vs. Kino Lorber - Region 'A'- Blu-ray BOTTOM)
(Artificial Eye - Region 'B' - Blu-ray TOP vs. Kino Lorber - Region 'A'- Blu-ray BOTTOM)
(Artificial Eye - Region 'B' - Blu-ray TOP vs. Kino Lorber - Region 'A'- Blu-ray BOTTOM)
(Artificial Eye - Region 'B' - Blu-ray TOP vs. Kino Lorber - Region 'A'- Blu-ray BOTTOM)
(Artificial Eye - Region 'B' - Blu-ray TOP vs. Kino Lorber - Region 'A'- Blu-ray BOTTOM)
(Artificial Eye - Region 'B' - Blu-ray TOP vs. Kino Lorber - Region 'A'- Blu-ray BOTTOM)
(Artificial Eye - Region 'B' - Blu-ray TOP vs. Kino Lorber - Region 'A'- Blu-ray BOTTOM)
(Artificial Eye - Region 'B' - Blu-ray TOP vs. Kino Lorber - Region 'A'- Blu-ray BOTTOM)
Audio :The AE Blu-ray offers a DTS-HD Master 5.1 at 2009 kbps. Mostly dialogue-driven film - it has hints of separation but everything is of a subtle nature with only a couple of more aggressive instances. There is also a linear PCM stereo track - both in the original French language. The film doesn't test the lossless audio much - but everything is as clear and tight as you might expect from a modern film. There is an original score by Pawel Mykietyn - who has done a lot more film work of late. It benefits from the crisp uncompressed sound. There are optional English subtitles and my Momitsu has identified it as being a region 'B'-locked.
Like wise the audio transfer is too similar to complain. Like the Artificial Eye - the Kino has a options of two lossless track, surround and stereo - both in French. My ears couldn't detect a difference. The optional English subtitles are in a slightly larger font and the disc is region 'A'-locked.
Extras : We get a 10-minute interview with director Malgorzata Szumowska. She is very forthcoming about the evolution of the film, Binoche's participation etc. As informative as one could expect in 10-minutes. Slightly less substantial with a couple of trailers - including the NC-17 one - and a stills gallery. Give a minor nod to the UK package, with the director interview, in regard to the supplements.
(Artificial Eye - Region 'B' - Blu-ray LEFT vs. Kino Lorber - Region 'A'- Blu-ray RIGHT)
BOTTOM LINE: I enjoyed Elles as much the second time. Both releases are fine packages for premium digital presentations of the film in your home theaters. We endorse both depending on your geographic location or region-coding limitations. Gary Tooze August 10th, 2012 September 8th, 2012
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About the Reviewer: Hello, fellow Beavers! I have been interested in film since I viewed a Chaplin festival on PBS when I was around 9 years old. I credit DVD with expanding my horizons to fill an almost ravenous desire to seek out new film experiences. I currently own approximately 9500 DVDs and have reviewed over 5000 myself. I appreciate my discussion Listserv for furthering my film education and inspiring me to continue running DVDBeaver. Plus a healthy thanks to those who donate and use our Amazon links.
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