Lola Blu-ray - Anouk Aimée

Firstly, a massive thank you to our Patreon supporters. Your generosity touches me deeply. These supporters have become the single biggest contributing factor to the survival of DVDBeaver. Your assistance has become essential.

What do Patrons receive, that you don't?

1) Our weekly Newsletter sent to your Inbox every Monday morning!
2) Patron-only Silent Auctions - so far over 30 Out-of-Print titles have moved to deserved, appreciative, hands!
3) Access to over 50,000 unpublished screen captures in lossless high-resolution format!

Please consider keeping us in existence with a couple of dollars or more each month (your pocket change!) so we can continue to do our best in giving you timely, thorough reviews, calendar updates and detailed comparisons. Thank you very much.

Search DVDBeaver

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

(aka "Donna di vita")

directed by Jacques Demy

1961 France

Jacques Demy's first and in some ways best feature (1961, 90 min.), shot in exquisite black-and-white 'Scope by Raoul Coutard, is among the most neglected major works of the French New Wave. Abandoned by her sailor lover, a cabaret dancer (Anouk Aimee) brings up their son while awaiting his return and ultimately has to choose among three men. Chock-full of film references (to The Blue Angel, Breathless, Hollywood musicals, the work of Max Ophuls, among others) and lyrically shot in Nantes, the film is a camera stylo love letter, and Michel Legrand's lovely score provides ideal nostalgic accompaniment. In his third feature and biggest hit, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, Demy settled on life's disappointments; here at least one major character gets exactly what she wants, and the effect is no less poignant. With Marc Michel, Jacques Harden, and Elina Labourdette (the young heroine in Robert Bresson's 1945 Les dames du Bois de Boulogne). In French with subtitles.

Excerpt from Jonathan Rosenbaum's Chicago Reader review HERE

Posters

Theatrical Release: March 3rd, 1961 - France

Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews

Comparison:

Wellspring - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Criterion Collection (part of Essential Jacques Demy Boxset) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

Box Covers		Reissued in September 2022:
Distribution	Columbia Tri-Star Region 1 - NTSC	Criterion Collection - Spine # 714 Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:27:15	1:28:48.948
Video	2.35:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 5.40 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	2.35:1 / 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 47,240,329,866 bytes Feature: 26,049,908,736 bytes Video Bitrate: 34.99 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Bitrate:
Bitrate: Blu-ray
Audio	French (Dolby Digital 5.1 Stereo), French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)	LPCM Audio French 1152 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 1152 kbps / 24-bit
Subtitles	English, None	English, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Wellspring Media, Inc Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 2.35:1 Edition Details: • Black & White, Widescreen • Theatrical trailer (1:56 ) • In French with optional English subtitles • Excerpt from The World of Jacques Demy ( 6:47 ) • Widescreen anamorphic format DVD5 - single layer DVD Release Date: December 9, 2003 Keep Case Chapters: 24	Release Information: Studio: Criterion Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 / 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 46,515,766,915 bytes Feature: 27,627,939,840 bytes Video Bitrate: 34.99 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • Interview with actor Anouk Aimée from 2012, conducted by filmmaker Agnès Varda (3:28) • Interview with Varda from 2012 on the origin of Lola’s song (3:24) • Four short films by director Jacques Demy: Les horizons morts (1951 - 8:22), Le sabotier du Val de Loire (1956 - 23:32), Ars (1959 - 16:43), and La luxure (1962 - 14:51) • Restoration demonstration (10:20) • Trailer (1:50) Blu-ray Release Date: July 22nd, 2014 Custom Blu-ray Case Chapters 16

Comments:

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

ADDITION: Criterion Collection (part of the Essential Jacques Demy boxset) - Region 'A' - Blu-rays (July 2014): Yes, we have a problem here. The 2K digital restoration source used, has butchered the image. It is teeming with DNR and artifacts. It looks awful. This seems to be the same situation we have seen with Madam De... and Children of Paradise. Criterion's transfer is adept - dual-layered and a max'ed out bitrate but the, so-called, 'restoration' done outside of Criterion (in 2012 by Cine-Tamaris) is highly flawed. What a shame. Detail and grain are all gone. The DVD does look out-of-ratio now. Perhaps is enough fuss is made this will get redone... properly.

Audio seems a bit scattered but clean and there are some extensive extras. There is a short interview with actor Anouk Aimée from 2012, conducted by filmmaker Agnès Varda, another with Varda from 2012 on the origin of Lola’s song - also brief at 3.5 minutes. A great addition - there are four short films by director Jacques Demy: Les horizons morts (1951 - 8:22), Le sabotier du Val de Loire (1956 - 23:32), Ars (1959 - 16:43), and La luxure (1962 - 14:51) - all in 1080P. There is a 10-minute restoration demonstration and a trailer. The Demy package includes a booklet featuring essays by critics Ginette Vincendeau, Terrence Rafferty, Jim Ridley, Jonathan Rosenbaum, Anne E. Duggan, and Geoff Andrew, and a postscript by Berthomé.

I'll expand more on the comments as I intend on covering the entire set in another, separate, review. Stay tuned for more!

***

ON THE DVD: Not a pristine job, but a commendable effort by Wellspring. The print used seems fairly clean and free of blemishes. Contrast might be a shade boosted, actually I'm pretty sure it is. Not the sharpest of lines but passable for a film of this age. Sound seemed quite weak, but I'm sure that's the best they could do. It has an option of boosting to 5.1 but nothing really comes from the rear channels. Extras include almost 7 min. from "The World of Jacques Demy", a trailer and some bios etc. Better than your average fare from Wellspring. Demy fans will be happy this is available.

Gary W. Tooze

Recommended Reading in French Cinema (CLICK COVERS or TITLES for more information)


The Films in My Life by Francois Truffaut, Leonard Mayhew	French Cinema: A Student's Guide by Philip Powrie, Keith Reader	Agnes Varda by Alison Smith	Godard on Godard : Critical Writings by Jean-Luc Godard	Robert Bresson (Cinematheque Ontario Monographs, No. 2) by James Quandt	The Art of Cinema by Jean Cocteau	French New Wave by Jean Douchet, Robert Bonnono, Cedric Anger, Robert Bononno	French Cinema: From Its Beginnings to the Present by Remi Fournier Lanzoni	Truffaut: A Biography by Antoine do Baecque and Serge Toubiana