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S E A R C H    D V D B e a v e r

(aka 'The Woman Next Door')

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/direct-chair/truffaut.htm
France 1981

 

Bernard Coudray has a beautiful family and is happy with his life. That is untill Phillipe and Mathilde Bauchard move in to the house next door. Bernard and Mathilde know each other, they were once passionately in love but went their separate ways. Once reunited, the pair start a fervent but turbulant affair. Torn between their unyielding lust for each other and the comfort and stability that is their marriages, this really is a case of can't live with and can't live without. The ghost of a tempestuous affair is reawakened when the two lovers, estranged for 10 years and now both newly married, coincidentally move next door to each other. François Truffaut wrote the leading roles especially for his two stars, Gerard Depardieu and Fanny Ardant.

***

Although an air of artificiality in it, I really enjoyed this 2nd last film by master Truffaut. An exploration of the disastrous effects of uncontrollable desire and passion which actually sprung from Truffaut's obsession to work with actress Fanny Ardent (with whom he had a child). Depardieu and Ardant, are both married, yet decide to rekindle their past affair, with devastating consequences. The late climax of the film is very reminiscent of Chabrol with its unlikely and heavy-handed finale. But then again sometimes life is very much like that. This is a very memorable, if uncomfortable, film.

Gary W. Tooze


Posters

Theatrical Release: September 30th, 1981

Reviews                                                                 More Reviews                                                           DVD Reviews

 

Comparison:

Fox Lorber - Region 0 - NTSC vs. Artificial Eye - Region 'B' - Blu-ray

1) Fox Lorber - Region 0 - NTSC LEFT
2) Artificial Eye - Region 'B' - Blu-ray RIGHT

 

Box Covers

  

   

or in the Truffaut Blu-ray Collection:

Distribution Fox Lorber - Region 0 - NTSC Artificial Eye - Region 'B' - Blu-ray
Runtime 1:46:00  1:45:10.375
Video 1.56:1 Aspect Ratio
Average Bitrate: 7.93 mb/s
NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s

1.66:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 27,565,470,254 bytes

Feature: 25,232,928,192 bytes

Video Bitrate: 26.97 Mbps

Codec: 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 French (Dolby Digital 2.0)  LPCM Audio French 1536 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1536 kbps / 16-bit
Commentary: LPCM Audio French 1536 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1536 kbps / 16-bit
Subtitles English (burned-in) English and none
Features

Release Information:
Studio: Fox Lorber

Aspect Ratio:
Aspect Ratio 1.56:1

Edition Details:

• Production Credits (text screens)
• Filmographies and Awards (text screens)
• Trailers 

DVD Release Date: April 23rd, 2002

Keep Case
Chapters: 8

Release Information:
Studio: Artificial Eye
 

1.66:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 27,565,470,254 bytes

Feature: 25,232,928,192 bytes

Video Bitrate: 26.97 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Edition Details:

• Presentation with Serge Toubiana (3:49)
Commentary with Veronique Silver with optional English subtitles

• Fanny Ardent and Gérard Depardieu comment on a few scenes (26:03)
Trailer (1:40)

Blu-ray Release Date: October 13th, 2014
Standard
Blu-ray Case
Chapters: 12

 

Comments:

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

 

ADDITION: Artificial Eye - Region 'B' - Blu-ray (November 14'): Perhaps one of our more lop-sided comparisons. The 2002 DVD is greenish, out of ratio and severely cropped - this is glaringly evident when compared to still captures of the Artificial Eye Blu-ray below. Not surprisingly, colors and detail are far more better and consistent on the HD video.

 

P.S. I don't know why the BD is 50 seconds shorter than the SD. Possibly beginning logos?...

 

Audio comes via a linear PCM 2.0 channel stereo track at 1536 kbps in the original French. It is predictably flat but has some tightness not present on the SDs. Georges Delerue (Shoot the Piano Player, Jules et Jim, The Last Metro, Day For Night) did the score and it also benefits from the uncompressed rendering. There are optional English subtitles (they are optional!) on the Region 'B'-locked Blu-ray disc.

 

Supplements replicate some of what was on the mk2 DVD with the Toubiana intro, a commentary by Veronique Silver - French with optional English subtitles, 25-minutes of Fanny Ardent and Gérard Depardieu commenting on a few scenes from The Woman Next Door and a trailer.

 

One of the upper-tier Truffauts in my opinion. This is very much worth getting or the entire AE Truffaut Blu-ray set.

 

***

ON THE DVD: My only real positive about these early Fox/Lorber DVDs are that they gave me an outlet to see some outstanding films prior to going "region-free". But as far as DVDs go they are bordering on criminally poor. Analog transfer, most likely from an unconverted PAL source, non-progressive, incorrect aspect ratio, non-removable subtitles, No worthy extras...

We strongly suggest avoiding this release, buying a region-free DVD player (if you require one) and purchasing the 12-DVD Truffaut boxset HERE. (I know... we are great at spending other people's money - but trust me - you won't ever regret it)

Gary W. Tooze




 

 Menus

 

1) Fox Lorber - Region 0 - NTSC LEFT
2) Artificial Eye - Region 'B' - Blu-ray RIGHT


 


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

Subtitle Sample

 

1) Fox Lorber - Region 0 - NTSC TOP
2) Artificial Eye - Region 'B' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

Screen Captures

 

1) Fox Lorber - Region 0 - NTSC TOP
2) Artificial Eye - Region 'B' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 


1) Fox Lorber - Region 0 - NTSC TOP
2) Artificial Eye - Region 'B' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 


1) Fox Lorber - Region 0 - NTSC TOP
2) Artificial Eye - Region 'B' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 


1) Fox Lorber - Region 0 - NTSC TOP
2) Artificial Eye - Region 'B' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 


1) Fox Lorber - Region 0 - NTSC TOP
2) Artificial Eye - Region 'B' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 


1) Fox Lorber - Region 0 - NTSC TOP
2) Artificial Eye - Region 'B' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

Combing evident On interlaced DVD...
 

More Blu-ray Captures


Recommended Reading on Truffaut /  French Cinema (CLICK COVERS or TITLES for more information)

The Films in My Life
by Francois Truffaut, Leonard Mayhew

François Truffaut
by Annette Insdorf
HITCHCOCK (REVISED EDITION)
by Helen G. Scott, Francois Truffaut
The French New Wave: An Artistic School
by Michel Marie, Richard John Neupert, Richard Neupert
A History of the French New Wave Cinema
by Richard Neupert
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

Check out more in "The Library"


 

 

Box Covers

  

   

or in the Truffaut Blu-ray Collection:

12 Truffaut DVD set - all with English subtitles and many extras with English subs. Includes - Jules et Jim, La Peau douce (The Soft Skin), Les Deux anglaises et le continent (Two English Girls), La Femme d'à côté (The Woman Next Door), Le Dernier métro (The Last Metro), Les 400 coups (The 400 Blows), Baisers volés (Stolen Kisses), Domicile conjugal (Bed and Board), L'Amour en fuite (Love on the Run), Vivement dimanche ! (Confidentially Yours), Tirez sur le pianiste (Shoot the Pianist), and Fahrenheit 451.

Distribution Fox Lorber - Region 0 - NTSC Artificial Eye - Region 'B' - Blu-ray




 

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Gary Tooze

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