The Bride Wore Black Blu-ray

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

(aka 'The Bride Wore Black" or "La Sposa in nero")

France / Italy 1968

Regarded as one of Truffaut's best "The Bride Wore Black" as the ultimate "revenge" film (along with perhaps Kieslowski's "White".) Jeanne Moreau is cool and determined in her goal to exact just punishment on the men responsible for her bridegroom's death. Her failed suicide seems to only strengthen her resolve. Truffaut's attention to detail seems at its zenith and the film cascades from gentle irony to spine chilling suspense. Above all Truffaut's films are entertainment not overly steeped in symbolism and intellectual fodder. Well, perhaps a slight homage to Alfred Hitchcock thrown in for buffs. Top shelf.

***

The incandescent Jeanne Moreau stars as an avenging angel in the one and only François Truffaut’s The Bride Wore Black (1968), an homage to the films of Alfred Hitchcock (including a spectacular score by the gorgeously quixotic Bernard Herrmann) that takes on its own strangely poetic, very French ambiance. Based on a book by American genre novelist Cornell Woolrich (aka William Irish) and shot by the legendary Raoul Coutard (Contempt, Z), the film - about a widow who goes after the five men she believes murdered her husband on their wedding day - provides a brilliant contrast between dark deeds and the light-struck beauties of southern France.

Posters

Theatrical Release: March 22nd, 1968

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Comparison:

MGM (oop) - Region 1- NTSC vs. Twilight Time (oop) - Region FREE - Blu-ray vs. Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

Box Covers
			BONUS CAPTURES: Coming to the UK on Blu-ray in May 2023 by Radiance Films:
Distribution	MGM - Region 1- NTSC	Twilight Time Region FREE - Blu-ray	Kino Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:47:32	1:47:37.117	1:47:48.545
Video	1.66:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 5.26 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	Disc Size: 42,326,733,093 bytes Feature Size: 21,087,516,672 bytes English DUB: 20,417,906,688 bytes Total Bitrate: 20.00 Mbps Dual-layered Blu-ray MPEG4 - AVC	Disc Size: 38,444,234,399 bytes Feature Size: 34,649,518,080 bytes Total Bitrate: 38.92 Mbps Dual-layered Blu-ray MPEG4 - AVC
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate:
Bitrate: Twilight Time Blu-ray
Bitrate: Twilight Time English DUBBED Blu-ray
Bitrate: Kino Blu-ray
Audio	French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono), DUB: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)	DTS-HD Master Audio French 1084 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 1084 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 1.0 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 24-bit) English DUB: DTS-HD Master Audio English 1903 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1903 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit) Isolated Score: DTS-HD Master Audio English 2012 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2012 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit) Commentary: DTS-HD Master Audio English 1359 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1359 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 24-bit)	DTS-HD Master Audio French 1582 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1582 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit) Commentary: Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -31dB
Subtitles	English, Spanish, French, None	English (burned-in yellow for French version, but optional white for English DUBBED)	English, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Mgm/Ua Studios Aspect Ratio: Widescreen letterbox - 1.66:1 Edition Details: • Theatrical trailer DVD Release Date: January 23rd, 2001 Keep Case Chapters: 16	Release Information: Studio: Twilight Time 1.66:1 Disc Size: 42,326,733,093 bytes Feature Size: 21,087,516,672 bytes English DUB: 20,417,906,688 bytes Total Bitrate: 20.00 Mbps Dual-layered Blu-ray MPEG4 - AVC Edition Details: • English Language Dubbed Version • Isolated Music & Effects Track • Audio Commentary with Film Historians Julie Kirgo, Steven C. Smith, and Nick Redman • Original Theatrical Trailer (1:56) • 8-page liner notes by Julie Kirgo • INCLUDES BONUS CD: Conversation Piece: An Unvarnished Chat with Bernard Herrmann) Blu-ray Release Date: January, 2015 Standard Blu-ray case Chapters 24	Release Information: Studio: Kino 1.66:1 Disc Size: 38,444,234,399 bytes Feature Size: 34,649,518,080 bytes Total Bitrate: 38.92 Mbps Dual-layered Blu-ray MPEG4 - AVC Edition Details: • Audio Commentary by Film Historians Julie Kirgo, Steven C. Smith and Nick Redman •Theatrical Trailer (1:56) • Reversible Cover Art Blu-ray Release Date: February 14th, 2023 Standard Blu-ray case Chapters 10

Comments:

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

ADDITION: Kino Blu-ray (February 2023): Kino have transferred François Truffaut's "The Bride Wore Black" (aka 'La mariée était en noir') to Blu-ray. Twilight Time's out-of-print Blu-ray came out 8 years ago. It offered the French and English DUB'ed versions as separate transfers (not seamlessly-branched) and hence divided the dual-layered disc's space exporting a modest bitrate. The Kino just has the original French version and almost double the bitrate. 1.66:1 framing is duplicated but the Kino has superior contrast also improving the colors (deeper) and black levels. It is easily the best 1080P image.

NOTE: We have added 45 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Kino use a DTS-HD Master dual-mono track (24-bit) in the original French language (no English DUB.) The Bride Wore Black has fairly passive murders without much physical conflict / violence. The score was by Bernard Herrmann (Vertigo, Blue Denim, Beneath the 12-Mile Reef, Cape Fear, The Magnificent Ambersons, Taxi Driver, The Wrong Man, The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad, Mysterious Island, Jason and the Argonauts, Obsession, Hangover Square, etc. etc.) augmented by a few classical pieces; Richard Wagner's Bridal Chorus from the opera "Lohengrin", Vivaldi's Mandolin Concerto in C major, RV 425 - Allegro and Beethoven's Cello Sonata No. 3 in A major, Op. 69 - Scherzo Allegro molto (in A minor) - sounding exquisite in the lossless. Dialogue is clean and consistent. Kino offer optional English subtitles on their Region 'A'-locked Blu-ray.

Kino repeat the excellent Julie Kirgo, Steven C. Smith, and Nick Redman commentary, and also have a trailer while the package sports a reversible cover (see below) and O-card sleeve.

Only the video transfer seems an upgrade, so double-dippers should think twice but it is a fraction of the OOP Twilight Time Blu-ray price. Jeanne Moreau is in iconic form as the unhinged, remorseless, widow on a vengeful murder spree after, in a fatal hunting accident, she loses her bridegroom. There is no grey area of forgiveness as she wears only white, black or a combination of the two while meticulous exacting revenge on the perpetrators; pushing off a high-rise balcony, poison, suffocation and... archery. Despite the conflict of cinematographer Raoul Coutard and Truffaut over the film's colors - it remains an enjoyable and subtle homage to Alfred Hitchcock. The Bride Wore Black novel was written by Cornell Woolrich, who also wrote Rear Window. One of the director's most remembered efforts. A must-own.

***

ADDITION: Twilight Time - Region FREE - Blu-ray January 15': It's Okay, we have a bit of an odd situation here. Twilight Time gives us two versions - although they appear very similar in appearance. We have an original French-language version (DTS-HD Master, mono) with burned-in yellow (English) subtitles, and an English DUBBED version (separate AVC) with optional white (English) subtitles. Uncharacteristically for Twilight Time, this smacks of being unable to obtain the 'sufficient' source to produce a more efficient package. Visually, it has some softness and plenty of texture. It shows significantly more information, in the frame, than the 2001 DVD. It is much brighter and looks pretty solid in-motion. I suspect the elements are not the most HD-friendly and, while I think it could look better (with a more robust bitrate), this may be as good as we are likely to get.

Lossless audio (Herrmann) and the Blu-ray disc is region FREE.

Twilight Time include an excellent audio commentary with film historians Julie Kirgo, Steven C. Smith, and Nick Redman which has a lot of value. There is also their, seemingly obligatory, isolated music & effects track as an option - notable for Bernard Herrmann's score. There is a trailer, and the package contains an 8-page liner notes leaflet with an essay by Julie Kirgo and a bonus CD entitled Conversation Piece: An Unvarnished Chat with Bernard Herrmann. Fourteen indexed tracks make it easy to explore the various topics of discussion including Alfred Hitchcock and Orson Welles.

Imperfect transfer but a wonderful Truffaut film experience. This may be one to go out-of-print (like the old DVD) so interested purchasers should indulge sooner rather than later.

***

ON THE DVD: Very tight image for a non-anamorphic DVD. Well done subtitles, an optional DUB offering (bahh!), but very light on the extras. The DVD is back in-Print and with decent reason! Contrast is good - original aspect ratio. I would have loved some extra features but a great DVD to own. out of .

Gary W. Tooze

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