Betty Blu-ray - Stéphane Audran

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

France 1992

The Arrow Blu-ray Boxset 'Lies and Deceit - Five Films by Claude Chabrol' with Poulet au vinaigre (1985), Inspecteur Lavardin (1986), Madame Bovary (1991), Betty (1992) and L'Enfer (1994) is compared HERE

Simenon wrote the novel Betty, about a woman who walks into a Paris bar out of the rain. Drunk, unhappy, smoking one cigarette after the next, she is picked up by a man who drives her to a seedy bar in Versailles. The man says he is a doctor but is in fact a drug addict; Betty is rescued by a woman in the bar, a rich widow who offers her a bed for the night in a nearby luxury hotel.

There is no plot, but we are hooked. We do not know who Betty is, why she is drunk, who the widow is, or why she is friendly. We learn more about the bar than its patrons. The place is called The Hole, and it is run by a man named Mario who collects the "twisted" - those with something that sets them outside the ordinary. All of the patrons seem to know about each other's twists.

Chabrol's new film "Betty" is based on the novel. We are able to see how he begins with an actor's face instead of Simenon's blank page. The face belongs to Marie Trintignant, whose father is a famous actor and mother a famous director. It is a pretty face - at times seductive and playful - but when we first see her, she is bruised, there are dark circles under her eyes, she looks as helpless as a drowned cat. All she wants to do is drink and smoke and sleep. If a man will buy her drinks, she does not care what happens then.

Excerpt from Roger Ebert's revieww at the Chicago Sun Times located HERE

Posters

Theatrical Release: February 19th, 1992

Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews

Comparison:

MK2 - Region 2 - PAL vs. Cohen Media Group - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

Big thanks to Per-Olof Strandberg for the DVD Review!

1) MK2 - Region 2 - PAL - LEFT

2) Cohen Media Group - Region 'A' - Blu-ray RIGHT

Box Covers

	The Claude Chabrol Collection from MK2 includes the following five films: Betty, L'Enfer, Poulet, au vinaigre, Inspecteur Lavardin and Masques. They have all English subtitles on the main feature, but not on the extra material.
Distribution	MK2 Region 2 - PAL	Cohen Media - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:39:26 (4% PAL speedup)	1:43:45.218
Video	1:1.66 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: ? mb/s PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s	1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 30,075,870,492 bytes Feature: 28,015,859,712 bytes Video Bitrate: 32.00 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Bitrate: Cohen Media - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Audio	French (Dolby Digital 2.0)	LPCM Audio French 2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit
Subtitles	English and None	English and None
Features	Release Information: Studio: MK2 Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1:1.66 Edition Details: • Presentation of the film by Joel Magny (2:48) • Scene commentary by Claude Chabrol (30:50) • Claude Chabrol Collection trailers (11 films) DVD Release Date: 16 october 2002 Keep Case Chapters 16	Release Information: Studio: Cohen Media Group Aspect Ratio: Original aspect Ratio 1.66:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 30,075,870,492 bytes Feature: 28,015,859,712 bytes Video Bitrate: 32.00 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • Re-release Trailer (1:34) • 8-page liner notes with photos and credits Blu-ray Release Date: February 21st, 2017 Transparent Blu-ray Case Chapters: 10

Comments

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

ADDITION: Cohen Media Group - Region 'A' - Blu-ray (February 2017): This isn't Cohen's first foray into Chabrol - they have also released a Blu-ray of The Inspector Lavardin Collection, Merci pour le Chocolat as well as a Blu-ray of The Color of Lies. But fans of the director couldn't be more ecstatic about their new 3 Classic Films by Claude Chabrol Blu-ray set. It has individual Blu-ray discs of three films; The Swindle, L'Enfer, and Betty.

Cohen's new 1080P transfer looks very strong - dual-layered with a high bitrate, plenty of strong detail, layered contrast and substantial depth. It looks highly impressive.

Cohen use linear PCM for all three films. Effects are never overwhelming. All scores of the three films in this boxset have been composed by, the director's son, Matthieu Chabrol (Merci pour le Chocolat, The Color of Lies, The Swindle, La Cérémonie, L'Enfer, Betty, Madame Bovary, The Cry of the Owl, Inspector Lavardin.) It sounds subtle and supportive via the uncompressed with no glaring weaknesses. There are optional English subtitles on the Region 'A'-locked Blu-ray disc.

Only a release trailer and the liner notes although the other two films is the set had commentaries. This is a disturbing portrait but still totally Chabrol. Another bona-fide reason to endorse the 3 Classic Films by Claude Chabrol Blu-ray set from Cohen.

***

ON THE DVD (2002): Quite a reasonable DVD, even though it seems that the tape-master is not a new one. When projected on a screen there's a lot of visible edge enhancement during. Many parts are photographed indoors in low light, and the DVD reproduction of it isn't the best. Overall the film feels a little bit soft. Much of the film focuses in close-ups of the wonderfully acting of Marie Trintignant.

The sound fells a little bit too narrow, even for a mono film.

The extras are not subtitled.

The Claude Chabrol Collection from MK2 includes the following five films: Betty, L'Enfer, Poulet,au vinaigre, Inspecteur Lavardin and Masques. They have all English subtitles on the main feature, but not on the extra material. They can also be bought separately.

- Per-Olof Strandberg

DVD Menus

Cohen Media Group - Region 'A' - Blu-ray