Unhindered by intellectual concerns, Les Amants is a purely instinctive act of filmmaking. Transfixed by the sublime (and skirting dangerously close to the ridiculous), the movie betrays a belief in cinema as a purely visceral medium. The apotheosis of Carax's heedless approach is a jaw-dropping Bastille Day set piece: the two lovers dance, scream, and cavort against a backdrop of fireworks and a cacophony of rap, classical, and dance music. It's a defining moment in Carax's canon, and, some might argue, a high that the movie never fully recovers from. For all its flaws, this unabashedly whimsical movie sustains, if unevenly, its exuberant vision. Reckless, excessive, and seized of millennial delirium, Carax's valentine to Paris may be remembered as one of the epochal movies of 1990s world cinema.

Buena Vista Home Video

Region 1 - NTSC

1.66:1 Widescreen 16X9 enhanced
Average Bitrate: 4.89
PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.

MGM

Anchor 

Bay

Blu-ray

French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono) 

DTS-HD Master Audio French 1985 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1985 kbps / 24-bit
(DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen anamorphic - 1.78:1

Edition Details:
Miramax Trailer

DVD Release Date: January 13th, 2004
Keep Case
Chapters: 21

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen anamorphic - 1.66:1
 

Edition Details:
• Filmographies

DVD Release Date: July 30th, 2001
Keep Case

Chapters 27

ADDITION: Kino Lorber - Region 'A' - Blu-ray February 17': I was so excited to see The Lovers on the Bridge on Blu-ray - it was one of the titles I strongly anticipated in 1080P and Kino have delivered. Now, I've never seen this film theatrically but I can see the new Blu-ray is a significant advancement over the SDs. It's on a dual-layered disc with a max'ed out bitrate in the correct 1.66:1 aspect ratio. The image, like the DVDs, is very thick and heavy.  I don't think the film was ever meant to look crisp and glossy. Colors (reds) are richer and deeper, there is much more information in the frame - most notable on the two side edges. The color scheme seems to be between the Buena Vista (skin tones occasionally warmer etc.) and doesn't have the green hue of the Arrow. It is quite textured. Again though, I don't know what the film is supposed to look like - I can only tell you it looks far better than the DVDs - especially in-motion and it's by far the best presentation I've ever seen for The Lovers on the Bridge.

Kino use a DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel at 1985 kbps (24-bit) and it sounds super. There are effects but the improvement in audio over SD will be most notable in some of the film's music; David Bowie, Iggy Pop, Public Enemy plus classical pieces like Benjamin Britten's Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge: Opus 10, Johann Strauss' An Der Schonen Blauen Donau, Shostakovich's Quatour a Cordes No.3 in F Major: Opus 73 and plenty more. Dialogue sounds, intentionally, vérité at times (scattered) but the music is crisp in the lossless beautifully matching Denis Lavant acrobatic dancing. There are optional English subtitles and the Blu-ray disc is region 'A'-locked.

Kino include an excellent 10-minute video essay by Cristina Alvarez Lopez & Adrian Martin entitled Water and Stone - interesting analysis. There is also an English trailer (actually advertising the old DVD) and the package has a 12-page liner notes booklet essay by Ignatiy Vishnevetsky.

So, the Blu-ray wins on every front - and this is such a wonderful film that I can fully endorse. NOTE: Amazon Pre-order price, at the writing of this review, is 34% OFF! We strongly suggest purchasing now for those keen...

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