Elevator to the Gallows Blu-ray

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

(aka 'Elevator to the Gallows' or 'Elevator to the Scaffold' or 'Frantic' or 'Lift to the Scaffold')

Directed by Louis Malle
France 1958

In his mesmerizing debut, twenty-four-year-old director Louis Malle brought together the beauty of Jeanne Moreau, the camerawork of Henri Decaë, and the now legendary score by Miles Davis. A touchstone of the careers of both its star and director, Elevator to the Gallows (Ascenseur pour l'échafaud) is a richly atmospheric thriller of mistaken identity unfolding over one tense night in Paris.

***

For his feature debut, twenty-four-year-old Louis Malle brought together a mesmerizing performance by Jeanne Moreau, evocative cinematography by Henri Decaë, and a now legendary jazz score by Miles Davis. Taking place over the course of one restless Paris night, Malle’s richly atmospheric crime thriller stars Moreau and Maurice Ronet as lovers whose plan to murder her husband (his boss) goes awry, setting off a chain of events that seals their fate. A career touchstone for its director and female star, Elevator to the Gallows was an astonishing beginning to Malle’s eclectic body of work, and it established Moreau as one of the most captivating actors ever to grace the screen.

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Theatrical Release: January 29th, 1958

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Comparison:

Criterion - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Curzon Artificial Eye - Region 'B' - Blu-ray vs. Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

1) Criterion - Region 1 - NTSC LEFT

2) Curzon Artificial Eye' - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - MIDDLE

3) Criterion Collection - Spine # 335 - Region 'A' - Blu-ray RIGHT

Box Covers		Only available, at present, as part of the Curzon / Artificial Eye's 10 disc The Louis Malle Collection:
Distribution	Criterion Collection - Spine # 335 - Region 1 - NTSC	Curzon Artificial Eye - Region 'B' - Blu-ray	Criterion Collection - Spine # 335 - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:31:21	1:31:06.041	1:31:34.489
Video	1.66:1 Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 7.87 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	1080P / 23.976 fps Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 26,647,886,694 bytes Feature: 26,277,470,208 bytes Video Bitrate: 34.99 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video	1080P / 23.976 fps Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 48,433,870,384 bytes Feature: 27,440,037,888 bytes Video Bitrate: 35.83 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 Artificial Eye: Blu-ray
Bitrate: Criterion: Blu-ray
Audio	French (Dolby Digital 1.0)	LPCM Audio French 1536 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1536 kbps / 16-bit	LPCM Audio French 1152 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 1152 kbps / 24-bit
Subtitles	English, None	English, None	English, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Criterion Aspect Ratio: Original Aspect Ratio 1.66:1 Edition Details: • New interview with actor Jeanne Moreau (17:58) • Archival interviews with Louis Malle (17:04), actors Maurice Ronet (4:36) and Moreau, and original soundtrack session pianist René Urtreger • Malle and Moreau at Cannes (10:38) • Footage of Miles Davis and Louis Malle from the soundtrack recording session • New video program about the score with jazz trumpeter Jon Faddis and critic Gary Giddins (24:58) • Malle's student film Crazeologie, featuring the title song by Charlie Parker (6:16) • Theatrical trailers • Liner notes booklet featuring essay by critic Terrence Rafferty, an interview with Louis Malle, and a tribute by film producer Vincent Malle DVD Release Date: April 25th, 2006 Double thick keep case Chapters: 22	Release Information: Studio: Curzon Artificial Eye Aspect Ratio: Original aspect Ratio 1.37:1 1080P / 23.976 fps Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 26,647,886,694 bytes Feature: 26,277,470,208 bytes Video Bitrate: 34.99 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • None Blu-ray Release Date: October 16th, 2017 Custom Blu-ray Case Chapters: 12	Release Information: Studio: Criterion Aspect Ratio: Original Aspect Ratio 1.66:1 1080P / 23.976 fps Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 48,433,870,384 bytes Feature: 27,440,037,888 bytes Video Bitrate: 35.83 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • Interview with actor Jeanne Moreau (18:00) • Archival interviews with Louis Malle (17:07), actors Maurice Ronet (4:39) and Moreau, and original soundtrack session pianist René Urtreger (14:43) • Malle and Moreau at Cannes (10:41) • Footage of Miles Davis and Louis Malle from the soundtrack recording session (5:52) • Video program about the score with jazz trumpeter Jon Faddis and critic Gary Giddins (25:00) • Malle's student film Crazeologie, featuring the title song by Charlie Parker (6:21) • Theatrical trailers (original - 2:02 Rialto Re-release - 1:59) • Liner notes booklet featuring essay by critic Terrence Rafferty, an interview with Louis Malle, and a tribute by film producer Vincent Malle Blu-ray Release Date: February 6th, 2018 Transparent Blu-ray Case Chapters: 21

Comments:

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

ADDITION: Criterion - Region 'A' Blu-ray - January 2018: Criterion's transfer is in the 1.66:1 aspect ratio and also from a "new 2K digital restoration". Although also having a max'ed out bitrate - the black levels are richer and deeper. It was hard to exactly match captures but it seems information is mostly lost on the top and bottom of the frame. The Criterion shows more grain texture and is darker overall. To me it looks even better than the UK 1080P.

Audio is also linear PCM but superior with a 24-bit transfer - as opposed to Artificial Eye's 16-bit. This would be highly important for the Miles Davis score. I still note a bit of slight, out of sync, dialogue. While not consequential - it should be mentioned. Criterion also has optional English subtitles but their Blu-ray disc is Region 'A'-locked.

Criterion duplicate the supplements of their 2006 DVD with the 18-minute 2005 interview with actor Jeanne Moreau, archival interviews with Louis Malle Maurice Ronet and Moreau, plus original soundtrack session pianist René Urtreger as well as the footage of Malle and Moreau at Cannes and the 6-minutes of Miles Davis and Louis Malle from the soundtrack recording session etc.

Criterion wins on every front (video, audio, extras) but it is nice to have the option for those who desire a 1.37:1 1080P transfer.

***

ADDITION: Curzon Artificial Eye - Region 'B' Blu-ray - November 2017: Firstly. Curzon / Artificial Eye's 10 Blu-ray disc The Louis Malle Collection set that includes Lift to the Scaffold, Les amants, Zazie dans le Metro, Le Feu Follet, Le souffle au coeur, Lacombe, Lucien, Black Moon, My Dinner with Andre, Au Revoir les Enfants and Milou en Mai. It also has a 100 page booklet.

The Criterion DVD was in the 1.66:1 aspect ratio where the new UK Blu-ray is 1.37:1. It's darker, obvious - shows more information in the frame on all 4 edges - and has a max'ed out bitrate. It looks marvelous in-motion. Very impressive contrast and pleasing textures.

The audio - and notable Miles Davis is in linear PCM (16-bit) in the original French language and the uncompressed sounds rich and so sweet - every note exporting meaning. Dialogue is clear and the Region 'B' Blu-ray has optional English subtitles.

No extras on this disc, but the package does have all the other films (reviews coming as soon as we can) and the 100 page booklet.

***

ON THE DVD: Fabulous package by Criterion. Absolutely everything about it is top notch - a great image -> super detail, fabulous contrast. Extras on the second disc are all very interesting - I especially enjoyed the new interview with Jeanne Moreau and the archival one with Malle. The Miles Davis stuff is tremendous - the short student film was... well, a student film. Overall, it misses nothing except a commentary.

Regarding the film - I was extremely impressed and rank it as a new favorite noir. Brilliantly paced with plot details revealed frugally. It follows no typical crime-film formula, but climaxes with blunt practicality. I was surprised how much I enjoyed this - I loved every minute.

Gary W. Tooze

DVD Menus

Disc 2

Curzon Artificial Eye - Region 'B' - Blu-ray

Criterion Collection - Spine # 335 - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

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

Subtitle Sample

1) Criterion - Region 1 - NTSC TOP

2) Curzon Artificial Eye' - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - MIDDLE

3) Criterion Collection - Spine # 335 - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

1) Criterion - Region 1 - NTSC TOP

2) Curzon Artificial Eye' - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - MIDDLE

3) Criterion Collection - Spine # 335 - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

1) Criterion - Region 1 - NTSC TOP

2) Curzon Artificial Eye' - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - MIDDLE

3) Criterion Collection - Spine # 335 - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

1) Criterion - Region 1 - NTSC TOP

2) Curzon Artificial Eye' - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - MIDDLE

3) Criterion Collection - Spine # 335 - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

1) Criterion - Region 1 - NTSC TOP

2) Curzon Artificial Eye' - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - MIDDLE

3) Criterion Collection - Spine # 335 - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

1) Criterion - Region 1 - NTSC TOP

2) Curzon Artificial Eye' - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - MIDDLE

3) Criterion Collection - Spine # 335 - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

1) Criterion - Region 1 - NTSC TOP

2) Curzon Artificial Eye' - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - MIDDLE

3) Criterion Collection - Spine # 335 - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

More Blu-ray Captures

1) Curzon Artificial Eye' - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - TOP

2) Criterion Collection - Spine # 335 - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM