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

ADDITION: Criterion Blu-ray (August 2020): Criterion have transferred Claire Denis' Beau Travail to Blu-ray. It is cited as being a "New 4K digital restoration, supervised by director of photography Agnès Godard and approved by director Claire Denis". The DVDs of almost 20-years ago were weak and the new 1080P looks gorgeous. Agnès Godard's cinematography capturing the barrenness of Djibouti, East Africa is far more impacting than on SD. This film has some beautiful scenery. Colors turn authentic - sometimes naturally vibrant - rather than dulled on the DVDs - and detail rises dramatically in the many facial close-ups. It looks exquisite in HD. Wow.

NOTE: We have added 78 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE.

On their Blu-ray, Criterion use a linear PCM stereo track (24-bit) in the original French with some Italian, Russian and Arabic languages. It is a significant advancement in the film's audio and score. The music in Beau Travail is a large part of the experience. Not so much in the score credited to Charles Henri de Pierrefeu and Eran Zur but the resonating excerpts from Billy Budd - the opera by Benjamin Britten which is powerful and haunting. We also get Neil Young and Crazy Horse's "Safeway Cart", Corona's lively punctuating "The Rhythm of the Night" during the unforgettable dancer number by Lavant, La lune est claire and Sous le soleil performed by French Foreign Legion Music Band and other dance music in the club. It sounds crisp and very clean - impacting heavily upon the visuals. Criterion offer optional English subtitles on their Region 'A' / 'B' Blu-ray.

The Criterion Blu-ray has many 2020-preoduced supplements. There is a new 1/2 hour conversation between Denis and filmmaker Barry Jenkins zoom'ed in Paris and Los Angeles where they discuss current events and the film 20 years after its release. We also get 1/2 hour with Denis Lavant, filmed in Paris, where he describes how the part came to him, working with Denis and what it was like filming in the desert. He's always great. Also there is a 1/4 hour interview with Grégoire Colin who is now in his mid 40's and he discusses the production and his career. Included is a new selected scene commentary with Godard for over 20-minutes and she discusses more minute production details such as the location etc. I really enjoyed the new video essay by film scholar Judith Mayne running shy of 1/2 hour. It is entitled Beau Travail and the Dance Floor (what a great title!) The package has a liner notes booklet with an essay by critic Girish Shambu.

Claire Denis' Beau Travail has both a powerful and ethereal quality to it. I think I could watch Denis Lavant in anything and the marriage of lonely desert scenery, impacting music and subtle interpersonal conflict builds to a unprecedented moving climax. I don't know a lot of cinema this art-based that works so effortlessly in reaching its audience. Truly a special work that still deserves its celebration 2 decades later. To have it on Criterion's stellar 4K restored Blu-ray visuals, tight uncompressed stereo audio and valuable interviews, visual essay and booklet is a reason to rejoice for cinephiles. It seldom gets this good - maybe a few times a year. Our highest recommendation!

Gary Tooze