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

ADDITION: Criterion Blu-ray (February 2026): Criterion have transferred Claude Lelouch's A Man and a Woman to Blu-ray. It is cited as "a new 2K digital restoration supervised and approved by Claude Lelouch". It is in original 1.66:1 aspect ratio (the 2003 Warner DVD, reviewed HERE, was 1.78:1 and is substantially cropped) capturing the film's innovative mix of color / black-and-white / sepia footage with immensely improved clarity and depth. The transfer showcases enhanced detail in the rain-swept Normandy landscapes and intimate close-ups, revealing subtle textures in clothing, skin tones, and the subtle grain structure that preserves the 35mm film's organic look. Unfortunately the 1080P exhibits a pronounced teal leaning in its color grading which imparts a cooler, more stylized tone to the film's coastal landscapes and intimate scenes. (Why teal?) This shift contrasts with the warmer, more neutral palette of the 2003 Warner DVD, where colors appear more natural. The cinematography often prioritizes close-ups of faces, gestures, and fleeting glances - such as Aimée sweeping hair from her face or the couple exchanging passionate yet chaste kisses - capturing the "poetic glow of the everyday" and making clichés sparkle with authenticity. This visual daring explores the mechanics of film itself, positioning Anne and Jean-Louis as metaphorical "directors" who compose their memories through shot composition and editing. The result is a hazy, nostalgic aesthetic that feels like viewing fond memories from a distant time, enhancing the film's themes of grief and renewal. The improved detail and cleaner image of the Blu-ray feels like a fresh rediscovery of this romantic classic.

NOTE: We have added 68 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Criterion use a linear PCM monaural track (24-bit) in the original French language. It faithfully reproduces the film's original audio mix with clear dialogue, ambient sounds, and Francis Lai's (And Hope to Die, Bilitis, Emmanuelle 2, Mayerling, Rider on the Rain, The Body of My Enemy, Three into Two Won't Go) iconic score that weaves seamlessly through the narrative. The mono track delivers clear vocal performances from Anouk Aimée and Jean-Louis Trintignant, capturing the nuances of their intimate conversations without distortion, while the music - featuring the memorable "Chabadabada" motif - resonates with warmth and dynamic range, avoiding the muddiness sometimes found in older restorations. Subtle environmental details, like rain pattering on car roofs or engine roars during racing scenes, add immersion, and the overall fidelity ensures that the soundtrack's emotional pull remains as potent as ever, making this a definitive auditory presentation for Lelouch's masterpiece. Criterion offer optional English subtitles on their Region 'A' Blu-ray.

Criterion packs this Blu-ray release with a thoughtful array of supplements staring with a with a new 23-minute interview with Lelouch offering fresh insights into his directorial choices, recollections and the film's enduring appeal. A 22-minute making-of documentary, shot on location during production, provides behind-the-scenes glimpses into the improvisational style and challenges faced on set, complemented by 11 minutes of archival footage from Lelouch at the 1966 Cannes Film Festival, capturing the buzz around its Palme d'Or win. Additionally, Lelouch's 1976 9-minute short film C’était un rendez-vous is included with a new 3-minute introduction by the director, showcasing his bold filmmaking in a high-speed Paris drive. There are two trailers that round out the video content, while an essay by critic Carrie Rickey (Complicated Passion: The Life and Work of Agnès Varda) in the booklet offers scholarly analysis of the film's themes and cultural impact.

Claude Lelouch's A Man and a Woman stands as a cornerstone of romantic cinema, blending simplicity with profound emotional depth to explore the tentative rebirth of love in the shadow of profound loss. The films is is renowned for its distinctive visual style, which transforms budgetary limitations into a poetic language of cinema. Lelouch, serving as his own cinematographer, employs a fluid, handheld camerawork that captures the intimacy of everyday moments with a sense of spontaneity and realism. The film's most striking feature is its alternation between vibrant color, black-and-white, and sepia-toned footage, a choice born partly from necessity - Lelouch ran out of color film stock during production - but elevated into a deliberate stylistic device. This visual dichotomy serves as an emotional barometer. We witness the budding romance between Anne (Anouk Aimée - Lola, Model Shop, 8 1/2, Contraband Spain, La Tete Contre Les Murs) and Jean-Louis (Jean-Louis Trintignant - Amour, And God Created Woman, And Hope to Die, Confidentially Yours, Deadly Sweet, Death Laid an Egg, Is Paris Burning?, Le combat dans l'île (aka Fire and Ice), Love at the Top, My Night at Maud's, Spotlight On A Murderer, The Conformist, The Crook, The French Conspiracy, The Great Silence, The Man Who Lies, The Sunday Woman, Those Who Love Me Can Take the Train, Three Colours: Red, Trans-Europ-Express, Z.) Lelouch's impressionistic approach draws from the French New Wave, incorporating rapid montages, telescopic lenses to compress perspectives, and over 4,000 shots that distort space and emphasize emotional details. Shot on a shoestring budget - it elevates mundane interactions into something transcendent. At its core, A Man and a Woman delves into the intricacies of second-chance romance, portraying love not as a fairy-tale escape but as a fragile negotiation with grief and memory. The protagonists' shared widowhood forms the emotional bedrock, with flashbacks revealing the raw pain of their losses - Anne's husband's explosive death and Jean-Louis's wife's despairing act - underscoring how past traumas infiltrate the present. Lelouch masterfully illustrates this through nonlinear incursions into the characters' timelines, where memories and fantasies interrupt the linear narrative, reflecting the couple's internal "sense of time." By weaving memory, cinema, and emotion into a seamless whole, the film invites viewers to embrace vulnerability, proving that even in grief's wake, connection offers a path forward. Its legacy lies in this delicate balance: a simple story told with profound artistry, reminding us that romance thrives in the spaces between loss and hope. Criterion's Blu-ray edition of A Man and a Woman stands as a loving tribute to Claude Lelouch's swooning romance, with its director-approved 2K restoration - albeit teal-heavy in spots - delivering the film in its finest home video form yet, surpassing previous SD releases in visual and auditory fidelity. The extras, while not exhaustive, provide valuable context and rarities that enhance appreciation of this 1960s gem, though some might wish for more contemporary commentaries or additional archival material. Highly recommended for cinephiles seeking an improved resolution presentation of a timeless love story, this release earns a strong buy for its quality and charm, affirming why the film remains an intoxicating blend of sentiment and style nearly six decades on. Absolutely recommended! 

Gary Tooze