387 La Jetée and Sans Soleil

[CSM126]

That's too great.

[patrick]

When this was first announced, I couldn't really make heads or tails of exactly what it was, but now I'm officially excited about seeing these films.

[Tribe]

Does this cat thing and Marker have anything to do with that cat graffiti in France: M. Chat?

Tribe

[neal]

Does this cat thing and Marker have anything to do with that cat graffiti in France: M. Chat?

Indeed.

[gubbelsj]

Just received this in the mail today, and while it is a gorgeous fully loaded one-disc set, one odd feature I noticed was that both La Jetee and Sans soleil are featured with English audio tracks as the language of choice. One can choose the original French easily, yet I was surprised that both films defaulted to English. Has Criterion done this before with any foreign releases - made the film's original language a secondary option?

[zedz]

Just received this in the mail today, and while it is a gorgeous fully loaded one-disc set, one odd feature I noticed was that both La Jetee and Sans soleil are featured with English audio tracks as the language of choice. One can choose the original French easily, yet I was surprised that both films defaulted to English. Has Criterion done this before with any foreign releases - made the film's original language a secondary option?

This may well be stipulated by Marker (or Guillaume), as he generally favours dubbing over subtitles, and, if I recall, has actively opposed subtitled releases of his films in the past. If Criterion have got both versions on the disc, this may represent a small victory (and a lot of effort) on their part.

[Matt]

Just received this in the mail today, and while it is a gorgeous fully loaded one-disc set, one odd feature I noticed was that both La Jetee and Sans soleil are featured with English audio tracks as the language of choice. One can choose the original French easily, yet I was surprised that both films defaulted to English.

This was discussed earlier in this thread.

[domino harvey]

wait, it's not a double disc set anymore?

[souvenir]

wait, it's not a double disc set anymore?

Apparently not, the Criterion site doesn't indicate two discs any longer. That'll make it the rare one disc, no commentary release still priced in the upper tier.

[domino harvey]

yay for getting screwed with my pants on

[Jean-Luc Garbo]

A single disc is certainly disappointing, but is the quality still worth the price?

[patrick]

I watched Le Jetee and I'm halfway through Sans Soleil, both looked fantastic. Obviously I haven't gotten to the features yet, but it's a very nice package.

However, as a person who often has problems hearing things clearly, the lack of subtitles is a bit annoying - but I respect Criterion for respecting Marker's wishes.

[Rich Malloy]

However, as a person who often has problems hearing things clearly, the lack of subtitles is a bit annoying - but I respect Criterion for respecting Marker's wishes.

I thought there was an English track and a French track with English subs.

[feckless boy]

Slant

[patrick]

I thought there was an English track and a French track with English subs.

You're correct, I wasn't reading the specs correctly and thought that neither audio track had subs.

[ola t]

What's in the booklet?

[patrick]

"Memory's Apostle: Chris Marker, La Jetee, And Sans Soleil" (Catherine Lupton, 10 pp)
"The Pantheorama" (Chris Marker, 4 pp)
"This Is The Story" (Catherine & Andrew Brighton, 2 pp)
"On Sans Soleil" (Chris Marker , 1 pp)
"The Names of Sans Soleil" (Chris Marker, 2 pp)
"Racine/Eliot" (Chris Marker, 1 pp)
"Rare Marker: An Interview" (Samuel Douhaire & Annick Rivoire, 8 pp)
"Notes on Filmmaking" (Chris Marker, 2 pp)

[ola t]

Thanks, Patrick. "The Pantheorama", "This Is the Story", "On Sans Soleil", "The Names of Sans Soleil" and "Notes on Filmmaking" are also in the bilingual Arte booklet, I think (some pieces there lack titles, so I had to do a little guessing). Arte's version of "This Is the Story" is only a single page, though, so the Criterion might be radically different.

Well then, unless the Criterion is revealed to have significantly better A/V quality than the French disc, the potential reasons to get the Criterion edition even if you already own the Arte would be:

• English subtitles on French versions
  Gorin introduction
  Catherine Lupton text (which could be extracts from her book?)
  "Racine/Eliot" text
  Marker interview (probably the one that has appeared in Libération and Film Comment)
  Lovely "Guillaume approved" sticker
  And different artwork, of course

I'm tempted -- I really, really dig the sticker.

[patrick]

Actually, the "This Is The Story" article is only two pages, that was a typo on my part. The Lupton text doesn't appear to be an excerpt from her book (if it is, it's not credited as such). The interview is in fact the one from Libération.

[kaujot]

Does anyone know a good, comprehensive movie-poster website that might have the poster for Sans Soleil. I've seen it somewhere before, but I don't remember where, and I'd love to have a copy of it.

[miless]

has DVDBeaver done a review?

[colinr0380]

Gary has just posted the comparison with the Region 2 Nouveaux Pictures disc in his DVD Beaver Comparisons thread, but I'll also add the link to the Beaver review here for convenience.

[patrick]

I just watched Le Jetee for the third time since purchasing this disc, and it's such an amazing film (not that I needed to tell anyone on here that). As much as people seemingly inflate the shot of the woman opening her eyes (comparing it to what it must have felt like for the people watching the first moving pictures), it really does have an effect like nothing else I've ever seen - and I knew it was coming!

One question though, are the narrator's whispers supposed to be audible? I started watching the film with the English language track and the subtitles to the French version, but they were so out of sync that it became annoying.

[Tribe]

I just saw this for the very first time and La Jetee is simply brilliant. I never thought that a movie-maker could make a film out of stills, and yet, here it is as compelling as thousands of films with moving images.

This was made in 1962...is this considered part of the French New Wave, or is it beyond that even?

Easily Criterion's release of the year in my book.

I have to go watch this again.

Tribe

[keeproductions]

One question though, are the narrator's whispers supposed to be audible? I started watching the film with the English language track and the subtitles to the French version, but they were so out of sync that it became annoying.

I actually think those whispers are the captors whispering in German, which we aren't meant to have translated.

Yes, if you watch it that way they are horribly out of sync. Try the SDH option instead.