Jean Renoir

[domino harvey]

Filling in some gaps with Renoir, in order of preference:

La vie est à nous (1936) A collective film, with contributions from Jacques Becker as well as Renoir, this is a series of vignettes extolling the virtues of belonging to the French communist party. I understand people who out of hand don't like propaganda like this, but on an objective level, this is extremely well-made and convincing material and a best case scenario for this kind of thing. BFI included it on one of their recent Renoir Blu-ray upgrades, can't recall which (none of the rest of these titles are commercial available with subs, to my knowledge)

Le bled (1929) A perfectly fine pastoral romance for the first two acts and then a wild, totally unexpected action spectacle for the final act. I guarantee you will not believe this is a Renoir film by the end of it, and you have to think he must have proudly showed this one off for execs when he moved to Hollywood. As for the story? Another conservative tale of a lazy gadabout going straight after experiencing the toil of Just Folks. But this isn't a movie you watch for the plot anyways, so...

Tire au flanc (1928) Renoir's military comedy, remade in spirit (and name) by Truffaut and Marcel Moussy three-plus decades later, starts with a series of laugh out loud physical gags and stunts that completely cow the rest of the film, which soon settles into much more boring hijinx. I like the "remake" better.

Chotard et Cie (1933) Broad and unfunny comedy with Fernand Charpin as a capitalist grocer with exactly one setting: Loud. I couldn't help but think this part needed a completely different comic interpretation (and energy level), namely that of Charpin's frequent co-star Raimu. But even worse is Georges Pomiès' character, the annoyingly lazy and stupid husband of Charpin's daughter who is depicted as borderline mentally retarded in his actions but somehow is then later in the film, unbelievably, the recipient of a genius grant for a novel he wrote. There's a good comic idea here somewhere about the capitalist dad trying to goad his creative son in law with a work ethic befitting retail or manual labor rather than artistic ventures, but it's obscured by the noise and the contrived screenplay. Some fun trick shots and long takes, sure, but ultimately not at the service of much.

[Stefan Andersson]

Les bas-fonds, Renoir, 4K:
https://www.festival-lumiere.org/manife ... fonds.html

[Stefan Andersson]

Das Testament des Dr. Cordelier, Renoir 1959, Bluray from Ostalgica, Germany:
https://www.wicked-shop.com/de/das-test ... on-24.html

(Le Testament du Docteur Cordelier)
Region code: B
Packaging: Amaray box in slipcase slipcase (DVD size with partial lacquering) and additional reversible cover for the keep-case

- Blu-ray world premiere
- 4K scan and restoration
- Limited edition of 1000 copies
- Many extras in more than 2 hours of bonus material
- A film by JEAN RENOIR
- Based on the world bestseller "The Curious Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" by Robert Louis Stevenson.
- An Ostalgica production distributed by Media Target


Technical data:
Picture format: 1.37:1 (AVC / 1080p / 23,976 fps)
Sound: German / French (DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 Mono)
Subtitles: German
Running time: approx. 95 minutes

Extras (1080p / 23.976 fps):
- 12-page booklet with a text by Marco Koch
- Inlay with reversible cover
- Original trailer (with German subtitles)
- German opening credits
- Video essay by Lars Johansen about Renoir, the film and the history of the Jekyll & Hyde film adaptations (approx. 38 min.)
- Film restoration
- Picture gallery
- Silent film: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (with German subtitles)
- Classic Chiller Collection Trailer

[andyli]

IVC from Japan is premiering The Little Theatre of Jean Renoir on Blu-ray this June, from a 2K restoration. (They also have A.K. and The Koumiko Mystery by Chris Marker set for the same month.)