My copy of the
German limited-edition Blu-ray of
Immoral Tales has just arrived.
It's a three-disc dual-format set, consisting of a Blu-ray and two DVDs. The first two discs appear to contain exactly the same content (aside from the 1080p/PAL quality distinction), namely:
- the main feature, in either dubbed German or the original French with optional French subtitles;
- audio commentary by Daniel Bird and David Flint, in English with optional German subtitles;
- all audio/subtitle options are switchable on the fly via the remote, so if your French is good enough you're not forced to take a German option;
- the shorter cut of
Une collection particulière (Borowczyk, 1973), in the original French with optional German subtitles;
- audio commentary on
Une collection particulière by Daniel Bird, in English with optional German subtitles;
- interview with producer Dominique Duvergé (11:38), in French with optional German subtitles;
- interview with cinematographer Noël Véry (24:00), ditto;
- French trailer, ditto;
- US trailer, in English with optional German subtitles;
- German trailers for
Marquis, Who Can Kill a Child?, La Bête, De bruit et de fureur, The Life and Death of a Porno Gang;
Everything is in PAL on the DVD, while the Blu-ray presents the main feature in 1080p and the extras in PAL. On the basis of a very quick spin, the 1080p transfer seems to be pretty good. Some might be disappointed that the image isn't as pin-sharp as you'd expect from a 35mm source, but the soft, grainy look is very characteristic of Borowczyk's 1970s colour films, and varies from story to story (I remember 'Thérèse philosophe' being noticeably grainier, a look that's preserved here). I'm not entirely convinced that there hasn't been some electronic fiddling with the image - at times it's hard to tell if I'm looking at authentic film grain or digital noise - but it's certainly the best presentation I've seen of the film to date (with the caveat that I've only seen it on the big screen in 16mm).
I'm assuming that you get the above in the ordinary edition (released separately on
Blu-ray and
DVD), but it was the limited edition's third disc that convinced me to stump up the extra cash, as it contains:
- A reconstruction of the 116-minute five-part cut of
Immoral Tales, containing the story that was later expanded to make
La Bête;
- The option to play the above with
Une collection particulière as a prologue (as Borowczyk originally intended);
- Same language options as above (i.e. German or French with optional German subtitles for the feature, French with optional German subtitles for the prologue)
- The "Oberhausen cut" of
Une collection particulière (13:58), which differs from the final version in a number of ways. There's no spoken narration (and hence no subtitles), the photographs are much more overtly pornographic (in the shorter cut, cunningly-positioned fingers and thumbs are used to censor details, suggesting that Borowczyk planned alternative edits at the time of shooting), and there's the notorious sequence featuring genuine bestiality - although an introductory card explains that to comply with German law, part of the image in this sequence had to be pixilated. Image quality is a fair bit poorer, but given the rarity of this cut that's understandable.
There's also a well-produced 24-page booklet mainly showcasing an essay by Daniel Bird (albeit exclusively in a German translation), and a few colour stills. The box and disc artwork are both excellent (it comes in a well-produced slipcase), and the horribly obtrusive '18' comes off with the shrinkwrapping.
In a nutshell, most of the package isn't English-friendly, but I knew that prior to ordering. Apparently the producers wanted to add English subtitles, but were contractually prevented, presumably by the main rightsholder Argos Films. On the other hand, it's not exactly a dialogue-heavy film (the first story is the talkiest by some distance), it's pretty easy to follow even if you only have basic French or German, and the commentaries are in English - and I've no idea what the chances are of them resurfacing on a British or US edition.
