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Hooray! I never thought this would happen, but apparently it's really coming.

Although this is technically speaking a Delannoy film, he outdoes Cocteau (who of course wrote the script) in creating the looks of a Cocteau-film. A modernization of the Tristan & Iseult-legend, the film didn't fare well with the French because of what was perceived as 'Germanic' aesthetics at the time (mostly because of Marais' ultra-blonde hairstyle) and thus is one of the least-known Cocteau films/collaborations. But it's marvellously photographed and entirely captivating in my view.

Hitherto the film was only available on a pretty hideous Korean disc.I only hope that the French did some resto on this. No subs, it seems. Well, better than nothing.

There was a Japanese release from IVC that wasn't horrible but did not have English subs.
But it appears that this newest version won't either.

I guess that Korean disc I mentioned (no subs either) was a straight boot of the IVC. Well, 'horrible' is perhaps too strong a word, but the print really looked rather worn and had rather crackly audio. I'd very much assume the new French disc is significantly better. But the absence of subs will probably make me wait for something else, too, at least for some time. Come on, CC or MoC, this REALLY fits into your collection of releases.

Delannoy (who just died this summer at the age of 100), along with his frequent screenwriters Jean Aurenche and Pierre Bost, was a whipping-boy of the New Wave, notably in Truffaut's "A Certain Tendency of the French Cinema" takedown. I think this partly explains why his early films haven't had much a reputation in past decades, at least among cinephiles who take the Cahiers party line or some derivation therefrom. I think this film, along with others from the period such as Jeux interdits, is overdue for reappraisal.

SNC tend to do pretty super transfers.