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The Bride Wore Black: The Limited Edition Series
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray ALL - America - Twilight Time Review written by and copyright: Abraham Phillips (2nd February 2015). |
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The Film
 In "The Bride Wore Black" Julie Kohler (Jeanne Moreau) is prevented from suicide by her mother. She leaves the town. She will track down, charm and kill five men who do not know her. What is her goal? What is her purpose? This is another forgotten about gem, and thankfully Twilight Time has given it a lovely new Blu-ray release. It's a film that shines with solid storytelling, acting, tight direction and a music soundtrack that's complete ear candy. I have often thought this movie was a perfect example of early revenge style filmmaking. The revenge film genre is everywhere this day and age but in the old days it was relativity rare. This is a film that not only leaves a deep impression of film making brilliance but it also expresses how to make a great feature film. This is based on a novel by the same name written by William Irish, real name Cornell Woolrich. Directed by one of the greatest film makers of all time François Truffaut, what needs to be said about this pioneer of film? He's a passionate one of a kind master of the film world and he was one of the original founding directors of the French New Wave movement. He is regarded as one of the truest icons of cinema. It's unfortunate that he died at the very young age of 52, as he had so much more to offer and I can only imagine the films he could have graced viewers with if he had lived longer. On an interesting note he was a multi-talented man; a film critic, screenwriter, producer, and actor. He even starred in Steven Spielberg’s sci-fi masterpiece "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" (1977) as the character Claude Lacombe. He would go on to be both respected and talked about - held in high regard and he deserved every bit of it. He was, and still is a master behind the lens and "The Bride Wore Black" is another film that showcases his unique style of film making. Starring the beautiful, stunning, gorgeous and striking goddess of film Jeanne Moreau, a multi-talented award winning actress, she owns her parts in everything she has ever done. Her character of Julie is one of her defining moments. She appeared in a total of three films for director Truffaut, and received in 1998 an Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement. She is often thought of as being one of the greatest actresses to ever grace cinema and I agree one hundred percent. She is not only known as a French acting goddess, but also as a singer, screenwriter and director. Now this movie is actually a tribute by Truffaut toward the grand master of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock. "The Bride Wore Black" is in reality, an old-school unflinching, brutal, revenge film. Interesting to note is the film was massively put down and criticized. Truffaut himself even gave in, putting it down too. It’s a movie that was way before its time. It’s something that people were not use to and it expressed a violent no holds barred tone, and even though the critics hated the movie, it was a box office winner and over the years has garnered the respect that it deserves. It’s a revenge film, plain and simple, yet mixed with a mysterious undertone. Even thought it was critically ripped apart, it was still nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film, which is testament to the film's power. Adapted from the book and written in flawless fashion by a brilliant story teller - the one and only Cornell George Hopley-Woolrich who was one of the greatest crime writers of his time - his style always seemed to play with emotions and led the reader down a rabbit hole, and you could never guess where it was going. Many of his stories have been made into films, many of which by Hitchcock, and as of this writing over 30 of his stories have become movies. He, like Truffaut died young leaving many unfinished stories. He was gifted with word play, a god in the genres of crime and mystery. The master musician Bernard Herrmann composed the soundtrack, which was flawless and excellent. You get the wonderful isolated music track as a special feature which is always a wonderful plus. Herrmann really does not need any introduction, as he is the master behind some of the greatest music scores of all time. He was a regular on Hitchcock films composing several masterpieces including "Psycho" (1960) among others, such as classics like "Citizen Kane" (1941), "Cape Fear" (1962) and "Taxi Driver" (1976). Whatever film he graced with his talent, it was a true one of a kind musical orgy of total perfection. Herrmann certainly left his mark on the music and movie world for all generations to experience. "The Bride Wore Black" was his second feature collaborating with director Truffaut. This is a very slow burn film. Many people might not get it, or like it. Some will likely be bored with it. One thing for sure though, it is not for everyone. It has a slow pace, a style that lingers with you even though it has some flaws, and can even be a tedious watch at times with its unraveling of plot. Despite this, in my opinion it’s one of the great revenge films of any era. Solidly directed and flawlessly acted.
Video
Presented in the film's original ratio of 1.66:1 widescreen mastered in high definition 1080p 24/fps using AVC MPEG-4 compression. I have only seen this film one other time, and this Blu-ray by the Twilight Time is the best it's ever been seen. The picture quality is absolutely amazing. Twilight Time does such a wonderful job in refreshing films for a modern generation and for the old school lovers of important cinema or often overlooked cinema.
Audio
Two audio tracks are included for two versions of the film, the film's original "French Version" includes a French DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 mono track with burnt-in yellow English subtitles. The "English Version" includes a dubbed English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono track with optional white English subtitles. For the purposes of this review I chose to view the film with its original French audio. The audio sound excellent considering the age of the film, it lacks depth but that's expected with a mono soundtrack. The "French Version" only includes burnt-in subtitles, which is not idea but they work nonetheless.
Extras
Twilight Time has released this film with an audio commentary, an isolated music track, a theatrical trailer, bonus trailer, booklet and a second disc with a bonus audio CD. Below is a closer look. DISC ONE: BLU-RAY Some amazing special features, my personal favorite is the isolated score which features the music only track. The audio commentary features film historians Julie Kirgo, Steven C. Smith, and Nick Redman and it's is amazing and worth listening to. I got such great satisfaction listening to these commentators discuss this film. The disc includes the original theatrical trailer (1080p) which runs for 1 minute 56 seconds. A bonus trailer (1080p) is included for "MGM 90th Anniversary" which runs for 2 minutes 6 seconds. Plus you get the wonderful booklet by film historian Julie Kirgo which is always a wonderful added bonus. DISC TWO: CD This CD includes "Conversation Piece: An Unvarnished Chat with Bernard Herrmann" (14 tracks), the Bonus CD should make anyone want to buy this film. This recorded conversation is of the master music god himself and runs a total of 79 minutes. Listening to this pioneering music god is perfect in so many ways and is a great special feature that qualifies as being one of the best features added to a Twilight Time Blu-ray.
Packaging
Packaged in a standard eco Blu-ray keep case, this edition is limited to 3,000 copies only.
Overall
Another priceless product by Twilight Time. A must own for any lover of old school cinema, lovers of any style of cinema should experience this often forgotten about film. This was a movie before it's time and thankfully Twilight Time has recognized its brilliance and beauty in the world of cinema history. Check out Abraham Phillips' review site A Bucket of Corn, for more great reviews. Available to purchase exclusively only at Screen Archives Entertainment. Like Twilight Time on Facebook by going here.
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