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Hiroshima Mon Amour AKA 24 - Jikan no Joji
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray B - United Kingdom - Studio Canal Review written by and copyright: Samuel Scott (23rd December 2015). |
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The Film
 ***This is an A/V and Extras review only. For reviews on the movie from various critics, we recommend visiting HERE.*** Alain Resnais’ first feature, which André Malraux acclaimed as the most beautiful film he had ever seen, brought Resnais instant fame and has become an enduring classic of film history. A complex study of a troubled relationship set in post World War II Japan. Emmanuelle Riva (Amour) stars as a young French actress who is in Hiroshima for the shooting of a film about peace. She meets a Japanese architect, played by Eiji Okada (The Ugly American), who reminds her of a former lover, a German soldier. The haunting affair is overshadowed by memories of the Bomb. Scripted by acclaimed novelist Marguerite Duras (The Lover). Celebrated for it’s originality, particularly through the use of flashbacks, HIROSHIMA MON AMOUR is a game changer in the world of French cinema, part of the French New Wave cinema, the use of flashbacks created a uniquely nonlinear storyline. As well as pioneering the rise of New Wave cinema, HIROSHIMA MON AMOUR was a turning point in Alain Renais’ career, consolidating his already established reputation for directing short films, including the controversial documentary Night and Fog, set in two abandoned Nazi concentration camps. HIROSHIMA MON AMOUR paved the way for Renais’ award-winning career, including acclaimed films Last Year at Marienbad and Smoking / No Smoking, which stretched six decades until his death in 2014.
Video
Studio Canal give Alain Resnais' "Hiroshima Mon Amour" its first release in the United Kingdom on Blu-ray using the original aspect ratio of 1.37:1. The transfer is 1080p and receives an AVC MPEG-4 encode on a BD50 disc. To cut to the chase, the transfer is absolutely stunning. The press release states that this 4k restoration was undertaken in 2013 by Argos Films, the Technicolor Foundation, the Groupama Gan Foundation and Cineteca di Bologna from the original camera negative with the generous support of the CNC (or Centre National du Cinema). The work was carried out at L'Immagine Ritrovata, Cineteca di Bologna's restoration lab, and overseen by cinematographer Renato Berta. What they have achieved is simply fantastic. The film preserves a natural consistent grain level throughout and in the non-documentary footage, there is barely any damage in this fifty plus year old film to see. Of course, the documentary archive footage contained within comes across a little rougher, but it is a huge improvement on previous DVD releases. Black levels are elevated as hinted at in the accompanying restoration featurette, but are deep and inky and certainly of overall benefit to the transfer. There is no major crush, no obvious aliasing, edge enhancement, or banding, and there are no signs of digital noise reduction. This transfer is firmly in the win column, and shows what the Blu-ray format is truly capable of. This is surely an early contender for transfer of the year (2016, when it is released next month). The feature is uncut and runs 90:02.
Audio
Studio Canal have provided a single lossless LPCM 2.0 Mono track in the original French. As far as mono tracks for older films go, this is at the top end of the spectrum. Giovanni Fusco's exceptionally apt score is easily heard and yet never overpowers the dialogue. The dialogue itself is clean and easily audible at all times. The track does lack range at times but overall clarity is strong. There are no signs of distortion by way of drop outs, scratches, crackles, pops or background hiss. The documentary footage isn't quite as dynamic, but is still very good and leaves the viewer with no complaints. Like the transfer, fans will be left extremely happy. English subtitles are included, but are unfortunately forced.
Extras
First up is a featurette entitled "Emmanuelle Riva Remembers Hiroshima" (12:55) which is essentially Emmanuelle Riva talking about her personal experiences with the film, from her auditioning for director Resnais who initially didn't think she was the right actress for the film, to meeting the writer Duras on a couple of occasions. She also talks about the shoestring budget and the possibility they would have to stop filming halfway through, as well as various other aspects. It is clear Riva has a lot of respect for both Resnais and Duras. The only other extra is a similarly brief "Restoration" featurette running just 10:48. This features the director of L'Immagine Ritrovata laboratory of Cineteca di Bologna, Davide Pozzi, and cinematographer Renato Berta - who worked on Resnais' "Smoking/No Smoking" - talk about the 4K restoration of the film. Resnais has told Berta he would like to do a restoration but was unable to oversee it himself, so asked Berta to oversee the work that was done since he had previously worked with Cineteca di Bologna in a similar role for another film. This is an interesting look at how the restoration project got off the ground and was approached, and how they had to understand the thought processes and visual styles of the film's cinematographers Michio Takahashi and Sacha Vierny.
Overall
A five star film receives a fantastic presentation and a couple of decent extras from Studio Canal. Highly recommended.
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