The First Breillat Film To Come Out in 4k: Bilitis

Are you getting sick of Bilitis releases yet?  This one is big news, though, because it's the first edition on the highest 4k Ultra HD format.  The first Bilitis and the first of any of Breillat's films.  This is coming out through Germany's Capelight Pictures label, but all UHD's are region free, so it's playable anywhere in the world.  And yes, it's English friendly, including both the English dub, and better still, the original French audio with English subtitles.  For that matter, it also has a German dub and optional German subtitles.

It's a 3-disc set, including the UHD with HDR, a BD copy and the CD soundtrack.  It's a mediabook with 24 pages (presumably written in German, though), and includes the original theatrical trailer and the same interview with the cinematographer that was on the US blu.  And it's already out as of this writing.

Hopefully we see many more of Breillat's films hit 4k, especially some of the ones she directed!

Bluebeard, Better In the UK

Of course, it would be wonderful to get Bluebeard on blu-ray one day, but I can't say I'm too optimistic.  We're barely getting any of her theatrical work in HD, let alone her television films.  But in the meantime, whether it happens it or not, it's worth noting that there is a bit of an upgrade available just by importing from the UK.  Yes, two years after Strand released this on DVD in the US, New Wave Films released it in the UK, and it's surprisingly better in almost every way, considering it was a new release of a contemporary film using the same modern master.

For starters, the US DVD is interlaced, which means intermittent frames have a visible, and ugly, combing effect running through them.  Even if your player autocorrects interlacing, and practically all of them do, that's only a partial fix that makes the image stutter in motion and replaces combed frames with ghosted frames, where images have a messy double-image.  The aspect ratio is also very slightly shifted from 1.79:1 on the US to what appears to be the more correct 1.81:1 on the UK.  The framing is identical, but it fixes a very slight vertical pinch.  I suspect a BD could give us an even more accurate AR.  But between the two of them, New Wave's geometry is a pinch (get it? Eh, eh?) better.

2010 US Strand DVD top; 2012 UK New Wave DVD bottom.

The stereo audio tracks sound the same on both discs.  But the subtitles are burnt in on the US DVD, meaning they are unremovable if you want to see the image without the subs on screen.  The UK disc makes them optional, so you can turn them on and off.  So rack up another slight advantage to New Wave there.

But most compelling of all?  New Wave's DVD has an exclusive on-camera interview with Breillat herself!  Strand has the trailer and a couple bonus trailers for other Strand releases, but otherwise it has no special features.  Well, New Wave also has the trailer.  And while one interview doesn't exactly amount to a packed special edition, it's a substantial half-hour piece that gives us some solid insight into her work.  And honestly, interviews with Breillat are far too rare on these discs, so finding one here is a real treat.

So yes, I'd say it's worth importing.  And even if you already have the US DVD, it might be worth double-dipping just for the interview (and modest visual improvements).