Anatomy of Hell Next To Make the Jump To Blu

Yes, you've read the title right; Breillat's most divisive film, Anatomie de l'enfer, b.k.a. Anatomy of Hell, is finally coming to blu-ray this summer.  Specifically June 5th.  I almost missed it, because it's being released as a part of Umbrella Entertainment's 'New Extremity Collection Volume 1' collection, and I'm really not interested in the other films in that set.  Anatomy of Hell is a real outlier, as it's the only non-horror title, alongside High Tension, Frontier(s) and Martyrs.

It would be hard to argue Breillat's film doesn't qualify as a "new French extremity" by dead-on definition, but I suspect a lot of fans of those other three films are going to be looking at Breillat's film like, "what the heck is this," not unlike how this Breillat fan is looking at the set thinking, "gee, I don't want to have to pay for all those other ones."  And no, there has been no individual release announced for any of the four films.  There is just a Collector's Edition and a Standard Edition, the distinction being a 100 page book, a poster, some unique artwork and some art cards.

Now, technically, this won't be Anatomy's debut on blu.  There is already a French blu-ray that came out last June.  But it is not English-friendly.  It's just got the original French audio with optional French subtitles.  Great if you're fluent in French (it even has a Breillat interview), but sadly useless for the rest of us.

And to give Umbrella due credit, they don't seem to be skimping on their release, packing it with special features.  Admittedly, a lot of these don't sound terribly exciting: an audio commentary by a     horror movie podcast host and three visual essays by experts.  But crucially, they've got an interview with Breillat.  They don't label it as "NEW" like all the other features on their website, so I'm guessing it's the original interview dating back to the Tartan disc, but it's still an important inclusion.  Umbrella's also got a stills gallery and the trailer.  And they're promising all the films are uncut and uncensored.

So as a Breillat fan, you're going to want this disc.  And cinephiles who are looking to explore modern films for their shock value should get a kick out of the whole package.  But I feel like this forced combination is going to annoy more people than it pleases.  Oh well.  It's still a net win to finally have another of Breillat's works available in HD and English for the first time.

Last Summer, Now From Criterion

It's here!  Catherine Breillat's first film in over a decade arrives today, Feb 18th, on DVD and blu, as part of their new Janus Contemporaries line.  We've known about Last Summer (then known as Inavouable, which translates to "Unspeakable") since early 2021, and have just been waiting patiently to get our hands on an English-friendly version of it.  The BD is a dual-layer 1080p disc matting the film to 1.85:1, screenshotted above.  The original French 5.1 audio is presented in DTS-HD with optional English subtitles.

There aren't a whole ton of extras, but critically, we do get an all new, 18+ minute interview with Breillat.  They also include the original theatrical trailer and an insert with notes by Michael Joshua Rowin, a film theorist who teaches at the School of Visual Arts in New York.  So it may not be the full-fledged special edition we were hoping for, but it's a satisfying package.  And most important, of course, we can just finally see this film.

And by the way, for those keen to check out the original 2019 Dronningen, a.k.a. Queen Of Hearts, the Danish film Last Summer is a remake of, there are a couple of foreign blu-rays, but they don't include English language options.  Our best bet is unfortunately standard definition-only: an American DVD from Breaking Glass.  It's a DVD-9 in anamorphic 2.39:1 in its original Danish/ Swedish (both stereo and 5.1 mixes) with optional English subtitles with no special features.

A Quick Update On Last Summer/ Inavouable

So, it's been a couple years since I posted about Breillat's then upcoming film, Inavouable.  Well, it's finished now, with a new title: L'Été dernier or Last Summer for us English speakers.  It's already been released on blu, but sadly (despite some reports to the contrary), it's not English-friendly at all.  Meanwhile, Last Summer's currently, as of this writing, playing a limited run in theaters here in the US.  To give you an idea, I'm in New Jersey, and the nearest screenings are in New York, an entire state away.  And I imagine it's even worse in other parts of the country.  But hopefully that means home video releases are to follow, and we'll finally get a chance to see it.  And if an English-friendly DVD/ BD/ UHD gets released, of course I'll be sure to cover it here ASAP.  Janus Films is listed as a distributor in sites like the IMDB, so hopefully that means a Criterion special edition is in its future.

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).