Francois Herrmann’s The Bride Wore Black some call a homage to Alfred Hitchcock, though some experts disagree, is a unique film experience for sure featuring a dangerously mesmerizing performance by Jeanne Moreau and wonderful cinematography. The Blu-ray released by Twilight Time offers good video/audio transfers while the bonus material was limited, though the commentary was interesting to listen to.
The Bride Wore Black
(1968)
REVIEW NAVIGATION
The Movie | Special Features | Video Quality | Audio Quality | Overall
Genre(s): Drama, Crime, Mystery
Twilight Time | NR – 107 min. – $29.95 | January 20, 2015
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MOVIE INFO: Directed by: Francois Herrmann Writer(s): William Irish (novel); Francois Truffaut and Jean Louis Richard (adaptation) Cast: Jeanne Moreau, Michel Bouquet, Jean Claude Brialy, Charles Denner, Claude Rich, Daniel Boulanger DISC INFO: Audio: French (DTS-HD MA 1.0) |
** Click Here to Purchase The Bride Wore Black on Blu-ray from Screen Archives **
PLOT SYNOPSIS
Jeanne Moreau stars as an avenging angel in the one and only Francois Truffaut’s The Bride Wore Black, an homage to the films of Alfred Hitchcock that takes on its own strangely poetic, very French ambiance. Based on a book by American genre novelist Cornell Woolrich (a.k.a. William Irish) and shot by the legendary Raoul Coutard (Contempt, Z), the film—provides a brilliant contrast between dark deeds and the light-struck beauties of southern France.
SPECIAL FEATURES – 2.0/5
This release comes with the usual 6-page essay booklet. Also inside is a bonus CD with Conversation Piece: An Unvarnished Chat with Bernard Hermann, an interview conducted in 1970 for a Los Angeles Free Press article.
Audio Commentary – Film Historians Julie Kirgo, Steven C. Smith and Nick Redman provide a professional and low-key track talking about the various elements of the film from the acting, style and story.
Theatrical Trailer (1:56; SD)
VIDEO – 3.75/5
The Bride Wore Black, released in 1968, might not be one of the more phenomenal looking films but the 1080p high-definition transfer (MPEG-4 AVC codec) does have some decent detail levels and colors appear to be bright however some scenes do appear a tad washed out. The other issue is there are some instances of dust marks and even scratches but nothing too distracting.
AUDIO – 4.0/5
The movie comes with both a French DTS-HD Master Audio Mono track as well as an English language dubbed version, the latter which is fine but to me, I always go with the film’s original language and “deal” with reading subtitles. In any case, the track here is OK with good dialogue levels and the music, by Bernard Hermann, comes through that center channel nicely.
OVERALL – 3.0/5
Overall, Francois Herrmann’s The Bride Wore Black some call a homage to Alfred Hitchcock, though some experts disagree, is a unique film experience for sure featuring a dangerously mesmerizing performance by Jeanne Moreau and wonderful cinematography. The Blu-ray released by Twilight Time offers good video/audio transfers while the bonus material was limited, though the commentary was interesting to listen to.
Published: 01/20/2015
Check out some more screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.