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| Anna
Karina, Claude Brasseur, Sami Frey |
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Anamorphic
widescreen |
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Dolby Digital
5.1 |
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DTS |
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Trailer(s) |
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Featurette(s) |
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Documentary |
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Audio commentary
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Deleted scenes
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Concept art
/ storyboards |
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Multi-angle
feature |
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Narrator (Jean-Luc Godard):
Franz is wondering if the world is a dream or a dream the world.
A young woman enlists the aid of two
young men, both of whom are in love with her, to commit a perfect
crime.
 This
innovative, playful and highly influential classic dates back to
French New Wave director Jean-Luc's early period as a director,
when his films were all about creating a fresch, exciting new cinema
unbound by the restrictions of an industry ruled by age-old convention.
This freshness remains in full evidence throughout the classic Band
of Outsiders (the French title of which served as the inspiration
for Tarantino's production company A Band Apart).
This sense of creating groundbreaking cinema goes beyond the famous
tricks Godard pulls that explicitly challenge the conventional rules
of filmmaking. Pranks like turning off all production sound for
a full minute when a conversation reaches an uncomfortable silence
or having a character turn to the camera for advice remain amusing,
but have little of the impact they must have had four decades ago.
Far more impressive is the free-from style of storytelling, during
which the three main characters get every opportunity to explore
their own personality and their relationships to each other. Unlike
in many of Godard's more experimental films, the balance between
ironic detachment and genuine interest in his situations and characters
is just right, resulting in a film that's as clever as it is endearing. |
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Available only for Region 1 on release
from the Criterion Collection.
The fullscreen image is framed
at its original aspect ratio of approx. 1.33:1. Amazingly, the low-budget,
handheld cinematography has survived nearly forty years in near-pristine
form, presented on this disc in a presentation that's close to flawless,
with deep, rich blacks and greys and strongly defined detail. Contrast
is intentionally low to provide a gorgeously textured presentation.
The mono sound mix is rendered in Dolby Digital 1.0. Its dynamic
range is rather limited, but as the track's contents hold little
besides post-synched dialogues and recycled, scratchy jazz music,
one couldn't reasonably expect anything better than this presentation.
The absence of an audio commentary
track to explain some of this densely layered film's puns, allusions
and intricacies is mostly made up for by the Visual Glossary
to the film that's provided here. Broken into 31 chapters that
can be played together or separately, the Glossary opens up the
movie's secrets in a way that is guaranteed to deepen one's appreciation
for it. Another excellent inclusion is five minutes of excerpts
from the documentary La Nouvelle Vague par elle-meme (The
New Wave in its Own Words). In an illuminating interview, Godard
sums up the historical context behind the French New Wave.
Somewhat less riveting but still worthwhile is the newly recorded
twenty-minute interview with Godard's regular leading lady
(and ex-wife) Anna Karina. She talks about how she first met Godard
and what her involvement in this film was. Another new interview
features legendary director of photography Raoul Coutard, who shot
fifteen of Godard's films. He supervised the Criterion transfer
himself and in this interview, he discusses the difficulties of
shooting a movie outside the confines of a studio with the heavy
equipment of that time.
A different kind of supplement is found in the inclusion of Agnes
Varda's silent short Les Fiances du Pont MacDonald, a three-minute
silent short that also appeared in Varda's 1962 classic Cleo
from 5 to 7. Next are two theatrical trailers for Band
of Outsiders: the first is Godard's original, the second is
the trailer for the 2001 re-release. Finally, an outstanding 16-page
booklet includes an essay as well as vintage interviews with
Godard about the characters and the making of the film. Menu screens are stylishly designed
and subtly animated similar to the box design.
Dan
Hassler-Forest
Reviewed:
February 18, 2003
Click
here for IMDB info on Band
of Outsiders.
Click here
to return to the front page.
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