1034 Portrait of a Lady on Fire

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TMDaines
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Re: 1034 Portrait of a Lady on Fire

#76 Post by TMDaines » Fri Jun 12, 2020 3:51 am

B-locked according to Blu-ray.com

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MichaelB
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Re: 1034 Portrait of a Lady on Fire

#77 Post by MichaelB » Fri Jun 12, 2020 5:04 am

They'll be exactly like any other British boutique label: region-free when contractually possible, region-locked when compelled to by the rightsholder.

In this particular instance, my money would be on "region-locked" unless otherwise advised - their Cold War, for instance (to cite another title they have in common with Criterion) is definitely Region B.

andsoitgoes
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Re: 1034 Portrait of a Lady on Fire

#78 Post by andsoitgoes » Fri Jun 12, 2020 6:24 am

Well dang. I can justify a lot of things but I don’t think I can justify a region free player for a handful of movies.

Crestfallen isn’t even close as a descriptor.

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MichaelB
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Re: 1034 Portrait of a Lady on Fire

#79 Post by MichaelB » Fri Jun 12, 2020 7:44 am

The number of superb Region B-only titles amounts to much, much more than "a handful"!

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Caligula
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Re: 1034 Portrait of a Lady on Fire

#80 Post by Caligula » Fri Jun 12, 2020 7:56 am

If you can justify buying a lot of films how can you not justify buying a half-decent multi-region player? Your stance reminds me of some people I've met who dismiss the idea of overseas travel cause "there's so much in my own country to see" Take the plunge. You'll be forever grateful you did. Your credit card won't

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Re: 1034 Portrait of a Lady on Fire

#81 Post by andsoitgoes » Fri Jun 12, 2020 10:19 pm

Caligula wrote:
Fri Jun 12, 2020 7:56 am
If you can justify buying a lot of films how can you not justify buying a half-decent multi-region player? Your stance reminds me of some people I've met who dismiss the idea of overseas travel cause "there's so much in my own country to see" Take the plunge. You'll be forever grateful you did. Your credit card won't
I’ve been able to get around it for years, and unfortunately while I can afford some movies here and there, being in Canada means an even higher premium for all things tech.

Now if someone knows a cheap option in Canada, that’s something - otherwise I’m a little hamstringed currently

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dwk
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Re: 1034 Portrait of a Lady on Fire

#82 Post by dwk » Fri Jun 12, 2020 10:41 pm

MichaelB wrote:
Fri Jun 12, 2020 7:44 am
The number of superb Region B-only titles amounts to much, much more than "a handful"!
Of course there are. But that doesnt mean that the poster is interested in owning more than "a handful" of those titles.

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tenia
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Re: 1034 Portrait of a Lady on Fire

#83 Post by tenia » Tue Jun 23, 2020 11:17 am

Chris, I'm curious about that banding, since it can definitely comes from a poor encode not being able to handle "flat" smooth (because of their digital aspect) areas and generate banding. Do you have a few time codes ? If I can, I'll try and compare those to the French BD.

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Re: 1034 Portrait of a Lady on Fire

#84 Post by cdnchris » Tue Jun 23, 2020 11:57 am

I'll have to double check when I can later (can't at the moment). I thought the most apparent was the scene outside around the fire and a couple of shots of Noémie Merlant showed it in the skyline. Also, that first time where the "image" of Haenel appears and it goes black, there's an odd effect there too. I'll get you better times, though.

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swo17
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Re: 1034 Portrait of a Lady on Fire

#85 Post by swo17 » Tue Jun 23, 2020 12:01 pm

So basically the best part of the movie

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Re: 1034 Portrait of a Lady on Fire

#86 Post by cdnchris » Tue Jun 23, 2020 12:22 pm

It's minor at the very least, not like the initial printing of BFI's Beauty and the Beast, and that's partially why I was unsure whether it's an encode issue or something in the original master, though I would think 4K can handle the blending better. If it was a bigger blocky mess, then I'd definitely go with encode.

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Re: 1034 Portrait of a Lady on Fire

#87 Post by andsoitgoes » Tue Jun 23, 2020 5:15 pm

cdnchris wrote:
Tue Jun 23, 2020 12:22 pm
It's minor at the very least, not like the initial printing of BFI's Beauty and the Beast, and that's partially why I was unsure whether it's an encode issue or something in the original master, though I would think 4K can handle the blending better. If it was a bigger blocky mess, then I'd definitely go with encode.

Is there any word on a 4K release? Of all the films that would benefit from HDR/DV it’s a movie like this. It just cries for specificity in its colour usage.

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Re: 1034 Portrait of a Lady on Fire

#88 Post by cdnchris » Tue Jun 23, 2020 7:46 pm

None that I know of in North America and definitely not from Criterion. I can't speak for overseas, though.

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tenia
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Re: 1034 Portrait of a Lady on Fire

#89 Post by tenia » Wed Jun 24, 2020 4:04 am

blu-ray.com's database shows no 4K release announced (and possibly not even rumored) for this one.

Calvin
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Re: 1034 Portrait of a Lady on Fire

#90 Post by Calvin » Wed Jun 24, 2020 6:11 am

It has already been released in every territory that could realistically produce a UHD release, so I suspect that there's no chance until Criterion go UHD and start upgrading older titles - if that ever happens.

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Re: 1034 Portrait of a Lady on Fire

#91 Post by Rupert Pupkin » Sun Aug 30, 2020 9:16 pm

I'm looking desperately for "La Naissance des Pieuvres aka Water Lilies" (Adèle Haenel first movie with Céline Sciamma). I happened to find recently a WEB 1080 rip which looks quite nice in comparison to the French DVD (more details, etc...)- this would be a very good choice for another movie by C.Sciamma (more than "Gang de filles")-
I have searched everywhere : at amazon.co.uk; de (generally in Germany some good surprises can find there such as "Curiosia" with Noémie Merlant from "Portrait de La Jeune Fille En Feu)", but I did not find a blu-ray. (I think that Noémie should have been a price for her role in "Portrait..." because she is absolutely mesmerizing - "it takes two to dance a tango".)
Any hint ?
in Belgium sometimes some movies are released there on Blu-Ray ("Le Fidèle" for instance with "another" Adèle (but really more than "another") :oops: :oops: :oops:

in the meantime, a great short movie with Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet aka "2 de tension" was included on the great Eustachien movie (stunning digital black & white photography) "Mes Provinciales" (released on blu-ray by Kino! (nothing at all in France) (oddly this discussion between 2 potential lovers about movies makes me think what is from Adèle's character or what is from the "real" Adèle about movie taste) - to sum up quickly oddy and physically Grégoire looks like Dawson (yes the TV series).
Last edited by Rupert Pupkin on Sun Aug 30, 2020 9:21 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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knives
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Re: 1034 Portrait of a Lady on Fire

#92 Post by knives » Sun Aug 30, 2020 9:18 pm

The movie is available on Criterion Channel and I believe Kino now has the rights. It’s listed as Water Lillies.

Rupert Pupkin
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Re: 1034 Portrait of a Lady on Fire

#93 Post by Rupert Pupkin » Sun Aug 30, 2020 9:21 pm

knives wrote:
Sun Aug 30, 2020 9:18 pm
The movie is available on US DVD under the title Water Lillies. It’s available through Magnolia.
yes I have the French one (DVD), I'm looking for a Blu-Ray release since I have just seen a WEB 1080 release which is clearly not upscaling and looks really nice.

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senseabove
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Re: 1034 Portrait of a Lady on Fire

#94 Post by senseabove » Sun Aug 30, 2020 10:48 pm

"WEB 1080" would mean it's captured from a streaming service or possibly a download whose encryption was defeated. It doesn't indicate there's a BD release of the film available anywhere.

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Re: 1034 Portrait of a Lady on Fire

#95 Post by Rupert Pupkin » Sun Aug 30, 2020 11:16 pm

senseabove wrote:
Sun Aug 30, 2020 10:48 pm
"WEB 1080" would mean it's captured from a streaming service or possibly a download whose encryption was defeated. It doesn't indicate there's a BD release of the film available anywhere.
yes that's it. In France, they did not even bother to release some French movies (even with some prices) on Blu-Ray. Sometimes only on DVD. Sometimes only through WEB 1080 download and not physical media such as DVD or Blu-Ray.
The thing is that I don't know the origin (from what country ?) of this WEB HD release (no intro logo to find a clue about the origin of this WEB HD release); only that it came out just recently. Sometimes WEB HD does not mean that a blu-ray will follow, but I'm crossing the fingers... [-o<

for instance I would be satisfied with just a true WEB HD release of "L'Esquive" from A.Kechiche (they did not bother to release "La Graine et le Mulet" in France despite the Césars prices) because "L'Esquive" (filmed with digital camera) was poorly transferred for DVD and the transfer really sucks.

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Re: 1034 Portrait of a Lady on Fire

#96 Post by Calvin » Mon Aug 31, 2020 2:02 am

As knives said, it is on Criterion Channel and it was also recently on Mubi

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Toland's Mitchell
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Re: 1034 Portrait of a Lady on Fire

#97 Post by Toland's Mitchell » Sun Apr 18, 2021 7:51 pm

During the scene where the three women were mulling over Orpheus's reason to turn around and look at Eurydice, one them suggested it was a poetic decision...that he chose the memory of her.

I rewatched Portrait of a Lady on Fire last night and connected this pivotal scene to the opening scene. I had forgotten the film began with Marianne teaching a painting class, and one her students brought out the titular portrait, triggering her memories of Héloïse from years earlier. Thus the entire film was Marianne's recollection, perhaps not the film's exact "reality" of what happened, but rather Marianne's romanticized version of it. The power of memory is one the many elements the film excels at showing us, because it worked both ways with each character. This was demonstrated in the final two scenes where we saw how Héloïse exhibited her own memories of their romance through the book she was holding in the portrait of her and her child, and the final zoom on her at the concert hall. Such moving, powerful scenes.
SpoilerShow
Another powerful scene was when Marianne and Héloïse had their own Orpheus-Eurydice moment. As in the myth, Marianne turned around and looked, to see Héloïse in her wedding dress. While it wasn't literal death like Eurydice in the myth, it was still the symbolic death of their brief romance, and on a more permanent level, the death of Héloïse's independence. We also saw this motif of female independence in a compelling subplot about Sophie's (the maid) abortion. I appreciated how the pro-choice message in the film was not overstated. After all, this was the 1700s when having a child out of wedlock was more taboo than nowadays, not to mention more life-threatening to the mother. So I viewed Sophie's decision to have the abortion simply as a practical one, not a rebellious one, but still an expression of female independence.
There's much more to like about this film than my few words provide, as other users have given great insight upthread. Portrait is a true masterwork.

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Mr Sausage
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Portrait of a Lady on Fire (Céline Sciamma, 2019)

#98 Post by Mr Sausage » Mon Jun 07, 2021 3:09 pm

DISCUSSION ENDS MONDAY, June 21st

Members have a two week period in which to discuss the film before it's moved to its dedicated thread in The Criterion Collection subforum. Please read the Rules and Procedures.

This thread is not spoiler free. This is a discussion thread; you should expect plot points of the individual films under discussion to be discussed openly. See: spoiler rules.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

I encourage members to submit questions, either those designed to elicit discussion and point out interesting things to keep an eye on, or just something you want answered. This will be extremely helpful in getting discussion started. Starting is always the hardest part, all the more so if it's unguided. Questions can be submitted to me via PM.

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Mr Sausage
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Re: Portrait of a Lady on Fire (Céline Sciamma, 2019)

#99 Post by Mr Sausage » Mon Jun 07, 2021 3:09 pm

The winner of the 2010s List project is our discussion topic this round.

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feihong
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Re: Portrait of a Lady on Fire (Céline Sciamma, 2019)

#100 Post by feihong » Mon Jun 07, 2021 8:05 pm

I can't think of anything too profound to say about this movie. It was very much all that I wanted out of a feature film. I afterwards watched Sciamma's previous "Water Lillies" and, though I do like movies featuring a lot of swimming, it didn't work the same effect upon me. I think that part of that feeling for me was that the ending of Portrait seems to confirm the mutual feelings between the two women, whereas the ending of Water Lillies goes with the more standard lesbian romance fiction cliche of people not feeling the same way about each other.

I showed my mother this film; she has always been a little reticent to accept the validity of lesbian romance in fiction, and I think it somehow bothers her that it is one of the main subjects in fiction which absorbs me. But she had no problem getting on board with this movie––possibly because it wasn't in a contemporary setting, and because the film was, in a sense, largely about the strictures women faced in that time. In that way I think the experience of watching the movie reminded us both of Jane Campion's The Piano, another film which really moved us both. But I was struck by my mother's different read of the ending image. She was certain that the ending image, pushing in on Heloise's face, existed solely in Marianne's imagination. Perhaps, she suggested, it wasn't even Heloise that Marianne saw at the concert, but rather, someone who looked like her. And so the tear running down Heloise's cheek was, perhaps, simply Marianne's wishful thinking, her need to feel that the depth of their relationship remained the same for Heloise, since it certainly had done so for Marianne.

To my mind, this reading probably reflects my mother's reticence to fully accept lesbian romance fiction as it's own totally valid genre; there has to be a mediating valence which makes the feelings the film details the expression of the particular intensity of youth, the feelings one has at a particular early point in life. I think it's important to her reading that these feelings not establish a deeper sense of the who the characters are. After seeing these kind of movies I always get treated to her stories of how she and her friends were besotted with a female camp counselor when they were pre-teens––but it wasn't love or lust or anything, absolutely not––just a feeling of involvement and affection het women have for each other at a particular time in their lives, or I get the story of how creeped out she was when her best friend from high school later revealed that she was lesbian and always had a one-sided crush on my mother. It's hard for me to unpack the intended meaning of these stories––especially when they're always delivered adjacent to a lesbian romance film we've just seen. I don't think it discounts my mother's read of the last scene in Portrait of a Lady on Fire, but I can't help but feel that her interpretation is tied up in her need to feel that lesbian love is somehow less substantial, or at least, curtailed somewhat from the depth of other romance in fiction. I guess I choose to interpret the ending differently. I assume Marianne really does see Heloise at the concert. True, we get the encounter predominantly from Marianne's point of view, but my feeling is that as the camera crosses from one balcony to another we somehow transcend Marianne's gaze and achieve in the final framing of Heloise the ultimate goals of a portrait; to convey the truth of a person––to reveal what's inside of them. In that interpretation, I have to read Marianne's previous portraits of Heloise, including both the finished one she sends off to Heloise's husband-to-be and the one she paints for herself of Heloise on the beach, as failures, in a certain respect; none of them reveal the inner life of Heloise. The professional commissioned portrait, in fact, is meant to obfuscate the real person behind Heloise. The one Heloise poses for with Sophie is perhaps a statement, but it doesn't reveal the inner person of Heloise, either. It's only in the final profile we see of her at the end of the film, that we get a sense of the person inside Heloise, the need, the frustrated desire, her anger at the world, her ability to be moved. To my mind, we have to be in her presence at the end of the film to actually see that.

Or else, if it is Marianne's imagination that has crafted this final portrait of Heloise, then I suppose another interpretation of the ending is that Marianne is not done painting her; perhaps she will go on to paint Heloise once more, this time trying to draw out all of the inner turmoil and desire she has come to realize makes up Heloise's inner life.

I don't know. Just a bunch of weird thoughts on the movie. I was so, so happy to see Valeria Golino in another movie, also.
Last edited by feihong on Mon Jun 07, 2021 9:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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