French DVD & Blu-ray Recommendations

Discuss internationally-released DVDs and Blu-rays or other international DVD and Blu-ray-related topics.
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Stefan Andersson
Joined: Thu Nov 15, 2007 1:02 am

Re: French DVD & Blu-ray Recommendations

#101 Post by Stefan Andersson » Sun Mar 21, 2021 11:32 am

tenia wrote:
Sun Mar 21, 2021 6:07 am
OVH, our web hosting provider and France main provider, suffered a fire in one of their data center in Strasbourg on March 10th. Unfortunately, that's where Retro-HD's dedicated server is hosted. As a result, we've been down since, and remained down because OVH's work to put back up their systems required to put the power back up very progressively.

Very hopefully, we might be back tomorrow (based on OVH's ETA), but they had an additionnal issue yesterday with some smoke in their building, so who knows exactly, but that's the only info I have.

The technical behind-the-scenes have been quite complicated since none of us are knowledgeable in this kind of stuff and we never had the money to pay for a better CS that could have accelerated our return. It has been a crappy couple of weeks for me on this front since I ended up having to handle most of this despite my lack of knowledge in this department, this because the pandemic having dried up the flow of contemporary theatrical releases usually covered by Retro-HD's other members, it has also dried up their motivation in being actively involved with the website's activity.

We also not entirely sure if we'll suffer a data loss. AFAIK, we shouldn't because our server wasn't located in the damaged building but the adjacent one which came out of it intact. I prefer to wait and see since in theory, being 100% intact shouldn't have triggered the migration to another OVH data center. Yet, we ended up having to migrate to another data center, with the migration order having been finalised only yesterday, and I have no idea what this'll mean on our return ETA : will we be back up tomorrow and the migration will happen in an invisible manner ? Will we be down until the migration ? Do we have to migrate because our server turned out to be at least partly damaged ?

EDIT : yeah, the ETA has actually changed again this morning but I had to search for the info since the website FAQ's last update is from Friday afternoon : OVH will actually need 3 more days, ie possibly not before Wednesday 24th.
Hello Tenia, thank you very much for your reply! Looking forward to retro-hd going online again, and hoping the migration will be successful.

Stefan Andersson
Joined: Thu Nov 15, 2007 1:02 am

Re: French DVD & Blu-ray Recommendations

#102 Post by Stefan Andersson » Sun Mar 28, 2021 12:07 pm

The CNC decisions of Nov. 16, 2020 for monetary grants towards digital restorations include:
Le roman d´une jeune homme pauvre, Gance, Les Films de la Pléiade
Le Bal, Scola, Ed. Montparnasse
La Menace, Corneau, LCJ Eds
Les doigts dans la tête, Doillon, LCJ
Gardez le sourire, Fejos, Les Films du Panthéon
Rapt, Kirsanoff, Lobster
Trois jours a vivre, Grangier, Pathé
Caporal épinglé, Renoir, Studiocanal
Que la fête commence, Tavernier, Studiocanal
Coup de Torchon, Tavernier, Studiocanal
La vache et la prisonnier, Verneuil, StudioCanal
Je suis un sentimental, Berry, TF1
Le Tambour/Tin Drum, Schlöndorff, Argos Films

Source:
https://www.cnc.fr/professionnels/aides ... ine_190901
If need be, put in "Aide sélective à la numérisation des œuvres cinématographiques du patrimoine" in the search box

Stefan Andersson
Joined: Thu Nov 15, 2007 1:02 am

Re: French DVD & Blu-ray Recommendations

#103 Post by Stefan Andersson » Sun Mar 28, 2021 12:25 pm

Further re: CNC grants --

On the French forum DVDClassik, there was a very brief note recently about downsizing the CNC grants. Can´t find the link right now, unfortunately.

Also on DVDClassik, March 27, 2021, "lechatquifume" speculates about Netflix´s and Amazon´s presence in France (Netflix offers MK2 films), Canal+ maybe starting a platform, and how this affects CNC grants and the dwindling of physical media and the continuing rise of VOD platforms. Seems like bad predictions for classic French films on Blu:
https://www.dvdclassik.com/forum/viewto ... &start=240

Also:
https://www.tellerreport.com/news/2020- ... 38PMI.html
Interesting quote:
"La Belle captive" by Alain Robbe-Grillet, "Chocolat" by Claire Denis, "Madame Butterfly" by Frédéric Mitterrand or "Kennedy et moi" by Sam Karmann, the documentaries "Notre Dame, Cathédrale de Paris" by Georges Franju, "Broadway by light" by William Klein or "News from home" by Chantal Akerman are notably part of a first list of films eligible for patronage drawn up by the CNC."

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tenia
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Re: French DVD & Blu-ray Recommendations

#104 Post by tenia » Thu Apr 01, 2021 4:15 am

Hello everyone. I'm hijacking the thread for a minute but it seems the right place to communicate this (and ask for a bit of support there !).
Following the discussed above issues at Retro HD, I decided to leave to start a more modest (but of my own) website : it's very simply called testsbluray.com, and was launched yesterday. It doesn't have much content as of today, but the reviews I had going for March will be published there instead, and my reviews will be published there instead of Retro HD as of today. So if you were following my reviews at Retro HD, this will be where you'll be able to follow them now !

It also has a Twitter account for which I'll try to push its visibly (@testsbluraycom). I'll likely add a FB account soon.

The reviews will be formatted like they were on Retro HD : French text, BD Info scan disc, details of the extras and the booklet (if any), HD screencaps. No change here.

If you can increase its visibility somehow, don't hesitate to do so, whether it's simply by subscribing to it (it's a WordPress) or its Twitter account or visiting it regularly.

It's not much technically speaking so visually, it's quite simple I know, but it should do the job for someone who just want to publish 20 reviews a month and saving a bit of time in the process.

Thanks all !

Stefan Andersson
Joined: Thu Nov 15, 2007 1:02 am

Re: French DVD & Blu-ray Recommendations

#105 Post by Stefan Andersson » Fri Apr 02, 2021 6:38 pm

tenia wrote:
Thu Apr 01, 2021 4:15 am
Hello everyone. I'm hijacking the thread for a minute but it seems the right place to communicate this (and ask for a bit of support there !).
Following the discussed above issues at Retro HD, I decided to leave to start a more modest (but of my own) website : it's very simply called testsbluray.com, and was launched yesterday. It doesn't have much content as of today, but the reviews I had going for March will be published there instead, and my reviews will be published there instead of Retro HD as of today. So if you were following my reviews at Retro HD, this will be where you'll be able to follow them now !

It also has a Twitter account for which I'll try to push its visibly (@testsbluraycom). I'll likely add a FB account soon.

The reviews will be formatted like they were on Retro HD : French text, BD Info scan disc, details of the extras and the booklet (if any), HD screencaps. No change here.

If you can increase its visibility somehow, don't hesitate to do so, whether it's simply by subscribing to it (it's a WordPress) or its Twitter account or visiting it regularly.

It's not much technically speaking so visually, it's quite simple I know, but it should do the job for someone who just want to publish 20 reviews a month and saving a bit of time in the process.

Thanks all !

Hello Tenia,
I have visited your new site. Looks very good! I also posted a link to your review of "Pièges" in the Gaumont thread.

Do you follow the migration process for retro-hd? The site is still offline. Would be very sorry if the site is being discontinued, it had a lot of valuable information.

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tenia
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Re: French DVD & Blu-ray Recommendations

#106 Post by tenia » Sat Apr 03, 2021 3:30 am

The migration is getting complicated indeed. The site is still offline until my former colleagues find a solution, but they're aiming at it not being discontinued (as it'd definitely feel like a huge loss to us in terms of content lost) and they have an internal backup in the worst case (though it's a few months old).

Thanks for the link in any case ! I did see the effects in the site's stats !

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Aunt Peg
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Re: French DVD & Blu-ray Recommendations

#107 Post by Aunt Peg » Wed Apr 07, 2021 5:58 am

Martin Provost's How to Be a Good Wife (2020) has been released on DVD only in Australia. Needles to say there are English subtitles.

As far as I know there is no other physical media release with English subtitles to date.

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swo17
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Re: French DVD & Blu-ray Recommendations

#108 Post by swo17 » Wed Apr 07, 2021 6:45 am

Image

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DarkImbecile
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Re: French DVD & Blu-ray Recommendations

#109 Post by DarkImbecile » Wed Apr 07, 2021 1:31 pm

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tenia
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Re: French DVD & Blu-ray Recommendations

#110 Post by tenia » Wed Apr 21, 2021 2:29 pm

I'll be covering within the next few days the April releases of Coin de mire, which includes 5 new 4K restorations : Fanfan la tulipe, Brelan d'as, Les grandes manoeuvres, La poudre d'escampette et Les granges brûlées (the 6th title, Souvenirs perdus, is from a HD master, which looks very nice though).
Here is already the review for Les granges brûlées, in French but with HD screenshots.

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L.A.
Joined: Thu May 28, 2009 7:33 am
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Re: French DVD & Blu-ray Recommendations

#111 Post by L.A. » Sun May 09, 2021 8:42 am


djvaso
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Re: French DVD & Blu-ray Recommendations

#112 Post by djvaso » Mon May 10, 2021 9:38 am

L.A. wrote:
Sun May 09, 2021 8:42 am
La Tragédie impériale / Rasputin (Marcel L'Herbier, 1937)

When did this come out?
In February 2020.

Stefan Andersson
Joined: Thu Nov 15, 2007 1:02 am

Re: French DVD & Blu-ray Recommendations

#113 Post by Stefan Andersson » Fri Jun 04, 2021 6:28 pm

"Queimada" announced for Bluray and DVD in France, from Rimini Editions, distributed by Arcadès. Contains both the 112m. version (French & English dub, I assume VOST( = Version originale sous-titré en francais) indicates the English dub), and the 132m. version, Italian dub, with French subs. But dvdfr.com is not always correct on info about subs. Best to wait for disc reviews:
https://www.dvdfr.com/dvd/f168607-queimada.html

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furbicide
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Re: French DVD & Blu-ray Recommendations

#114 Post by furbicide » Sat Jun 12, 2021 7:43 pm

This new Häxan blu-ray from Potemkine – man, if I could speak French, let me tell you…

https://store.potemkine.fr/dvd/2000000057989-haxan/

pistolwink
Joined: Thu Dec 12, 2013 3:07 am

Re: French DVD & Blu-ray Recommendations

#115 Post by pistolwink » Tue Jun 15, 2021 7:06 pm

[]
Last edited by pistolwink on Sat Aug 14, 2021 4:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Stefan Andersson
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Re: French DVD & Blu-ray Recommendations

#116 Post by Stefan Andersson » Sun Jun 20, 2021 2:53 pm

Tests of French blu discs of Robert Hossein´s "Le goût de la violence" (1961), restored in 2016, and James Foley´s "After Dark My Sweet":
https://testsbluray.com/2021/06/20/test ... -violence/
https://testsbluray.com/2021/06/20/test ... -my-sweet/

After Dark My Sweet has optional French subs. Region B.
Le goût de la violence has a French audio track and French subs. The B/W image seems to be lightly colored. Regions ABC. Update: According to the ImdB, this is an European western about Latin American guerrillas fighting a dictatorial government.

Also, Louis Jouvet and Daniel Gélin in "Une histoire d´amour" (1951):
https://testsbluray.com/2021/06/19/test ... re-damour/
Regions ABC, French HOH subs only.
Last edited by Stefan Andersson on Mon Jun 21, 2021 6:54 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Adam X
Joined: Thu Apr 16, 2009 5:04 am

Re: French DVD & Blu-ray Recommendations

#117 Post by Adam X » Mon Jun 21, 2021 1:26 am

Thanks Stefan. It’s been a while since I watched it, but I imagine while dated, After Dark, My Sweet’d be from a more recent master than the US DVD (hopefully)?

Also, can someone say (tenia?), is the interview in english? Nice to finally have something extra to go with Foley’s film.

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tenia
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Re: French DVD & Blu-ray Recommendations

#118 Post by tenia » Mon Jun 21, 2021 5:21 am

I'd need to double check since it's been a few weeks since I had a look at this extra but I believe it's in English with French subs.
The master is OK though probably not new. It has a bit of EE, mostly visible when the shots make it more visible so it's not too intrusive. Honestly it's quite OK for a BD. I gave it 8 out of 10 on PQ, could have been 7.5 but that's about this kind of quality. Let's say upper end of pre-existing HD masters.

Le gout de la violence indeed has a colored B&W, possibly from the encode, but it's not pure B&W anyway.

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Adam X
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Re: French DVD & Blu-ray Recommendations

#119 Post by Adam X » Mon Jun 21, 2021 6:14 pm

Thanks for that, tenia. Now I just need to find a place that’ll ship it to Australia (not that common since we’ve been living with this pandemic)!

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furbicide
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Re: French DVD & Blu-ray Recommendations

#120 Post by furbicide » Mon Jun 21, 2021 8:08 pm

Adam, as an Australian customer I usually find FNAC pretty reliable for French discs (just purchased the two new Potemkine Rivette releases through them). Here's their listing for the Foley film:

https://www.fnac.com/a15788346/After-Da ... ic-Blu-ray

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Adam X
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Re: French DVD & Blu-ray Recommendations

#121 Post by Adam X » Mon Jun 21, 2021 10:42 pm

Thanks for that, though I was thinking more that a number of countries haven’t been shipping here. So is France doing so now, as far as you know?

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Aunt Peg
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Re: French DVD & Blu-ray Recommendations

#122 Post by Aunt Peg » Tue Jun 22, 2021 9:55 am

FNAC as far as I know is still shipping to Australia but the shipping costs are extremely high. Always have been.

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Adam X
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Re: French DVD & Blu-ray Recommendations

#123 Post by Adam X » Tue Jun 22, 2021 8:41 pm

Thanks, Aunt Peg. Might give them a go.

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furbicide
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Re: French DVD & Blu-ray Recommendations

#124 Post by furbicide » Wed Jun 23, 2021 1:45 am

Adam X wrote:
Mon Jun 21, 2021 10:42 pm
Thanks for that, though I was thinking more that a number of countries haven’t been shipping here. So is France doing so now, as far as you know?
Yep, just ordered from them a few weeks ago. Shipping was expensive (23 euros, or A$37, for two discs), but I think that's the best I could find. Sometimes it pays to go through the sites themselves – Re:voir, for instance (which I've ordered from plenty of times), only charges 6 euros for shipping to Australia, which is astoundingly good. Potemkine on the other hand is even pricier than FNAC (25 euros shipping for a single disc on their site).

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Adam X
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Re: French DVD & Blu-ray Recommendations

#125 Post by Adam X » Wed Jun 23, 2021 6:23 pm

Thanks furbicide. I guess, given as recent as a few months ago, Germany & Austria were still not shipping here, I assumed France would be the same.

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