The Immortal Story - The Criterion Collection (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: France, 1968
Director: Orson Welles
Writers: Orson Welles, Louise de Vilmorin
Cast: Jeanne Moreau, Orson Welles, Roger Coggio, Norman Eshley, Fernando Rey

Release Date: August 30th, 2016
Approximate Running Times: 58 Minutes (English Version), 50 Minutes 57 seconds (French Version)
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC (Both Versions)
Rating: NR
Sound: LPCM Mono English (English Version), LPCM Mono French (French Version)
Subtitles: English SDH (English Version), English (French Version)
Region Coding: Region A
Retail Price: $39.95

"Orson Welles stars as a wealthy merchant in nineteenth-century Macao, who becomes obsessed with bringing to life an oft-related anecdote about a rich man who gives a poor sailor a small sum of money to impregnate his wife." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.5/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "New, restored 4K digital transfer of the English-language version of the film.

This new digital transfer was created in 4K resolution from the 35 mm original camera negative and a 35 mm interpositive. Restoration was undertaken in 2K resolution at Eclair | Groupe Ymagis by Gaumont, with the support of the CNC."

The Immortal Story comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 44.9 GB

Feature: 16 GB (English Version), 14.1 GB (French Version)

The sources used for these transfers are in excellent shape. Colors are nicely saturated, flesh tones look healthy, image clarity is solid, black levels and compression are strong, and grain remains intact.

Audio: 4/5 (LPCM Mono English, LPCM Mono French)

The English version comes with one audio option, a LPCM mono mix in English with removable English SDH subtitles. The French version comes with one audio option, a LPCM mono mix in French with removable English subtitles. Both audio tracks sound clear and balanced. It should be noted that this film was shot without sound, and the soundtrack was created in post-production. And because of this, things tend to sound rather limited.

Extras:

Extras for this release include an archival French documentary from 1968 titled Portrait of Orson Welles (42 minutes 53 seconds, Dolby Digital mono French and English with removable English subtitles), interview with actor Norman Eshley (14 minutes 17 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with director of photography Willy Kurant (15 minutes, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles) and interview with Orson Welles scholar François Thomas (25 minutes 14 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo French with removable English subtitles), an audio commentary with film scholar Adrian Martin, and a ten-page leaflet with cast & crew information, an essay about the film titled Divas and Dandies written by Johnathan Rosenbaum and information about the transfer.

Summary:

The Immortal Story was co-written and directed by Orson Welles, a filmmaker who quickly rose to prominence with his first feature film, Citizen Kane, and just as quickly was sent into exile as a director after his second film, The Magnificent Ambersons. With the exception of a few films, he spent the majority of his directing career working outside of Hollywood. 

The Immortal Story takes place during the 19th century in the Portuguese colony of Macao. Of course, the production design is impeccable, as Orson Welles was always someone who paid great attention to detail. Also, the meticulously constructed narrative keeps things moving along at a brisk pace. And when it comes to the characters, they are well-defined personas that further bolster the story at hand.

The pitch-perfect performances from The Immortal Story's cast are without a doubt its most enduring asset. The most memorable performance came from Norman Eshley (See No Evil) in the role of the sailor. After all, it is his character that is given the least to work with. Another performance of note is Jeanne Moreau (The Bride Wore Black) in the role of Virginie Ducrot. It is her character that has been hired to portray the wife in the story that the wealthy man is trying to recreate and bring to life.

Besides delivering another stoic performance, Orson Welles' direction creates an utterly tangible world that is filled with a tremendous amount of atmosphere. And though there are several moments throughout this film that remind us just how extraordinary a filmmaker Orson Welles was, the moment that stands out most visually is the scene where the wife character and the sailor make love in a bed with curtains partially obscuring them from the outside world. This scene is easily among the best moments Orson Welles has ever shot. He frames every inch of Jeanne Moreau's naked flesh with extreme precision and care.

For a film that originally began its life as a television project, The Immortal Story is yet another classic example from Orson Welles where the sum of the parts far exceeds the limited resources that he had to work with.

The Immortal Story gets a first-rate release from The Criterion Collection that comes with a solid audio/video presentation, two versions of the film, and a wealth of informative extras, highly recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer