La vérité – The Criterion Collection (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: France, 1960
Director: Henri-Georges Clouzot
Writers: Henri-Georges Clouzot, Simone Drieu, Michèle Perrein, Jérôme Géronimi, Christiane Rochefort, Véra Clouzot
Cast: Brigitte Bardot, Paul Meurisse, Charles Vanel, Sami Frey, Marie-José Nat, Jean-Loup Reynold, André Oumansky, Claude Berri, Jacques Perrin, Barbara Sommers

Release Date: February 19th, 2019
Approximate Running Time: 128 Minutes 20 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: LPCM Mono French
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region A
Retail Price: $39.95

"Beautiful, troubled Dominique Marceau (Brigitte Bardot) came to bohemian Paris to escape the suffocation of provincial life, only to wind up in a courtroom, accused of a terrible crime: the murder of her lover (Sami Frey). As the trial commences and the lawyers begin tangling over Dominique’s fate, Henri-Georges Clouzot’s Oscar-nominated La vérité delves into her past, reconstructing her struggle to find a foothold in the city. What emerges is a nuanced portrait of an impulsive young woman misunderstood and mistreated by those around her, and of her ultimately tragic affair with an up-and-coming conductor." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "This new 4K restoration by Sony Pictures Entertainment in partnership with The Film Foundation and RT Features was undertaken from the 35mm original camera negative and a 35mm fine-grain master positive. Inspection, repair, 4K scanning, and digital image restoration were performed by L'immagine Ritrovata in Bologna, Italy. Conforming, color grading, and additional 4K scanning and image restoration were performed at Deluxe in Culver City, California."

La verité comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 45.8 GB

Feature: 33.7 GB

The source looks excellent; image clarity, contrast, black levels, and compression are solid, and the image retains an organic look.

Audio: 5/5

This release comes with one audio option, a LPCM mono mix in French with removable English subtitles. The audio sounds excellent; dialog always comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced, and ambient sounds are well-represented.

Extras:

Extras for this release include an archival interview with actor Brigitte Bardot from the 1982 documentary Brigitte Bardot telle qu’elle (19 minutes 44 seconds, Dolby Digital mono French with removable English subtitles), an archival interview from interview from 1960 with director Henri-Georges Clouzot (4 minutes 41 seconds, Dolby Digital mono French with removable English subtitles), an archival documentary about Henri-Georges Clouzot titled Le scandale Clouzot (62 minutes 35 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo French with removable English subtitles), and a 12-page booklet with cast & crew information, an essay titled Women on Trial written by Ginette Vincendeau,  and information about the transfer.

Summary:

Henri-Georges Clouzot directed La verité. He is also known for directing Quai des Orfèvres, The Wages of Fear, Diabolique, and Woman in Chains.

A free-spirited young-woman is put on trial, she narrowly survived a suicide attempt after killing her lover.

The narrative's main focal point is whether it was a crime of passion or premeditated. The narrative primarily takes place in two places: inside of the courtroom and in flashbacks that fill in the details about the protagonist and the events leading up to her killing her lover. Though the flashbacks provide critical information about the who and the whys, that is not to say that the courtroom moments are not equally as powerful.

The narrative is well-crafted; it does a superb job when it comes to revealing information about the protagonist. The narrative does an excellent job drawing you in and building momentum, ensuring there are no issues when it comes to pacing. Another strength of the narrative is how effectively it blends courtroom moments with flashbacks.

The main draw of La vérité is Brigitte Bardot (Contempt) in the role of the protagonist, Dominique. Though there are moments in La vérité that play into Brigitte Bardot’s sexy side, her performance, especially the last 25 minutes, is arguably her best. She does a phenomenal job capturing her character's ups and downs, making Dominique's fate all the more tragic. That said, when it comes to the rest of the performances, they all elevate the story that unfolds.

The other creative force behind La vérité is its director, Henri-Georges Clouzot, whose direction is once again exemplary. Throughout his career he had a knack for creating visually arresting moments, and La vérité is overflowing with them. Also, La vérité was a pivotal film for Henri-Georges Clouzot, who would only complete one more film, Woman in Chains. Ultimately, La verité is an extraordinary film that brings together two of French cinema’s most iconic figures.

La vérité gets an exceptional release from The Criterion Collection that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and insightful extras, highly recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer