French Rohmer L'Ancien et le moderne boxset

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Anonymous · #1 Post by **Anonymous** » Sun Jun 04, 2006 1:27 pm

http://www.amazon.fr/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0001FXACO/

Has anyone got this?

It contains:

Le Signe du lion / La Marquise d'O (Édition 2 DVD) / Perceval le Gallois / Quatre aventures de Reinette et Mirabelle / Les Rendez-vous de Paris / L'Arbre, le maire et la médiathèque

which means it would go nicely with the Arrow set and the forthcoming Criterion Moral Tales

What are the transfers like? Does it have English subtitles?

(And also, has anyone seen the last one, The Tree, The Mayor and the Mediatheque ? is it good?)

kieslowski_67 · #2 Post by **kieslowski_67** » Sun Jun 04, 2006 7:56 pm

I have it. Unfortunately it does not feature English subtitles. The transfer quality is obviously better than the R1 Fox Lorber release, but not much better by leaps and bounds.

It is a nice complimentary box set to French R2's "6 moral tales", "Comedies and Proverbs", and "Four seasons" (none of these have English subtitles). And of course, you can most definitely replace the French box set with the upcoming Criterion box set since the Criterion release will most likely be the definitive version of the moral tales.

About "The Tree, The Mayor and the Mediatheque": It was decent, but pretty average Rohmer. Among the 4 contemporary pieces in the box set, my favorite is "Les Rendez-vous de Paris" that features 3 beautifully realized short stories. Each one is thought provoking and features some nice twists (typical Rohmer), especially the first story.

brunosh · #3 Post by **brunosh** » Mon Jun 05, 2006 5:39 am

kieslowski_67 wrote:About "The Tree, The Mayor and the Mediatheque": It was decent, but pretty average Rohmer. Among the 4 contemporary pieces in the box set, my favorite is "Les Rendez-vous de Paris" that features 3 beautifully realized short stories. Each one is thought provoking and features some nice twists (typical Rohmer), especially the first story.

I completely agree with this. If Rohmer can be described as combining lightness of touch with depth of characterisation, 'The Tree, The Mayor...', while pleasantly watchable, is both heavier and less deep than most of his films.

Anonymous · #4 Post by **Anonymous** » Mon Jun 05, 2006 6:39 am

Thanks for the information.

If Rohmer can be described as combining lightness of touch with depth of characterisation, 'The Tree, The Mayor...', while pleasantly watchable, is both heavier and less deep than most of his films.

Interesting. I know they have their fans, but I've always found similar feelings for earlier "heavier" but somehow less deep Rohmers - Marquise of O, Lady and the Duke. However, Triple Agent seemed closer to an intersection between the two styles.