Pickpocket 1959 release date11/21/2023 It is not disruptive.Ī fine audio transfer in Dolby Digital 2.0. The disc is RSDL-formatted with the layer change placed at 68:51 during a fade to black. These are in clear white font and all of the dialogue seems to be translated. At times there seems to be some slight emulsion damage, with very faint white splotches making some of the darker portions of the screen image flicker slightly. There is some mild aliasing at times, but so infrequently so as not be distracting. There is a good range of greys, but black levels are slightly lacking in richness. The transfer is bright and has good contrast. It has been taken from print material in very good condition, very sharp and clear. This transfer emanates from the French Region 2 release by Mk2. The film is presented in a full-frame format of 1.33:1, close to the original 1.37:1, and of course is not 16x9 enhanced. Again, Áccent Entertainment proves that it is in the vanguard of DVD distributors in Australia, releasing classic films in quality editions.ĭon't wish to see plot synopses in the future? Change your configuration. I have managed to see ten of Bresson's thirteen features, but eight of these have been in a cinema - I believe none of his films saw the light of day on VHS in this country. One of the great films of the French cinema of the 1950s (not its best decade) this is a genuine classic, and it is remarkable that it has had a DVD release in Australia. Given the artificial nature of the performances it is a credit to the director's cinematic sense that this film is so compelling. The film is not as austere and cynical as his films are often characterised, with an ending that is remarkably upbeat for Bresson, and which was borrowed for Paul Schrader's American Gigolo. The latter often occur off screen, such as footsteps approaching the pickpocket's garret. The sensuality of the pickpocket's chosen career is palpable, while much of the narrative (which bears a strong similarity to Crime and Punishment) is driven through visual and auditory cues. Pickpocket is generally acknowledged as Bresson's masterpiece. The film is stripped of almost all non-subjective material - if something is not seen or experienced by Michel, then it is not shown to the audience. The intention of all this seems to have been to force the audience to impose their own feelings and reactions on the characters, to stir their imagination in the same way that a reader responds to a novel. There is little inflection to the voices, characters often have no expression on their faces and look down a lot. The acting styles in a Bresson film are quite unlike those in the movies of any other director. Bresson's method was to use people who could easily be moulded to give the sort of performance that he demanded and who would not know how to make themselves give a theatrical style of performance on screen. He even used a donkey as the leading character in one movie. Some of the actors he used would not be seen again, and some would go on to film careers, most notably Dominique Sanda. He even started referring to them as "interpreters" and later as "models". His early movies featured name actors, but he soon decided that his goals would be achieved using non-actors, and after Diary of a Country Priest in 1951 all of the actors would be non-professionals. He was 98 and had not made a film for 16 years.īetween his first film as a director in 1934 and his last in 1983 he produced a grand total of 13 features and a short. Kubrick's demise was well reported across the world, but Bresson passed with little fanfare, at least outside his native France. One of course was Stanley Kubrick, the other Robert Bresson. The year 1999 saw the death of two filmmakers renowned for working outside the mainstream, and releasing meticulously crafted films at rare intervals. He is heading for disaster or redemption, or perhaps both. But his own feelings are tied up in his exhilaration at the crimes he commits and the sense of power that it gives him. When his mother dies Michel falls in with another pickpocket, who teaches him the tricks of the trade and they work together fleecing people at the railway station.Īt the same time, he senses an attraction to Jeanne, the girl who nursed his mother in her final illness. At a racetrack he is taken in by detectives, but they do not have enough evidence to charge him. He obtains pleasure from the act of stealing and from the danger it places him in. He lives in a tiny garret, estranged from his dying mother. Michel is a pickpocket, not for financial reasons but because he is driven to it. If you create a user account, you can add your own review of this DVDįeaturette- Documentary - Pickpocket's Models
0 Comments
Leave a Reply.AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |