4 by Agnes Varda [4 Discs] [Criterion Collection]

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

Filmmaker Agnes Varda was one of the key precursors to the French New Wave, both in her daring (self-financing her first feature, La Pointe Courte, on a shoestring with no guarantee of distribution) and in her technique (embracing a bold but simple visual style and a willingness to experiment with both time, rhythm and the conventional narrative structure), and the fact that she was a woman at a time when there were few female directors in Europe makes her accomplishments all the more remarkable. While Varda is recognized as a major figure in French cinema, a relatively small number of her films have received decent distribution in the United States, but once again the Criterion Collection has stepped forward to give a deserving artist their due and Four By Agnes Varda is a DVD box set that presents a quartet of her key dramatic features in superb quality. While Criterion had previously released discs of Cleo From 5 to 7 and Vagabond, both films have been given an upgrade for this set, and La Pointe Courte and Le Bonheur receive their North American DVD premiere in this package. La Pointe Courte has been transferred to disc in its original full-frame aspect ratio of 1.33:1, while the other three movies have been given widescreen transfers, letterboxed at 1.66:1 on conventional televisions and enhanced for anamorphic playback on 16:9 monitors, framed in their preferred ratio. The visual quality of all four films is superb here, with the original elements looking practically flawless, though the painterly use of color in Le Bonheur and Vagabond makes them all the more impressive over their black-and-white siblings. (Varda personally approved the transfers for all four films except La Pointe Courte.) The audio for the four features has been mastered in Dolby Digital Mono, and the results are crisp, well-detailed and impressive given their age. All four films are in French, with optional English language subtitles. A wide variety of relevant bonus materials have been included on all four discs. La Pointe Courte features a recent interview with Varda in which she talks about the making of the film, and a 1964 segment from the French television program Cineastes de nore Temps in which she looks back on the challenges of making her first few films. Cleo from 7 to 9 is jam-packed with extras, most notably Remembrances, a documentary on the production of the movie in which Varda and several members of the cast are reunited in the locations where their scenes were shot. Also on board are highlights from a French television special starring Madonna in which she talks with Varda about the film; a short film that traces Cleo's path through Paris in the present day; Les Fiances du pont Macdonald, a short comic film seen in a sequence in the sequence in the movie theater (and stars noted funnyman Jean-Luc Godard); L'opera Mouffe, a 1958 short directed by Varda; a gallery of art by Hans Baldung Grien that's featured in the movie; and the picture's original theatrical trailer. Le Bonheur also gets a healthy supply of bonus material, including five recent documentary shorts by Varda in which the film's leading ladies discuss their work on the picture, four intellectuals take part in a round-table discussion of the film and the issue of happiness; actor Jean-Claud Drouunot revisits the village where the movie was shot and the locals who took part in the production; and two brief meditations on how people perceive happiness. The disc also contains a 1964 television report on the making of Le Bonheur, a 1998 interview with Varda, a 1958 short by Varda profiling the Cote d'Azur, and the movie's original trailer. And finally, Vagabond includes three shorts on the making of the film from Varda, in which she talks with leading actress Sandrine Bonnaire, supporting player Marthe Jarnais, and composer Joanna Bruzdowicz; also featured is a 1986 radio interview with Varda and author Nathalie Sarraute, and the original theatrical trailer for Vagabond. Accompanying this box set is a perfect-bound book which includes credits for all four films, thoughts from Varda on each feature, and thoughtful essays from Chris Darke, Adrian Martin, Amy Taubin and Ginette Vincendeau. Given the size of Agnes Varda's body of work, this box set isn't quite expansive enough to be a truly definitive look at her career, but there simply isn't a better introduction to this filmmakers oeuvre available in North America; these are four landmark films that have been given a beautiful presentation on disc, and anyone with a passion for European cinema owes it to themselves to add this to their personal library. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 4
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 (Pre-1954 Standard), 1.66:1 (Vistavision)
• Audio: Dolby Digital Mono
• Encoding: NTSC
• Screen: Black and White
• Subtitle: English
• Features:
  • New, restored digital transfers
  • Three short flms by Varda: L'opéra Mouffe (1958), Du Côté de la Côte (1958), and Les Fiancés du Pont Macdonald (1961)
  • On La Pointe Courte; new video interview with Varda; excerpts from a 1964 episode of television series Cinéastes de Notre Temps, in which Varda discusses her early careeer
  • On Cléo from 5 to 7: documentary from 2005 on the making of the film; 2005 short film retracing Cléo's steps through Paris; Varda speaking with Madonna about the film in 1993
  • On Le Bonheur: 2006 featurettes with the three actors from the film; discussion about the film from 2006 between four intellectuals; footage of Varda on set; 1998 interview with Varda
  • On Vagabond: 2003 documentary on the making of the film; conversation from 2003 between Varda and composer Joanna Bruzdowicz; 1986 radio interview with Varda and writer Nathalie Sarraunte, who inspired the film
  • Theatrical trailers
  • Plus: new essays by Chris Darke, Adrian Martin, Amy Taubín, and Ginette Vincendeau, as well as a foreward by Varda on each film

AWARDS

• Berlin International Film Festival

•     Won Silver Bear - Special Jury Prize - 1965

• French Academy of Cinema

•     Won Best Actress - 1985 (Sandrine Bonnaire)

• French Film Critics Circle

•     Won Prix Louis-Delluc - 1964 (Agnès Varda)

• Los Angeles Film Critics Association

•     Won Best Actress - 1985 (Sandrine Bonnaire)
•     Won Best Foreign Film - 1985

• Telluride Film Festival

•     Film Presented - 1977

• Venice International Film Festival

•     Won Golden Lion - 1985 (Agnès Varda)

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Sandrine Bonnaire - Mona
       Jean-Claude Drouot - Francois
       Corinne Marchand - Cléo
       Silvia Monfort
       Antoine Bourseiller - Antoine
       Claire Drouot - Therese
       Macha Meril - Madame Landier
       Philippe Noiret
       Marie-France Boyer - Emilie
       Dominique Davray - Angele
       Stéphane Freiss - Jean-Pierre
       Dorothée Blanc - Dorothee
       Laurence Cortadellas - Eliane
       Sandrine Drouot - Gisou
       Yolande Moreau - Yolande
       Olivier Drouot - Pierrot
       Marthe Jarnias - Tante Lydie
       Michel Legrand - Bob, the Pianist

• Director:

  Agnès Varda

• Producer:

  Mag Bodard, Georges de Beauregard, Oury Milshtein

• Screenwriter:

  Agnès Varda

• Cinematographer:

  Claude Beausoleil, Patrick Blossier, Jean Rabier

• Composer (Music Score):

  Joanna Bruzdowicz, Michel Legrand

• Featured Music:

  Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

• Editor:

  Patricia Mazuy, Alain Resnais, Rose Sokol, Agnès Varda, Janine Verneau

• Production Designer:

  Jean-François Adam, Edith Tertza

• Art Director:

  Bernard Evein, Hubert Monloup

REVIEWS:

• A study in time, memory and compassion, Agnès Varda's Vagabond (Sans Toit Ni Loi) opens with the death of its main character, the perpetual drifter Mona (Sandrine Bonnaire), and proceeds to piece together the events of her life until the fatal moment. Though there are elements of mock-documentary and even murder mystery in the film, Varda uses the devices primarily to expose their inadequacies in "investigating" her subject. Ultimately, the omnipresent, objective viewpoint of the director's camera tells us more about Mona's disposessed, inert lifestyle than any of the interviews. Despite its grim outcome, the film doesn't wield any particular feminist or political agenda. As with much of Varda's work, the approach is more personal-philosophical: the director seems to be suggesting that the the romantic ideal of a free spirit is a farce; instead, the unlimited freedoms of modern culture leave aimless, displaced young people like Mona callous and emotionally void. Bonnaire has the ability to be captivating in her nihilism; without her, Varda's elliptical structure might have been merely frustrating. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
• Writer/director {$Agnes Varda}'s {#Cléo de 5 à 7} is one of the more unassuming works in the French New Wave -- it has neither the historical gravity of, say, {$Alain Resnais}'s {#Hiroshima Mon Amour} nor the shock value of {$Jean-Luc Godard}'s {#À Bout de Souffle} -- but in its own quiet way, it offers offers a meticulous record of one woman's capacity to observe, dream, and feel. In near real-time, we follow pop singer Cléo ({$Corrine Marchand}) as she waits for her doctor's verdict on a cancer test; though the subject matter is heart-rending, {$Varda}'s athletic direction prevents the film from becoming a cloying weepie. In true New Wave fashion, she incorporates any technique that suits her needs: a meandering soundtrack that picks up ancillary characters' conversations; subjective point-of-view shots; titles that separate the film into "chapters"; and documentary-style snatches of street life. Instead of cluttering the film, {$Varda}'s flourishes have a breezy, existential quality that underscores Cléo's impending news without trivializing her predicament. {$Marchand} aids the director immensely; her intuitive performance suggests a brainier {$Marilyn Monroe} afflicted with spiritual malaise. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
• A study in time, memory and compassion, {$Agnès Varda}'s {#Vagabond} ({#Sans Toit Ni Loi}) opens with the death of its main character, the perpetual drifter Mona ({$Sandrine Bonnaire}), and proceeds to piece together the events of her life until the fatal moment. Though there are elements of mock-documentary and even murder mystery in the film, {$Varda} uses the devices primarily to expose their inadequacies in "investigating" her subject. Ultimately, the omnipresent, objective viewpoint of the director's camera tells us more about Mona's disposessed, inert lifestyle than any of the interviews. Despite its grim outcome, the film doesn't wield any particular feminist or political agenda. As with much of {$Varda}'s work, the approach is more personal-philosophical: the director seems to be suggesting that the the romantic ideal of a free spirit is a farce; instead, the unlimited freedoms of modern culture leave aimless, displaced young people like Mona callous and emotionally void. {$Bonnaire} has the ability to be captivating in her nihilism; without her, {$Varda}'s elliptical structure might have been merely frustrating. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
• Writer/director Agnes Varda's Cléo de 5 à 7 is one of the more unassuming works in the French New Wave -- it has neither the historical gravity of, say, Alain Resnais's Hiroshima Mon Amour nor the shock value of Jean-Luc Godard's À Bout de Souffle -- but in its own quiet way, it offers offers a meticulous record of one woman's capacity to observe, dream, and feel. In near real-time, we follow pop singer Cléo (Corrine Marchand) as she waits for her doctor's verdict on a cancer test; though the subject matter is heart-rending, Varda's athletic direction prevents the film from becoming a cloying weepie. In true New Wave fashion, she incorporates any technique that suits her needs: a meandering soundtrack that picks up ancillary characters' conversations; subjective point-of-view shots; titles that separate the film into "chapters"; and documentary-style snatches of street life. Instead of cluttering the film, Varda's flourishes have a breezy, existential quality that underscores Cléo's impending news without trivializing her predicament. Marchand aids the director immensely; her intuitive performance suggests a brainier Marilyn Monroe afflicted with spiritual malaise. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide

CUSTOMER REVIEWS: