Betty Blue
(1986/Jean-Jacques Beineix Collection/Cinema Libre DVD)
Picture:
C Sound: C+ Extras: C Film: C+
Give or
take Diva, Betty Blue is the best-known film so far in the career of Director
Jean-Jacques Beineix. It is also the
final film of his to be issued (or reissued, especially in this case) by Cinema
Libre as part of their Jean-Jacques Beineix Collection. Because of the film’s sexuality and other
situations, especially arriving in the Neo-Conservative 1980s, several editions
that have been cut down or otherwise censored have surface don every home video
format since VHS & Beta. Uncut
import editions would go for high prices and in the case of a 12” LaserDisc
from Japan, I recall someone getting said uncut copy only for it still offering censored shots (the title
character’s frontal nudity shot blurred only at the most erotic point before
that became common in Music Videos).
As far as
I can tell, this full-length 185-minutes-long DVD is the whole film as intended
by the director. No nudity seems to be
cut out or interfered with, no shots look phony or like any panning or scanning
to cover up nudity (like the infamous R-rated Deep Throat, reviewed elsewhere on this site) has been
employed. The tale of how the title
character (Béatrice Dalle, whose life since has been as wild) becomes the wild
lover of handyman and would-be writer Zorg (Jean-Hughes Anglade) in a very
sexually intense and seemingly healthy relationship. However, Betty has serious emotional issues
that become more and more severe.
Zorg
hangs in there with her and becomes as wild, but can their relationship take it
and moving more swiftly into a fast lane kind of life, can they survive. The actions become more irresponsible (the
film almost becomes a road movie of sorts) as they become closer. But this can only last so long before
something is going to give way.
At any
length, I never thought the film was as great as so many of its fans and
supporters thought it was, though the leads have some chemistry and this longer
cut has the advantage of more story and character development the other cuts
lacked. Key actors like Dominique Pinon
who had their roles entirely cut out of shorter versions, is here. In this form, it is a better film, yet it
cannot begin to address Betty’s condition to the point that it trivializes her
mental health troubles (is she multiple personality, psychopath, manic
depressive, etc.) and is very long at over three hours. You had better like these characters or
forget it. Some scenes do work nicely,
but not enough to justify any version of the film. As well, more than a good portion of it we
have seen before in better films.
All in
all, if you have to see any version of it, see this one and skip the previous
editions. At least in this way, you can
judge for yourself. However, for the
most part, this is an acquired taste and you have to leave at least part of
your brain at the door to appreciate it.
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.85 X 1 image is from what looks like a very good
print and certainly the best source of this film I have ever seen, yet very
sadly, there is edge enhancement, aliasing errors and color limits that
sabotage the fine work of Director of Photography Jean-Francois Robin, A.F.C. (Nelly
& Monsieur Arnaud), that should look much better when Blu-ray is finally
issued. The Dolby Digital 2.0 French
sound is Stereo at best, but has no surrounds and shows its age. Gabriel Yared’s helps this film out in more
ways than I remembered.
Extras
include stills, trailers and 18+ minutes of Tim Rhys of MovieMaker Magazine
talking with Beineix about the film.
For more
on Beineix’s films, try these links:
Diva
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/7129/Diva+(1981/Meridian+Collection/Lionsg
Moon In The Gutter
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/9154/Moon+In+The+Gutter+(1983/Cinema
IP5 + Moral Transfer
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/9069/IP5+(aka+IP5:+The+Island+Of+Pachy
Locked-In Syndrome
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/8813/Jean-Jacques+Beineix+Collection:+Loc
- Nicholas Sheffo
