- Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1
- Video Codec:
- Resolution: 1080p/24
- Audio Codec: French LPCM 2.0 Mono
- Subtitles: English
- Classification: PG
- Region: B (Region-Locked)
- Discs: 1
- Studio: (Park Circus)
- Blu-ray Release Date: April 4, 2011
- RRP: £19.99
[amazon-product align=”right” region=”uk” tracking_id=”bluraydefinit-21″]B004PG9FXI[/amazon-product]
Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.co.uk
Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.com
Overall
[Rating:3.5/5]
The Film
[Rating:4/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:3/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:1/5]
Click thumbnails for high-resolution 1920X1080p screen captures
(Screen captures are lightly compressed with lossy JPEG thus are meant as a general representation of the content and do not fully reveal the capabilities of the Blu-ray format)
The Film
[Rating:4/5]
Here is the 1932 Jean Renoir classic that spawned the 1986 U.S. Remake, Down and Out in Beverly Hills, starring Nick Nolte, Bette Midler, and Richard Dreyfuss. Not released in the United States until 1967 when it arrived with much critical praise, Boudu Saved from Drowning is a comedy of manners that is also a commentary on social status and hypocrisies.
When a vagrant named Boudu (played by Michael Simon, who also produced the film) tries to drown himself in the Seine, he is rescued by the bourgeois bookstore owner Édouard Lestingois (Charles Granval). Monsieur Lestingois takes Boudu into his home where the vagrant’s boorish behavior does nothing but stir up trouble and cause Lestingois’ wife Emma (Marcelle Hainia) and maid Chloë (Sévérine Lerczinska) to want him out. But Boudu’s fortunes soon change and he finds himself both seducing Emma, winning the lottery, and getting married to the money-chasing Chloë. It’s all too much to take for the hypocritical Édouard who was carrying on his own affair with Chloë and Boudu finds himself longing for his carefree vagrant life as well.
Funny, witty, and stingingly honest, Renoir’s Boudu saved from Drowning is one of the earliest classics of comedic satire and social commentary.
Video Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Boudu looks pretty darn good for a film from 1932. Source damage is amazingly extremely limited, yet film grain is still present, but not too overwhelming. Detail can become a bit soft, but that has more to do with the equipment of the day than the transfer.
Audio Quality
[Rating:3/5]
Audio is a LPCM 2.0 Mono track which is free from clipping although hiss can be heard and dialogue does tend to drift a bit too much in level. Otherwise, it is good for what it is, given its age.
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:1/5]
Supplements are very limited on this release, consisting only of the theatrical trailer and a photo gallery.
The Definitive Word
Overall:
[Rating:3.5/5]
They don’t make simple yet cutting and truthful comedies like this anymore. Boudu was probably a bit ahead of its time, especially for U.S. Audiences, which is why it took over two decades to make it to our shores and another two for a remake to be churned out. If you like Down and Out in Beverly Hills, then you owe it to yourself to see this much more finessed original by Renoir.
Additional Screen Captures
–
[amazon-product align=”right” region=”uk” tracking_id=”bluraydefinit-21″]B004PG9FXI[/amazon-product]
Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.co.uk
Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.com
Overall
[Rating:3.5/5]
The Film
[Rating:4/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:3/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:1/5]
Join the Discussion on Our Forum