Importing Larry Clark's Magnum Opus, Bully

There are other films called Bully, but this one from 2001 is the good one.  And there are plenty of other Larry Clark films, but this is the great one.  This has been high on my list of titles I've been dying to upgrade to HD since the blu-ray format debuted.  And given that this is an explicit, controversial indie film with some possibly tricky music rights issues, I was beginning to worry the day would never come.  But I guess Santa read my letters, because it finally came out this winter.
Kids is his most (in)famous work, but Bully is his masterpiece.  Larry Clark enters the world of true crime here, and it's a genre to which he's particularly suited.  His determination to document the grit and dark side of American youth adds authenticity and life to a true story that keeps him focused and driven, where his other films tend to meander.  The genre helps him and he helps the genre; it's a shame he doesn't make a ton more of these.  His casting, as always, is first rate.  Whether they're great actors or just naturally embodying their roles, everybody is exceptional in this, even the small roles.
That said, Clark's proclivities maybe steer him a little wrong.  I don't think it would be unfair to say Clark has a preoccupation with underage sex and drugs.  It can be charming (see his remake of Teenage Caveman), but it's always distracting.  Even before his films, his photography books were famous for that.  And this film does come off as over-sexed, especially in the first half.  And yes, these kids are supposed to be over-sexed.  The real girls had been involved in underage prostitution, one was a teenage mother married at seventeen, and the the fact that these kids are all wasting their lives in self indulgent behavior.  That's the point, and it's a good one.  But the constant leering camerawork just plays as exploitive, and when they're getting into stuff like dripping candle wax on each other's naked bodies, it starts to feel like late night Cinemax rather than reality.  It starts to hurt the film, but luckily as the plot kicks into gear it pulls Clark away from his nonsense and things get more and spell-bindingly dramatic: the advantage his other films lack.
Lions Gate released as a new release DVD in 2002.  In 2023, Studio Canal released it France as a BD/ DVD combo-pack.  I've seen some confusion online, because of how the DVD packaging labels their disc as the "Theatrical Version."  It's become pretty common for a film to have a theatrical version and  an uncut/ unrated version, leading some to worry that the DVD is cut.  In this case the theatrical version is the uncut version, and that's what's on both the Lions Gate and Studio Canal discs.  There was a cut down R-rated cut that cuts out a little of the sex, but both of these releases are completely uncut.
1) 2002 Lions Gate DVD; 2) 2023 SC DVD; 3) 2023 SC BD.
The jump in quality from DVD to BD isn't so dramatic because Lions Gate DVD, despite being old, is actually pretty good.  It's anamorphic widescreen, not interlaced, and seems to be using the same master as the new Studio Canal discs.  Just looking at the two DVDs, there's barely any difference at all.  The AR has been adjusted from 1.847:1 to exactly 1.85:1, but that's a virtually imperceptible difference of a couple pixels.  The colors are slightly improved, too... notice the sky in the first set of shots is truly blue on the SC disc, but has a reddish hue on the LG.  Then, of course, the actual jump to HD does give slightly sharper edges and you can make out tiny detail (compare the posters on the wall in the second set of shots) a little more clearly on the blu.  So it's a solid upgrade, but not an exciting/ impressive one, because again, the DVD was already pretty damn good.  On the other hand, this was shot on 35, and a 4k remaster could probably look even better, but this is not that.

And audio-wise, it's a bit of a trade off.  The DVD had a lossy 5.1 with optional English subtitles.  The BD has a lossless DTS-HD 2.0 with no English subtitles.  It also has a French dub and yes, fully removable French subtitles.
It's technically a trade-off in the extras department, too; but I would say Studio Canal thoroughly wins this round.  Lions Gate starts us off with some decent stuff, though, including about half an hour of on-set interview clips with Clark and the cast.  They're fine but pretty short and superficial.  There's also an isolated music track, a gallery (of the real people) and the trailer.  Oh, and an ad for the soundtrack.

Studio Canal, sadly, has none of that, not even the trailer.  It also has two features which might be nice for French audiences, but leaves us foreigners out in the cold: two interviews with French critics.  One is a nine minute intro, and then there's a longer, 40-minute interview with somebody else.  There are no subtitles or English-language options, though, so I have no idea what they're saying.
What puts SC's release back into the lead, though, is the hour long 'making of' documentary, which is actually pretty terrific.  There's lots of shaky, handheld footage on set, capturing the filming and questioning all the producers, which is already better than Lions Gate's interviews.  But then it goes further, interviewing cops and lawyers involved in the original case, getting their first-hand opinions of the real crime and its participants.  And then, more impressively still, things get really candid.  We see a fight on location between the actors that any normal 'making of' doc would cut out to protect everybody involved.  Cast members talk about their real histories of abuse and damaged childhoods.  And then Brad Renfro gets arrested, and the movie takes a fascinating detour into that, showing us local news reports, asking Brad what really happened and even filming the entire process of the producers meeting with the bail bondsman.  This is a fascinating viewing experience in and of itself.
So is this worth upgrading to?  Yes, I'd certainly say so.  But there's another edition coming soon from Umbrella in Australia purports to be even better.  It's probably using the same master, but has the 5.1, isolated score, optional English subtitles and replaces the French experts with English speaking ones, in addition to having the documentary, plus some fancy packaging swag if you get it direct from Umbrella's site.  Either way you go, though, the exciting news is that the wait for Bully to come to blu is finally over.

You Can Have a Lot of Fun with Two Thousand Maniacs!

Herschell Gordon Lewis just feels like a filmmaker who should've been on this site since Day 1, and it's downright wild to me that this is the first Something Weird Video disc I'm covering here.  But we're fixing it all today with Two Thousand Maniacs!, which I'd say is easily the best, definitive Lewis work.  Like, if you only get one HG Lewis film - and honestly, that's probably the right amount for most people - it should be this one.
Sure, Blood Feast is more famous, and earns a lot of reputational points for being possibly the first "gore movie" and an foundational slasher.  And plenty of the Lewis's later films are fun and worth checking out at least once.  Maniacs is the one that really comes together, with a genuinely great, original horror premise, a more substantial budget and some of the most entertaining performances.  It's a wild ride, that in some aspects at least, still holds up today.  It's got inventive kills, decent production values for such a low budget flick, and some surprisingly good music.  Okay, the leads are awkwardly wooden, the editing is clumsy and the photography is pretty flat and static.  But you're never going to have more fun than you will with Two Thousand Maniacs.  ...And hey, forget movies; that's just a good tip for life in general.
So Something Weird first released this on DVD back in 2000, and that's what I've got.  They later bundled it up as part of the "Blood Trilogy" (with Blood Feast and Color Me Blood Red) in 2006.  And there was also an Image blu-ray set of the same trilogy in 2011.  In 2016, Arrow released their sizeable, 17-disc (including DVD copies) "Herschell Gordon Lewis Feast" boxed set.  There was also a special "Shock and Gore" version that included a 7" record, an eyeball and additional swag, that was limited to just 500 copies.  And later in 2018, they put out separate releases, including the Two Thousand Maniacs/ Moonshine Mountain blu I've got for us today.
2000 SWV DVD top; 2018 Arrow BD bottom.
Something Weird's original DVD was open matte at 1.31:1, somewhat damaged and interlaced.  So fans were eager up for an upgrade, but unfortunately, the original film elements were in rough shape.  But they've made a serious effort, and it paid off pretty well.  By "they," I mainly mean Something Weird, because according to Arrow's booklet, they're using SW's restoration, which I believe they made for that Image BD set.  It's mostly matted to 1.78:1, which also finds some more image along the sides, and looks considerably stronger with bolder & properly white balanced colors and more visible detail, albeit with even more film damage, including plenty of scratches.  And, naturally, it's not interlaced.

I used the word "mostly," though, because the film elements their using for the HD master are so damaged, they're missing frames and brief snatches of the film.  These sections have standard def tape masters composited in.  In the sets of shots above, the second BD shot is from film and the third is from tape.  You can see the aspect ratio shifts to 1.65:1, replacing information on the sides with pillarboxing, which matches the edge of the frame on the DVD transfers.  It's considerably softer, looks like it's been forcibly deinterlaced (which is to say using filters to correct the interlacing that softens and compresses the combing) and more washed.  It's a bit jarring to see the PQ shift back and forth mid-scene, but I agree with whoever did the reconstruction that it's the lesser evil, and preferable to not salvaging every frame they can or just leaving out footage entirely.  In brief, it's a bit of a mess, but a major improvement over what came before and as good as we can hope for unless someone unearths better quality film elements.
Something Weird's DVD includes the original mono audio, plus a French dub.  Arrow drops the dub, but bumps up the audio to lossless LPCM and adds optional English subtitles.  Given the state of the picture, the sound is surprisingly clear, on both the DVD and the BD.  It's awful echoey, but that's clearly down to how the sound was recorded and no fault of the disc transfers.

The special features here are pretty great.  The DVD introduced a great audio commentary by HG Lewis with two moderators who keep things lively and informative.  It also had a gallery and the trailer, all of which was carried over to Arrow's blu.  And they've added a whole bunch more, including 16 minutes of outtakes, a brief interview with Lewis on his history in advertising, an interview with Tim Sullivan, who directed the remake, a featurette about producer David Friedman that interviews Lewis, Sullivan, Bob Murawski and Fred Olen Ray and a fun and well researched study on the history of hicks depicted in film.
If you thought Maniacs looked rough, though, hooey!  Take a look at Moonshine MountainMoonshine is not a horror movie, but shares its Southern hillbilly angle, even taking it to far greater extremes.  It's a musical comedy about a country western singer who travels to an ostensibly authentic small Southern town, and gets caught up in hoedown, a scandal involving a crooked sheriff and the world's biggest still.  A couple of Maniacs' actors recur, including the mayor as the family patriarch.  The comedy is broad and unfunny, but also like Maniacs, some of the music is genuinely impressive - I can't get "White Lightning" out of my head.  It's not a good movie by any stretch, but it's affable, and the sort of thing that you'd never buy on its own, but is nice to get as a bonus feature.
2018 Arrow BD bottom.
Arrow presents the film in mostly 1.33:1, with a shocking amount of damage, including washed out colors, scratches, flecks and... I mean, just look at these shots.  It's not all as bad as that first shot, but it's rough.  Apparently, this is a composite of the best 35mm prints they could find, as the negatives were lost.  And I used the word "mostly" again because they've also had to include clips from an SD tape master in this one, too.  The second and third shots show the same shot taken from film and video, and the difference will make you appreciate the former regardless of the damage.  The tape is slightly window-boxed to 1.28:1 and even more washed out, as well as being softer, blown out and less detailed.  The rest is a pretty strong, high fidelity capture of the film... it just happens to be beat to crap film.

The audio has more hiss and pops than Maniacs, but it still sounds better than you'd think looking at the image.  It's lossless again, and happily Arrow didn't cheap out on subtitles for this bonus feature.
There's not a lot of extras for Moonshine, since it's practically an extra itself, but Lewis did film an intro for this one, too, and they also wrangled up its theatrical trailer.  And while the solo release doesn't include the book or fancy set from the big Feast box, it does still include reversible cover art an a card for another Arrow release (mine was: The Snake and the Silver Haired Witch).

All in all, this is a very satisfying package of Lewis's most rewarding movie.  And unless someone discovers better elements in a barn somewhere, I wouldn't hold my breath for a UHD.  So if you don't already own this release, I recommend you pick it up the next time you come across an Arrow sale.

The Remaining Bergmans, Now With More Face To Face

Okay, so you've bought Criterion's big Ingmar Bergman's Cinema box, The BFI's Ingmar Bergman's Cinema and even Artificial Eye's Classic Bergman set.  But you're still hungry.  Ingmar Bergman's an unparalleled master and you know he's made plenty more films than those, so what else can you get your hands on and add to the collection?  Well, unfortunately, not a whole lot, despite the large number of films he's written and/ or directed that remain unavailable on home video.  There's Best Intentions and Faithless, which I've already covered, and then just three more.  And two of those are DVD-only.

Update 10/3/22 - 2/25/24: Well, thanks to Imprint's new Face To Face blu-ray edition, now only one of these are DVD-only.  Can we make it zero?  And release all of Bergman's remaining films?  Hopefully, but today let's just be happy about Face To Face.
In 1970, Bergman wrote an original feature length film for Swedish television called The Lie, directed by Jan Molander, and starring one of Bergman's greatest actors, Erland Josephson, about a middle class couple hopelessly trapped in a mass of deception.  If the made-for-TV aspect makes it sound less interesting, remember some of Bergman's most acclaimed and beloved works were made for Swedish television, like Fanny & Alexander and Scenes From a Marriage (both also with Josephson, by the way).  Sounds like something you'd like to see now, huh?  Well, tough noogies; you can't.  It's another on the very long list of Bergman films never released in an English-friendly capacity, or even really as a Swedish-only release, apart from its televised broadcast.
However in America, Bergman's same script was adapted into an English-language television film starring George Segal, Shirley Knight and Robert Culp.  Ah, but no, you can't get that one anywhere either.  BUT, also during that time the BBC adapted the very same screenplay for British television, starring Gemma Jones (Sense & Sensibility, The Devils) and Frank Finlay (Lifeforce, Dennis Potter's Casanova).  The performances are powerful and nuanced, the director seems to be making deliberate nods to Bergman as a director (like all those mirror shots), and the writing is some of Bergman's strongest.  Only the music seems out of place, like BBC library stock stuff; but even that's not bad, just incongruous. And this version of The Lie actually IS available.  And this version won a BAFTA, so we shouldn't feel too short-changed.  It's on blu-ray as part of the BFI's first volume of its Play for Today box sets from 2020.
2020 UK BFI BD.
According to the included booklet, the episodes in this box are broken into two categories: those shot on video and "sourced from the best existing tape materials preserved by the BBC" and those shot on film, which are "newly scanned at 2k resolution from the original 17mm A/B roll camera negatives."  Fortunately, The Lie is one of the latter, and looks fantastic.  It's presented in its original 1.33:1 and looks very grainy, something that never would've come through during its original airings.  But it's very clearly encoded and looks quite impressive.  There is no interlacing despite it being a vintage 70s British television program, because they went back to the original film elements.  The original mono track is presented in a strong, lossless LPCM track with optional English subtitles.

The only extras are an image gallery and an 80-page full-color booklet, and of course the other seven Play for Today episodes, which range from good to great.  There's one on the troubles in Ireland that struck me as much more compelling than Branagh's Belfast which came out around the same time as this set, and a creepy horror story called A Photograph.  So I can understand a Bergman fan being frustrated they can't just buy The Lie by itself, but the whole set is worth having in your collection.
Next up is a proper theatrical film (although there was an extended television version released afterwards) written and directed by Bergman: 1975's Face To Face.  Bergman and star Liv Ullmann were both nominated for Oscars for this picture, so again, it's not like it's all lesser work that's been neglected on blu.  This one's a pretty harrowing tale of mental illness, with Ullmann as a psychiatrist whose problems run as deep as her patients'.  She takes on a lover, Erland Josephson again, who proves to be a far more loving companion than her own husband, and Gunnar Bjornstrand appears as her aging grandfather.  This one's pretty dark, and relatable despite risking going over the top at more than one point.  And it includes some of the most believable and heart-wrenching dream sequences committed to cinema, making those famous Wild Strawberries bits feel like trivialities.
Face To Face had only been available (English-friendly at any rate) as a 2011 barebones DVD from Olive Films, though at least it's anamorphic widescreen.  I remember some controversy when it was released, because people felt Olive acquiring the rights cut off Criterion from giving this a proper restoration, and possibly both cuts.  But of course it's pure speculation that they would've done that, and certainly getting this disc was better than the other possible alternative: nothing.  But now we don't have to choose between a DVD or nothing; we have a brand new blu-ray edition (also of the theatrical version; the extended TV cut is still unavailable anywhere) from Via Vision's Imprint, due out this Wednesday.
2011 US Olive Films DVD top; 2024 AUS Imprint BD bottom.
Olive presents Face To Face in a rather fuzzy 1.78:1.  It's standard def, so the hints we get of film grain are about the most we could ask for, but it sure seems like this image could be sharper, even on DVD.  But the real problem is the sound.  It's a static-y mess that sounds like it's been Noise Gate'd, so it's silent between words, but whenever anybody speaks, it's a metallic mess, as if you're hearing them through a bad telephone connection; and when people make small, innocuous movements, it sometimes sounds like they're sitting on their lavaliers.

Imprint presents the film in a sharper 1.67:1, giving us more vertically, though shaving a sliver off the sides.  And though the film is still on the soft side (almost looking like 16mm, though I understand it was shot on 35, so I'm guessing this was taken from a later generation element, rather than the original negatives), the film grain tell us this is a much clearer look at the film source.  It certainly brings detail and edges into focus.  And thank goodness, they've improved the sound.  It's still not perfect... it's still excessively loud when people sit on the sofa or rustle their coats, and there's slight background hiss.  But it's nothing like the static-y DVD.  It's also lossless now.  The whole thing's a big improvement.  Oh, and in both cases, the subtitles are removable.
Olive has no extras, not even the trailer.  Imprint doesn't have the trailer either, but comes in a stylish slipcase; and more importantly, they've got some impressive goodies.  First up is an expert commentary by Michael Brooke, and it's damn good.  A lot of "expert" commentaries and featurettes I've watched lately have been eye rollingly indulgent if not outright wastes of our time.  But this guy's pretty great, very well informed, leaves no dead air, cites lots of sources and is consistently interesting.  I wish other commentators would aim for this standard, even if they can't reach it every time.  Also on here is a visual essay by Kat Ellinger, and similarly, I've been a little let down by some of her recent output... maybe she's just agreeing to too many projects and unable to devote enough time to them all?  Or maybe she just takes a deeper interest in some films and their special features more than others?  I don't know, but she nails it here.  Starting off very informative and citing interesting sources, then easing into her excellently made thesis that this is an under-appreciated (including by Bergman himself) feminist work.

My only nitpick, and this is admittedly a petty one, is that she uses fake film damage, jitter and projector noise... you know, that fake "old timey" video filter that comes packaged in every free video editor.  And it's like, why spoil the rare photos she's sharing in her video for a silly gimmick?  There's never a good reason to degrade good footage with those cheesy filters.  But again, I acknowledge that's pure nitpickery; just a little pet peeve of mine.  Honestly, I might've skipped over both of these extras if I didn't feel obligated to watch them for this review, but I'm glad I gave them the chance and recommend all you readers do the same.
Finally, we end with the most underrated of the three, 2000's The Image Makers.  This is another made-for-Swedish-television project, and in this case really looks it.  It's all set in one room like a stage-play, which in fact it originally was, although the camera is certainly moving and cutting around.  This one's directed by Bergman (and he also directed the original theatrical production) but written by Per Olov Enquist (Pelle the Conqueror), although it really, really feels like a Bergman script, to the point where I suspect he at least had a hand in rewriting it for the screen, and perhaps rather liberally.  It's certainly an interesting coincidence that both this and Face To Face have an older person tell a middle-aged woman that "old age is Hell."
Anyway, it's the story of the making of the classic Swedish ghost movie, 1921's The Phantom Carriage.  The author of the original film arrives at the studio to see clips of the film Victor Sjöström and his cinematographer Julius Jaenzon have made of her work.  However, to complicate matters, Tora Teje, the actress having an affair with the director and who feels the leading part should have been hers, shows up at the same time and makes a scene.  It's on one hand a fascinating mediation on the ownership/ creation of art - how can the author, director, actor and photographer each feel the art projected on screen is their singular vision?  But it's also a powerful human drama where the making of The Phantom Carriage is really just the backdrop to a forceful study of love, heartbreak, infidelity and cruel fathers.  There's a cheap shot-on-video look to the film, amplified by the staginess of the setting, that signals The Image Makers as a forgettable lesser work.  But when you really settle into it, it's as moving and thoughtful a work as Bergman's greatest films.

But to date, this film has only been released on DVD in the UK by Tartan in 2008.
You may've also noticed that Tartan's release is a 2-disc double feature, and in fact the lead film isn't The Image Makers, but the original Phantom Carriage.  It works as a nice supplement to The Image Makers, but as a stand-alone disc, it's not too impressive.  It's somewhat window-boxed 1.32:1, interlaced, and barebones.  So in an age where Criterion has released an impressive special edition blu-ray, this really isn't a go-to disc for Phantom Carriage.  The reason to buy this set is The Image Makers.  But it's a damn good reason.
2008 UK Tartan DVD.
Thankfully, even though disc 1 is interlaced, The Image Makers' DVD is not.  It's 1.32:1 just like the The Phantom Carriage, and apart from a handful of clips from the 1921 film, looks like it was shot on video.  If it was shot on film, then this was definitely taken from a video master.  Either way, it looks bold and clear, and about as good as you could hope for from a master like this.  It would be interesting to see if an HD restoration from the original elements - whatever those may be - could do for this film; but I wouldn't expect much.  The sound is a clean mono track, the subtitles are removable, and the only extra is a fold-out insert with notes by David Thompson, director of Encountering Bergman.

Needless to say, all three of the releases covered above are must-haves for Bergman fans.  And yes, it's very much worthy double-dipping from Olive's DVD to Imprint's BD of Face To Face.  Now hopefully some label or other will see fit to continue to plumb the depths of Bergman's incredible catalog.

Eric Rohmer's Troubled Tales Of the Four Seasons

Boy, I can remember Janus announcing their new 2k restorations (yes, newer than the French blu-rays') of these films like three years ago.  Last year, I started to worry that they didn't actually plan to put them out on disc.  But now, finally, they're here: all four of Eric Rohmer's Tales Of the Four Seasons, scanned from their original negatives, in an attractive, if a little troubled, blu-ray boxed set from Criterion.

"Troubled?"  Yes.  The subtitles stop working about two-thirds of the way through the documentary The Making Of a Tale Of Summer, and they don't come back: a serious problem if you're not fluent in French.  Watch this space for news of a replacement program, but so far: mum from Criterion.

Update 2/26/24: Just got an email from Criterion confirming they've investigated the issue and will be issuing a replacement program for the Summer disc.  Details are still pending; I'll update again!
The Tales Of the Four Seasons are four films Rohmer made from 1990-1998 (with a couple other films mixed in between).  One for each season, naturally, starting with A Tale Of Springtime.  As you'd expect, and as with the three subsequent films, Springtime is set during its titular season.  A philosophy professor who has two apartments but finds herself unable to stay in either one meets a student at a party who invites her to stay at her place.  She soon discovers this student has designs to set her up with her father, because she doesn't approve of his current, younger girlfriend.  You could take it as a pretty straight-forward romantic comedy or a Kantian exploration of how our imagination drives us.  But the intellectualizing never gets in the way of its endearing, polite and gently composed aesthetic.  And there's a mystery!  Can you solve the case of the missing necklace?
1) 2006 UK Artificial Eye DVD; 2) 2024 US Criterion BD.
Well, the jump from what Artificial Eye released on DVD in 2006 to today is vast.  The aspect ratio shift to 1.67:1 is presumably a welcome correction, as 1.52:1 was surely never correct.  It slightly crops the image vertically, but reveals more on the sides.  It's also quite yellow, which is a more controversial change you're going to see across this set.  According to the booklet, these new transfers were supervised by the DP and Rohmer's son, so we're presumably being asked to accept this as correct.  The DVD's whites are overblown, but it's certainly more naturally white-balanced.  But it's not a given that the most natural color-timing is always the director's preferred colored timing.  And admittedly, just watching the BD outside of a direct comparison, the film doesn't scream yellow as much as it does here.  I mean, I'm not suggesting it differs from the screenshots, but it hue is more subtle when it's not buttressed right up against a cooler, whiter variant.

And that aside, the jump to HD is a huge boost in clarity.  The DVD has a dupey, edge enhanced look, which is replaced with a far more nuanced and lifelike image.  Hell, the DVD is non-anamorphic, so this is a major upgrade if you're coming from that release.  Criterion's grain is a little spotty at points - this is a 2k scan on BD, not a 4k scan on UHD, but the DVD doesn't even suggest that film grain was ever part of the original image.  English subtitles are removable are all four discs in both sets, but of course only Criterion's original mono audio is lossless.
A Tale Of Winter is next.  A young woman and her lover are separated by a silly mistake, and years later she drifts between relationships, driving everyone around her crazy by refusing to fully commit to anyone new.  Will her faith carry her through her malaise or ruin her life?  This one takes some inspiration from Shakespeare's Winter's Tale, and as you can see, even produces a scene from it at one point.  But this isn't one of those loose remakes set in modern times, deal.  It's a distinctly different, and distinctly Rohmer, experience.
1) 2006 UK Artificial Eye DVD; 2) 2024 US Criterion BD.
The aspect ratios are closer this time: 1.61:1 vs 1.67:1, though Criterion's new scan pulls back to reveal a little more along all four sides.  The DVD is also non-anamorphic again, so you had to upgrade from it.  And yes, we have a yellow push again, though it's not as overt on this one.  All of the other season films were shot on 35mm, but this one's on 16mm, so it has a softer, less detail look to it.  But that's nothing compared to how the old DVD had it looking.  Except for the flecks and popping print damage (no longer present on the BD); you'd almost think it was shot on tape.  Criterion's grain is patchy in points, but their blu makes it feel like film again.  And of course, their audio is lossless PCM again.
For A Summer's Tale, Melvil Poupaud (currently appearing in Woody Allen's Coup de Chance), we have a song writer who gets stood up by his girlfriend on his shore vacation.  He befriends Amanda Langlet (Pauline of Pauline At the Beach), a waitress/ ethnographer who decides to set him up with one of her friends, leaving Melvil wracked with indecision, torn between the fleeting possibilities of a relationship with any of these three women.  Who will he choose... and will it matter anyway?  Transcendentalism, sea shanties and disco dancing all play crucial parts in our friend's fate.
1) 2006 UK Artificial Eye DVD; 2) 2024 US Criterion BD.
2024 US Criterion BD.
Well, at least Artificial Eye's DVD doesn't have a non-anamorphic issue this time, because this one's full-screen.  Criterion tweaks the AR from 1.33:1 to 1.37:1, though they actually reveal slivers along all four sides.  AE's video is noisy and low-fi, which the new blu greatly improves upon.  But, while you don't notice it in some dark scenes (though it's still there if you look carefully), we're leaning heavily into the yellow once again.  Is the sky blue or yellow?  Depends what disc you look at.  Just for fun, I took a shot from the Making Of a Tale Of Summer documentary[left], and the skies are blue there, too.  I've heard some studios are pushing transfers a little towards yellow because that replicates how film looks projected.  Or maybe these films were always supposed to have a warmer, gentler look and older transfers got it wrong in assuming a more traditional white balance?  I don't know.  But it is what it is.  I'm honestly not that mad at it, but it's hard not to talk about it when you're directly comparing these to how they used to look on home video.
Finally, in Autumn Tale, Rohmer regular Marie Riviere stars as a book seller who decides to meddle in her best friend (another Rohmer regular, Beatrice Romand)'s love life by finding her a man through personal ads.  But she doesn't know Beatrice's daughter is also trying to set her up with someone, her philosophy professor.  With dueling schemes coming to a head at a big wedding party, Autumn comes off as more of a straight-up comedy than the others.  And it doesn't hurt that these more mature characters wind up being more likeable, if no more relatable, than the capricious youth we've been getting accustomed to.  It's a nice way to send off this series.
1) 2006 UK Artificial Eye DVD; 2) 2024 US Criterion BD.
Both of these are fullscreen again, just shifting from 1.32:1 to 1.37:1, though interestingly, this time Criterion zooms in cropping information from all four sides compared to the DVD.  It's another rewarding boost from SD to HD; we can even read the names of all those authors on the poster in the first set of shots.  Yes, we also have the yellow push again and yes, the grain would definitely be captured better on a 4k disc... or even an Arrow BD.  But it's hard to complain about these discs in motion.  They're gorgeous films well preserved.
The Kreutzer Sonata
So let's talk extras!  Artificial Eye's boxed set, which consists of four amary cases inside a slipbox, included trailers for each film and radio interviews with Rohmer edited into four featurettes including narration and clips from the films.  Curiously, Criterion's set - a digipack in a slipbox of its own - doesn't have that stuff, not even the trailers.  They just have one (new?) trailer that advertises all four films.  And while they don't have AE's featurettes, they do include the Rohmer interviews isolated from the rest, just playing over a still image of tape reels.

Their biggest extra is the Making of a Tale of Summer, a featurette length documentary compiling behind-the-scenes footage of the filming, often then comparing it to lengthy clips of the movie.  It gives some pretty great, candid insight into Rohmer's process from that time, though the film clips aren't too helpful if you've just watched the movie beforehand.  A big problem on this disc, though, as I've mentioned at the top, is that the subtitles give out about two thirds of the way through.  So unless you're fluent in French, you only get to watch the first hour of the doc.  Hopefully, Criterion does something about this!
A Farmer In Montfaucon
Criterion has cooked up a pretty excellent, roughly 45-minute featurette that intercuts between all new interviews with some of Rohmer's key collaborators, including his DP, editor, sound engineer and producer.  They each have a lot to share, and we also explore Rohmer's house, which they're filming in.  Finally, there are two of Rohmer's early short films.  First is 1956's The Kreutzer Sonata, a Tolstoy adaptation from back when Rohmer wasn't yet shooting with synced sound.  It's made up for by using Tolstoy's grim text as on-going narration.  Second is 1968's A Farmer In Montfaucon, which is a fairly matter-of-factual documentary the life of a farming woman, who gets a little more introspective at the end.

Also included is a colorful, 30-page booklet with notes by critic Imogen Sara Smith, which might help you find a deeper appreciation for these works.
Bottom line, these aren't cutting edge transfers, but they're pretty attractive and huge upgrades from the AE DVDs I've got.  The extras are quite good, but perhaps not as plentiful as one would expect.  If you've already got earlier BD versions, it may be a tougher decision whether to double-dip, especially since this is an expensive ($99) set... and unless Criterion does something about it, a defective one.  But they usually do, and often for less consequential issues, so I have hope!