Three Colours: Blue (Trois Couleurs Bleu) (Blu-ray) (1993)

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Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	French DTS HD Master Audio 5.1
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.85:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	1080p
Original Aspect Ratio	1.85:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

     The Three Colours Trilogy is a famous set of arthouse films from the 1990s, made by Polish director, Kryzsztof Kieslowski. This trilogy was his last works before his death in 1996. The trilogy has been released as a set of Blu-rays here in Australia by Icon Entertainment. This local release has the films spread over two Blu-ray discs, Blue on its own disc, and White & Red on the second disc. The trilogy has also recently been released on Region Free Blu-ray by Artificial Eye in the UK and as a Criterion edition on Region A in the US. Both of those have the films across three Blu-ray discs, although this does not necessarily mean the transfers are different. Actually, based on online screens shots, I think these Blu-rays are probably sourced from the same digital masters as the other editions. I will cover how the versions compare in the region comparison section of the box set review. For now, let me just tell you this is a bare bones edition with only the films whereas both the other major releases are packed with extras.

     The first film, Three Colours : Blue, is a drama starring Juliette Binoche as a young woman who has lost her husband and daughter in a car crash, whilst being badly injured herself. Her husband was a famous composer and she decides to change everything in her life and escape to another existence. The film explores how she deals with loss and eventually how she starts on the road to recovery.

     I am not going to try to impress you, dear reader, with my in depth analysis of the film and its meaning or the use of the colour blue or even bang on about the marvellous music by Zbigniew Preisner. What I would like you to do, however, is refer back to the plot synopsis/essay written by SeanA in our review of the DVD release of this film back in 2001. He has a lot to say on the subject and his analysis is well worth reading.

     I believe this film is the best of the trilogy and although showing its age is still a marvellous film.

Video

     The video quality is in a different class to previous DVD releases but of course does not challenge recent blockbusters in terms of its ability to show off your system. As I mentioned above this seems to be the same transfer as is used on other international releases.

     The feature is presented in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio which is the original aspect ratio. It is 1080p encoded using AVC.

     The picture was quite clear and sharp throughout considering the age of the film and significantly better than previous DVD releases. Clarity is affected by film grain at times which becomes quite noticeable in some scenes such as at 7:40, 36:50 or 58:06. The shadow detail was very good.

     The colour was not overly vibrant but certainly better than the DVD.

     There is some minor shimmer to be seen very occasionally and also one spot of pixelization at 56:10 on some wooden blinds. There are minimal film artefacts as the print has been significantly cleaned.

     There are subtitles in English which come on automatically but can be switched off. They were clear and easy to read.

     There are no obvious layer change during playback.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

     The audio quality is excellent for a film of this age and budget. This disc contains a French soundtrack in DTS-HD MA 5.1. The 5.1 coding does not really make a big difference and it sounds more like a 3.1 to me.

     Dialogue was clear and easy to understand at all times. Effects were also very clear with lots of separation across the front and rear speakers. The opening sequence of road noises is very clearly defined and leaps from the speakers.

     The music by Zbigniew Preisner sounds marvellous on this transfer, filling the room (although most sound comes from the front speakers).

     The surround speakers were only used for very mild atmosphere.

     The subwoofer was well used supporting the music.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

       Nothing, nada, zilch.

Menu

        The menu included music and allowed for scene selection.

    There is censorship information available for this title. Click here to read it (a new window will open). WARNING: Often these entries contain MAJOR plot spoilers.

    In terms of the movie itself, this release seems to utilise the same masters as overseas releases, however, as a set this local release is bare bones compared to other releases. I will cover the major differences in the box set review.

     A major arthouse film from the 1990s makes its way to local Blu-ray.

     The video quality is very good for a film of this age, especially compared to the DVD versions, which were diabolical.

     The audio quality is excellent for a film of this age.

     The extras died in the car crash at the beginning of the film.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall