Manon des Sources (1986)

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General		Extras
Category	Drama	Main Menu Audio Theatrical Trailer Trailer-Jean De Florette, Jules And Jim, Wages Of Fear Trailer-The Children Of Paradise
Rating
Year Of Production	1986
Running Time	108:36
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	1,2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	Claude Berri
Studio Distributor	Renn Productions Umbrella Entertainment	Starring	Yves Montand Daniel Auteuil Emmanuelle Béart Hippolyte Girardot Margarita Lozano Yvonne Gamy Ticky Holgado Jean Bouchaud Elisabeth Depardieu Gabriel Bacquier Armand Meffre André Dupon Pierre Nougaro
Case	Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip
RPI	$29.95	Music	Roger Legrand Jean-Claude Petit

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	French Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	2.35:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	2.35:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    Manon des Sources (Manon of the Spring) is the second part of the film Jean de Florette. Taking up the story about ten years after the events of the first, Manon (Emmanuelle Béart) is now a young woman. Her mother is back singing in opera houses, while Manon lives with the old couple who live in the grotto near the well on the other side of the hill from the farm. She spends her time herding goats and communing with nature.

    Ugolin and Papet have taken over the farm and are growing rich from farming carnations. Papet decides that Ugolin needs a wife, and Ugolin has been struck by Manon's beauty, so he decides he wants her. Manon, though, has taken a shine to the new schoolmaster (Hippolyte Girardot).

    Manon learns by accident the truth behind the events depicted in Jean de Florette, and she swears revenge on the Soubeyrans. When she discovers the underground source of the spring, she has the instrument of revenge in her hands.

    This film is not quite as good as Jean de Florette, mainly due to the episodic nature of the last part of the film, which feels cobbled together. Marcel Pagnol was inspired by Greek tragedy, and wanted to give the story the same intensity. The final third of the film covers a number of years in a short space of time, and does not convey the tragedy with the same force as the first film. Having said that, this is a minor flaw and this is still a superb film, and a must-see if you enjoyed part one.

    The same high level of filmmaking is on show here as in Jean de Florette. The major differences are that Gérard Depardieu is not present, and the ethereal Emmanuelle Béart is. Her performance as Manon is very good, although her role is relatively marginal. The central roles are Ugolin and Papet, and Auteuil and Montand continue their fine performances here. Hippolyte Girardot is a little bland as the school teacher.

Video

    This transfer has the same issues as Jean de Florette, though some of the problems are not as severe.

    The film is presented in the original aspect ratio of 2.35:1 and is enhanced for 16x9 displays.

    The film is not sharp at all, though it is slightly sharper than the transfer of the first part. Again, just about every scene is slightly blurry. There seems to be a layer of detail missing. Shadow detail is still quite poor, with a boost given to the contrast.

    Colour is also an issue. The colour seems to be oversaturated, with a slight greenish tinge, not as severe as for Jean de Florette. The actor's faces still look brownish and unrealistic. Bruno Nuytten's cinematography is still not shown in its best light.

    Film to video artefacts are few, with aliasing present at times. There are some film artefacts, including dirt and flecks, but these are kept to a minimum. The film is a little grainy, but this is not excessive either. Telecine wobble is present, but not to the extent of the first film.

    This is a single layered disc. English subtitles are provided, in yellow. The subtitles are well done and translate all of the dialogue.

Video Ratings Summary

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

Audio

    The single audio track is French Dolby Digital 2.0. This is the original audio mix and is reasonably well done.

    The dialogue is slightly sibilant and the full dynamic range is missing but the audio is clear and distinct. Dolby Pro Logic gets some surround information out of the stereo mix, which works well with the musical sequences, but otherwise does little but narrow the front soundstage.

    Music again is by Jean-Claude Petit and, using the same themes as in Jean de Florette, enhances the viewing experience significantly.

Audio Ratings Summary

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

Main Menu Audio

Theatrical Trailer (2:42)

    Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1 and 16x9 enhanced, this looks slightly better than the feature film.

Trailers-Jean De Florette, Jules And Jim, Wages Of Fear, The Children Of Paradise

    The usual advertising for past, present and future releases. I only hope that the transfer of The Children of Paradise is better than the trailer, which is in appalling condition.

    Again, we have the same issue as for Jean de Florette. The UK Region 2 appears to be an identical transfer to the Region 4. The Region 1 is not 16x9 enhanced, and has the same washed out and artefacted appearance as for the first film. The French version sounds as if it is superior, but it has no subtitles.

    Again, there is no winner so I will call this a draw.

    A very disappointing release of this fine film. I only hope that someone makes the effort to release this film with the transfer that it deserves.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall