Cousins, Les (Directors Suite) (1959)

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General		Extras
Category	Drama	Main Menu Audio & Animation-Full Frame Audio Commentary-with Dr. Adrian Martin Theatrical Trailer-An Autum Afternoon (Sanma no aji) (1962) Theatrical Trailer-Offside (2006) Theatrical Trailer-The Wind Will Carry Us (Bad ma ra khahad bord) (1999) Theatrical Trailer-Wings of Desire (Der Himmel über Berlin) (1987)
Rating
Year Of Production	1959
Running Time	105:25 (Case: 112)
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Claude Chabrol
Studio Distributor	Madman Entertainment	Starring	Gérard Blain Jean-Claude Brialy Michèle Méritz Bernadette Lafont Claude Cerval Jeanne Pérez Edmond Beauchamp André Dino Michel Creuze Claude Chabrol Philippe de Broca
Case	Amaray-Transparent
RPI	$29.95	Music	Émile Delpierre

Les Cousins (1959), Chabrol’s second feature film, like Le Beau Serge (1958) can equally be described as autobiographical, as it is based on Chabrol's own experiences at the ‘capo de droit’ between 1947 -1949 – the director himself states “the people in Les Cousins are real”. The group was run by Parisian law students and apparently due to his sense of humour, Chabrol witnessed the group’s flirtations with Fascist ideology and their leader - a certain Jean-Marie Le Pen. Film academic Guy Austin states Les Cousins, due to the film’s origins, can then be interpreted as a document of the dangerous appeal of Fascism.

Both Le Beau Serge and Les Cousins are mirror images of one another – the same actors, with their roles reversed in the latter, appear in a similar tales of characters with a conscience opposite characters without a conscience, yet despite their outlook both protagonists seek salvation. Half a century later what truly defines success and love is still a burgeoning issue for Chabrol, as the 78 year old director, still to this day continues his dissection of the shadows beneath prim and proper societies.

Video

The restored transfer of Les Cousins is presented in a 1.33:1 Full Frame aspect ratio. My guess is the original aspect ratio of the film was 1.37:1

The black and white film overall looks quite good for its age. Chabrol’s natural and languid camera movement remains smooth and the image remains clear and crisp, with good shadow detail.

Telecine wobble is mildly evident, as well as film grain and various film artefacts throughout the course of the feature film.

Mild NTSC-to-PAL combing is also evident on occasion.

Also like Le Beau Serge, the English subtitles are a decent translation of the French dialogue and from the Main Menu, the viewer can select whether they would like the subtitles in a yellow or white font.

Video Ratings Summary

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

Audio

The DVD features the original mono soundtrack, which is also like the image is very good quality. Dialogue remains clear and audible and there are no obvious errors.

The feature film features score composed by the late Paul Misraki, which is at times jazz influenced, but overall very melodramatic.

Audio Ratings Summary

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

Main Menu Audio & Animation

The Main Menu features an animated version of the cover-art. There is access to the 12 scene selections, subtitle set up options and a series of trailers. The minimal design of the main menu and cover-art are unique to the thematic concerns of the film and French New Wave. It is nicely produced. (NOTE: On some DVD players the Full Frame Main Menu and Feature Film may default to an incorrect 16x9 aspect ratio which must be corrected manually by the viewer.)

Audio Commentary

Dr. Adrian Martin displays an intimate knowledge of the French New Wave, and is concerned with discussing the issue of what sets Chabrol apart from his nouvelle vague cohorts. The commentary is detailed with anecdotes about the production, to the critical reception of the title film but also the key thematic concerns of the film which became further developed in Chabrol’s later career.

Theatrical Trailers

After an anti-piracy warning the following trailers can be accessed:

• An Autumn Afternoon (Sanma no aji) (1962)
• Offside (2006)
• The Wind Will Carry Us (Bad ma ra khahad bord) (1999)
• Wings of Desire (Der Himmel über Berlin) (1987)

There is no current information regrading other DVD releases of this title

Claude Chabrol’s Les Cousins is a companion film to his directorial debut Le Beau Serge.

Les Cousins has received a welcomed DVD release locally. This Directors Suite title includes an interesting audio commentary and also has English subtitle colour options.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall