The Princess of Montpensier (2010)

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General		Extras
Category	Romance	Main Menu Audio Theatrical Trailer
Rating
Year Of Production	2010
Running Time	134:01 (Case: 140)
RSDL / Flipper	RSDL (78:43)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Bertrand Tavernier
Studio Distributor	Madman Entertainment	Starring	Mélanie Thierry Lambert Wilson Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet Gaspard Ulliel Raphaël Personnaz Anatole de Bodinat Eric Rulliat Samuel Theis Michel Vuillermoz
Case	Amaray-Transparent
RPI	$29.95	Music	Philippe Sarde

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	French Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) 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	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

     In a similar way to England during the same period, France was a dangerous place to hold religious beliefs contrary to the establishment during the 1500s. This film starts in 1567, in the middle of the wars between Catholics and the Huguenots or French Protestants. There were a number of wars split by various peace agreements. The movie involves quite a number of actual events (such as the St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre) and features some real characters (such as the Duc d'Anjou, brother of the king) although it is based on a short story by a French novelist of the 1600s, Madame De La Fayette.

     The story is a romantic pentagon involving 4 men and one woman, the beautiful daughter of the Marquis De Mezieres, Marie (Melanie Thierry). Marie has been promised in marriage to the younger brother of famous soldier, Henri De Guise (Gaspard Ulliel) but has fallen for Henri himself, who reciprocates her feelings. Meanwhile, Marie's father has been approached by the Duc de Montpensier to break his promise to the Guise family and marry Marie to his son, the Prince of Montpensier (Gregoire Leprince-Ringuet). After some negotiations he agrees much to Marie's annoyance. The Prince, who is returning from the war, happens upon some brigands hanging his former tutor, the Comte de Chabbanes (Lambert Wilson) and despite his having fought for the Huguenots, protects him and brings him into his service. He asks the Comte to take his new wife to one of his remote castles in order to tutor her in preparation for her presentation at court. During this time, the Comte falls in love with Marie. The fourth player comes into the romantic mix when Henri De Guise leads the King's brother, the Duc d'Anjou to the castle where Marie is staying. Marie must choose between her husband, her teenage sweetheart, her tutor and the brother of the king, which does not sound like a mixture made for long term happiness.

     This film, The Princess of Montpensier, is set in an interesting time in French history, one which has not been the subject of many films (certainly that I have seen). It was directed by well known French Director, Bertrand Tavernier and was nominated for the Palme D'Or at the 2010 Cannes Festival. It is certainly a quality film, with excellent acting, costumes, music and beautiful locations in France. The story is interesting despite some occasionally difficult to fathom character motivations. It is possibly also a little long but not by too much.

     Fans of French cinema or romantic historical drama should certainly seek this film out.

Video

     The video quality is very good. The feature is presented in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio which is the original aspect ratio. It is 16x9 enhanced.

     The picture was very clear and sharp throughout for DVD. Shadow detail was a little lacking at times.

     The colour is very good for DVD with no issues to report.

     In terms of artefacts, there was some interlacing artefacts during fast motion and some occasional compression artefacts.

     There are English subtitles in yellow which are clear and easy to read. They are mostly off the picture in the black bar.

     The layer change occurs at 78:43 causing a noticeable pause.

Video Ratings Summary

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

Audio

    The audio quality is very good. This disc contains an French soundtrack in Dolby Digital 5.1 (448 Kb/s) and a French Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo soundtrack (224 Kb/s).

     Dialogue seemed generally clear and easy to hear and understand.

     The music by Phillipe Sarde is of high quality, adding to the tone of the film and fitting the style perfectly.

     The surround speakers were only used for some minor directional effects.

     The subwoofer was only basically used to support the music.

Audio Ratings Summary

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

     The extras were killed off in the massacre.

Menu

     The menu was still and featured music.

Theatrical Trailer (1:32)

     French Trailer for the film.

    This film is not due for release in Region 1 & 2 until October so the local product is the one for now.

     A romantic pentagon set in 1500s France during the Huguenot wars.

    The video quality is very good.

     The audio quality is very good.

     Extras are virtually non-existent.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall