Chocolat (2000) |
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Chocolat (2000) |
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| BUY IT |
| General | Extras | ||
| Category | Drama |
Menu Animation & Audio Dolby Digital Trailer-Aurora Audio Commentary Featurette-Making Of Featurette-The Costumes Of Chocolat Deleted Scenes-7 Biographies-Cast & Crew Trailer-The Wedding Planner; The English Patient Theatrical Trailer |
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| Rating |
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| Year Of Production | 2000 | ||
| Running Time | 116:39 | ||
| RSDL / Flipper | RSDL (78:10) | Cast & Crew | |
| Start Up | Menu | ||
| Region Coding | 4 | Directed By | Lasse Hallstrom |
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Studio
Distributor |
 Roadshow Home Entertainment |
Starring |
Juliette Binoche Judi Dench Johnny Depp Alfred Molina Lena Olin Carrie-Anne Moss Hugh O'Conor John Wood Leslie Caron Peter Stormare |
| Case | Soft Brackley-Transp | ||
| RPI | $34.95 | Music | Rachel Portman |
| Video | Audio | ||
| Pan & Scan/Full Frame | None |
English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s) |
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| Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 1.85:1 | ||
| 16x9 Enhancement |
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| Video Format | 576i (PAL) | ||
| Original Aspect Ratio | 1.85:1 | Miscellaneous | |
| Jacket Pictures | No | ||
| Subtitles | English for the Hearing Impaired | Smoking | Yes |
| Annoying Product Placement | No | ||
| Action In or After Credits | No | ||
Chocolate is an interesting substance. I happen to be allergic to it, so I am observing from the outside, in an impartial way. I have noticed that chocolate seems to have a stronger effect on women than men (think - who among your acquaintances would kill for chocolate? All of them women? See?), but its appeal is near universal (I am a rare exception). It appeals to children (although their discrimination is undeveloped), and, unlike other confectionary, its appeal does not decline with age (although taste may become more discriminating). Some of my favourite aphorisms concern chocolate:
I will say absolutely nothing more about the plot. Part of the enjoyment of this movie is the delicate unfolding of the story. It follows a number of threads, which start at various times through the movie, and trace through to satisfying conclusions, again at different times. Don't try to anticipate what will happen. This is a delicacy that you must let melt in your mouth at its own pace - savour the texture and flavours as they appear. You will be gently surprised by some of the things you discover.
This movie does not follow the book. There are very good reasons for this, and many of them are covered in the audio commentary. The result is a marvellous film, far better than it might have been had it followed the book slavishly.
There is a delicate balance of comedy and drama here, and I am delighted that a film from an American studio manages to keep that balance so beautifully. Perhaps the Scandinavian director and French and English actors helped a lot. It is very easy to see why Juliette Binoche was their first (and only) choice for Vianne. Indeed, they got their first choices for all of the main roles, which is unusual. Judi Dench is marvellous, as always; Alfred Molina is perfect; Lena Olin has a difficult role, and carries it off superbly; and Carrie-Anne Moss is very different from other roles, and very good. And the children, Victoire Thivisol and Aurelien Parent Koenig, excel. There are some extraordinary minor roles - Leslie Caron is delightful in a tiny role (I loved the story of their choreographer offering Leslie Caron some dance suggestions...) with John Wood.
There are some amusing little side-pieces. Lena Olin happens to be married to Lasse Hallstrom, the director, and they have rarely had the chance to work together. Lena Olin worked with Juliette Binoche years before, and the first thing Juliette Binoche says to her is "good to see you again". Producer David Brown worked with Leslie Caron (and Fred Astaire) in Daddy Longlegs; this is the first film they have made since. And this is the first film in which Johnny Depp plays guitar on screen. Johnny Depp is one of the rare people who hates chocolate - when you see him apparently enjoying chocolate on screen, he's definitely acting.
Most importantly, do not let the suggestion that this is an "art" film put you off. I was a little reluctant, having viewed some unpleasant "art" films recently.
The film is rated M, ostensibly for some coarse language (mostly from Judi Dench!). Even if you are sensitive to coarse language, I doubt you'll have any problem with this.
The picture is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1. The theatrical ratio was 1.85:1 - a close match. It is 16x9 enhanced.
The picture is a little soft, but beautifully clear. There is a lot of smoke used in exteriors and large interiors - this was a production design choice, and it makes some of the background very soft. Shadow detail is superb. There is no low-level noise.
Colour is strong, where it is allowed to be - much of the colour is deliberately muted for effect. There are no traces of oversaturation or colour bleed.
There are few film artefacts (I think I counted three, in all). There is quite a bit of aliasing, and more than a little moire. There is one moment of cross-colouration, and one strange scene in which Juliet Binoche's hair comes up blue - I think this is an MPEG artefact. None of these artefacts particularly detracts from the film. For reasons I suspect relate to the story I had a higher tolerance for these artefacts while watching this film.
The only subtitles are English for the Hearing Impaired. They are white with a black border - easily read, well-timed and fairly accurate.
The disc is single-sided and dual layered (RSDL-formatted). The layer change lies at 78:10, and is very obvious, being placed just before a cut, while the camera is focussed on a group of musicians. This is quite a poor placement.
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There are two soundtracks, both in English. One is the soundtrack to the film, in Dolby Digital 5.1. The other is the audio commentary, in Dolby Digital 2.0 (not surround encoded).
The dialogue is easy to understand, even with the trace French accents. There are no visible audio sync problems.
Rachel Portman's score is perfect. There are some essential themes, carried through on carefully selected instruments. The "ethnic" flutes sound appropriately eerie; the cor anglais gives a deeply haunted feeling. She has enveloped (almost) every moment in music; she has even allowed silence at appropriate times.
There are no directional sound effects, no gunshots, and no explosions. Why then would we have a 5.1 soundtrack? Because the score surrounds us, includes us, draws us into the film. This is the best example I've ever seen (err, heard) of a surround soundtrack being used for score. Delightful stuff.
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The menus have animated backgrounds, and music from the score. They are easy to navigate.
This is not an exciting commentary. It contains a lot of information, and there are few pauses, but it lacks something to make it truly interesting. It doesn't help that one of the speakers is significantly louder than the others, making you want to ride the volume control to try to keep a balance between audible and deafening.
The speakers are the director, Lasse Hallstrom, and the producers: David Brown, Leslie Holleran, and Kit Golden.
A fairly typical "making of", complete with lots of mutual admiration, but still interesting, particularly in the discussions of the scoring. I was amused to see mention of the book "Why Women Need Chocolate". I'd recommend watching it. Presented in 1.33:1.
Detailed discussion of the thought that went into the costumes: matching the costumes to the period, to the people, and to the story. Presented in 1.33:1.
Seven deleted scenes, presented in 1.78:1, not 16x9 enhanced, without any commentary or explanation as to why they were omitted.
There are several pages of biography for each person, followed by lists of films from most recent back.
These are just trailers for The Wedding Planner (2:32, 1.78:1) and The English Patient (2:33, 1.33:1). The latter trailer is in quite poor condition, with lots of film artefacts.
Presented in 1.33:1, nothing special.
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
The Region 4 disc misses out on one small featurette, and some extra preview trailers. Not enough to make a difference, in my opinion. I don't think it will matter which of the two you buy - this is a pleasant film, nicely presented.
Chocolat is a lightly sweet delight with a hint of bitterness and a pleasant lingering aftertaste. Presented nicely on DVD.
The video quality is quite good.
The audio quality is very good.
The extras are extensive.
| Video | |
| Audio | |
| Extras | |
| Plot | |
| Overall | |
| Review Equipment | |
| DVD | Arcam DV88, using Component output |
| Display | Sony VPH-G70 CRT Projector, QuadScan Elite scaler (Tripler), ScreenTechnics 110. Calibrated with Video Essentials. This display device is 16x9 capable. |
| Audio Decoder | Built in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Video Essentials. |
| Amplification | Denon AVC-A1SE |
| Speakers | Front Left and Right: Krix Euphonix, Centre: Krix KDX-C Rears: Krix KDX-M, Subwoofer: Krix Seismix 5 |