...takes the gruesome, grisly business of murder and cannibalism and makes of it something quite poetic and quite funny.
The movie gets stranger as it goes along, culminating in a daring but rather silly rescue attempt of Louison from the butcher's vile clutches. The color scheme is made up almost entirely of muted earth colors. The background score is otherworldly, a duet by Julie and Louison on cello and musical saw being downright eerie, but fascinating. And there is a scene where Louison is trying to fix the butcher's bedsprings, with the butcher's mistress helping him, that is near sidesplitting.
As he did in "Amelie," Jeunet fashions a sweet, gentle story out of circumstances that would not on the surface admit of such treatment. In the case of "Delicatessen," he takes the gruesome, grisly business of murder and cannibalism and makes of it something quite poetic and quite funny.
Video:
The colors Jeunet chose for this film are of his own peculiar whim, leaning heavily to yellows, golds, browns, greens, and black. If you remember the pastel arrangement of "Amelie," you'll get the idea. In any case, most of the movie's 1.85:1 aspect ratio is represented fairly well on the DVD, the only major distraction being an odd flickering in a couple of the scenes. I do not know if the flicker is intentional, to create some sort of atmosphere, or if it is a defect of the anamorphic transfer. Beyond that, there is a touch of grain and a small degree of softness to the overall image.
Audio:
The keep case announces the audio as Dolby Surround, which translated means Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo. The amount of surround information you hear will depend on your Dolby Pro Logic or other surround-sound processor. I didn't notice much in the way of rear-channel action except a little musical ambience on occasion. Otherwise, the front-channel stereo spread is more than sufficient, and the sonic environment is pleasantly warm and comfortable.
Extras:
There are three primary extras. The first is an audio commentary by director Jean-Pierre Jeunet, spoken in French, for which unless you speak French you will need to select the appropriate subtitles. The second item is a thirteen-minute, behind-the-scenes featurette, "Fine Cooked Meats: A nod to Delicatessen," which is actually above average as far as these things go and is presented in normal color. The third extra is an eight-minute item, "The Archives of Jean-Pierre Jeunet," that gives us some rehearsal footage from the film as well as a few unfinished scenes.
The bonus features conclude with eighteen scene selections, and a chapter insert; a theatrical trailer and a series of teasers; French as the only spoken language; and English and Spanish subtitles, with English captions for the hearing impaired.
Parting Thoughts:
Like a lot of French comedy, "Delicatessen" tends to get a bit too slapstick and harebrained at times for my taste, especially toward the end. I preferred the more subtle black humor of the movie's surreal first half. Nevertheless, that Jeunet could make a film so whimsical on so grotesque a subject is in itself an accomplishment, and the film is ultimately quite magical. What's more, after seeing the movie, you'll probably never think of a delicatessen in quite the same way again.
As he did in "Amelie," Jeunet fashions a sweet, gentle story out of circumstances that would not on the surface admit of such treatment. In the case of "Delicatessen," he takes the gruesome, grisly business of murder and cannibalism and makes of it something quite poetic and quite funny.
Video:
The colors Jeunet chose for this film are of his own peculiar whim, leaning heavily to yellows, golds, browns, greens, and black. If you remember the pastel arrangement of "Amelie," you'll get the idea. In any case, most of the movie's 1.85:1 aspect ratio is represented fairly well on the DVD, the only major distraction being an odd flickering in a couple of the scenes. I do not know if the flicker is intentional, to create some sort of atmosphere, or if it is a defect of the anamorphic transfer. Beyond that, there is a touch of grain and a small degree of softness to the overall image.
Audio:
The keep case announces the audio as Dolby Surround, which translated means Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo. The amount of surround information you hear will depend on your Dolby Pro Logic or other surround-sound processor. I didn't notice much in the way of rear-channel action except a little musical ambience on occasion. Otherwise, the front-channel stereo spread is more than sufficient, and the sonic environment is pleasantly warm and comfortable.
Extras:
There are three primary extras. The first is an audio commentary by director Jean-Pierre Jeunet, spoken in French, for which unless you speak French you will need to select the appropriate subtitles. The second item is a thirteen-minute, behind-the-scenes featurette, "Fine Cooked Meats: A nod to Delicatessen," which is actually above average as far as these things go and is presented in normal color. The third extra is an eight-minute item, "The Archives of Jean-Pierre Jeunet," that gives us some rehearsal footage from the film as well as a few unfinished scenes.
The bonus features conclude with eighteen scene selections, and a chapter insert; a theatrical trailer and a series of teasers; French as the only spoken language; and English and Spanish subtitles, with English captions for the hearing impaired.
Parting Thoughts:
Like a lot of French comedy, "Delicatessen" tends to get a bit too slapstick and harebrained at times for my taste, especially toward the end. I preferred the more subtle black humor of the movie's surreal first half. Nevertheless, that Jeunet could make a film so whimsical on so grotesque a subject is in itself an accomplishment, and the film is ultimately quite magical. What's more, after seeing the movie, you'll probably never think of a delicatessen in quite the same way again.
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[release]18878[/release]