Jean Cocteau and Jean Vigo are two of the great towers of French cinema.
Pre-New Wave, the two inspired filmmakers like Francois Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard with their different approaches.
Our review ofThe Complete Jean VigoandOrpheuson Blu-ray follow after the jump.
Jean Cocteaus film career is practically defined by two works:Beauty and theBeastandOrpheus.
Cocteau as a filmmaker has these high points, but his body of work is uneven as a filmmaker.
It turns out that death has fallen for Orpheus as well.
The result is a film that fits the modern definitions of self-aware but without ever feeling cutesy about it.
Its jaunty and fun without ever being fey or twee.
Like Georges Melies, he loved magic and applied those trick to whatever he did.
Theres also a ton of extras.
The documentary Jean Cocteau: Autobiography of an Unknown (67 min.)
covers much of the mans life and films, with numerous interviews with Cocteau over the years.
In Search of Jazz (18 min.)
gets Cocteaus assistant director Claude Pinoteau to talk about their films together, and how they were made.
40 Minutes with Jean Cocteau (41 min.)
is a 1957 interview with the director at his home.
Let us note: Cocteau was not shy about talking about his films.
La Villa Santo-Sospir (36 min.)
was directed by Cocteau, and its a tour of his home and the art in his villa.
Theres also stills, and the films theatrical trailer.
thats both a travelogue and a film school for the young director.
This is followed byTaris(10 min.)
where Vigo got to play with photographing a swimmer in action, and what passed for underwater photography.
Again, it comes with a Temple commentary.
Zero For Conduct(44 min.)
The headmaster is looking for a child to spy on the troublemakers, and thats enough to incite anyone.
Vigos sole feature-length film isLAtalante.
But there is hope.
When music starts, hes surprised, and then gives it another go.
The reveal is priceless.
And then theres the cats.
All these things would seem like forced quirk in modern cinema, but Vigos gentle touch suggests something purer.
Theres a tribute by Michel Gondry (1 min.
), and an episode of Cineastes de notre temps (98 min.)
that talks to his collaborators about the director.
Truffaut and Eric Rohmer also celebrate the director in a conversation aboutLAtalante(18 min.
).LAtalantewas cut from 89 minutes to 65 minutes, and Les Voyages de Latalante (40 min.)
essays how the film was both butchered and saved.
Finally theres Otar Iosseliani on Vigo (20 min.
), which lets the Georgian filmmaker talk about the influence Vigo had over his work.
