Jules and Jim

As one of the established masterpieces of the French New Wave, Francois Truffaut's Jules and Jim serves up possibly the greatest love triangle ever filmed, exploring the shifting and complex dynamics of affection between the Austrian Jules (Oskar Werner), his closest friend, the Parisian writer Jim (Henri Serre), and the mercurial, fiercely independent Catherine (Jeanne Moreau) over the course of 25 years, beginning in 1912 and ending just before the outbreak of World War II. Charming, dramatic, and ultimately tragic (though it needn't be seen that way exclusively), the 1962 film was--like Truffaut's The 400 Blows--bracingly innovative for its time, full of visual inventiveness (fast cuts, freeze frames, overlapping scenes) as the director pushed the boundaries of what was still, for the most part, a conventional medium. Based on an autobiographical novel by Henri-Pierre Roché, the film also features a constant soundtrack by Georges Delerue that is like a musical illustration of cherished memories, filled with joy and pain. As usual, the Criterion Collection supports this cinematic milestone with a wealth of related materials, including two authoritative commentaries (one featuring various of Truffaut's collaborators and film scholar Annette Insdorf; and the other by Moreau and Truffaut biographer Serge Toubiana), featurettes exploring Roché's life and the film's basis in fact, a treasure trove of new and vintage interviews with Truffaut and his closest collaborators (including legendary cinematographer Raoul Coutard), and a 44-page booklet. Highly recommended. Editor's Choice. (J. Shannon)[Blu-ray/DVD Combo Review—Feb. 11, 2014—Criterion, 3 discs, 106 min., in French w/English subtitles, not rated, $39.95—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 1962's Jules and Jim boasts a fine transfer and an uncompressed monaural soundtrack. Extras include two audio commentaries (the first by co-screenwriter Jean Gruault, filmmaker François Truffaut collaborator Suzanne Schiffman, editor Claudine Bouché , and film scholar Annette Insdorf; the other by star Jeanne Moreau and Truffaut biographer Serge Toubiana), a “Truffaut on Truffaut” section with five archival interviews (108 min.), excerpts from the 1985 documentary “The Key to Jules and Jim” (31 min.), a discussion by film scholars Robert Stam and Dudley Andrew (24 min.), a 1986 interview with Gruault (21 min.), a 2003 interview with cinematographer Raoul Coutard (19 min.), a 1966 interview with Truffaut (8 min.), a trailer, and a booklet featuring an essay by critic John Powers, a 1981 piece by Truffaut on Roché, and script notes. Bottom line: a landmark foreign film makes a most welcome debut on Blu-ray.]