La Belle Noiseuse

French New Wave giant Jacques Rivette's 1991 adaptation of an Honore de Balzac story, La Belle Noiseuse is an extraordinary film about a famous artist whose renewed interest in finishing a masterpiece profoundly affects the lives of several people. Michel Piccoli (Le Doulos) plays Edouard Frenhofer, a legendary painter who hung up his brushes a decade earlier when he couldn't realize an idea for a canvas called "La Belle Noiseuse" ("The Beautiful Troublemaker"), for which his wife Liz (Jane Birkin) posed. Along comes a rising star in the art world, Nicolas (David Bursztein), who suggests that his beautiful writer-girlfriend Marianne (Emmanuelle Beart) could substitute and possibly inspire Frenhofer to complete the painting. Frenhofer agrees, and director Rivette takes his time revealing the reawakening of an artistic process, the pain of trial and error, and the elusiveness of a goal as the film explores the rocky development of a bond between artist and muse (as Frenhofer shapes and reshapes the nude Marianne's body into sometimes agonizing poses, attempting to extract some sort of truth beyond the obviousness of her form). Meanwhile, Liz and Nicolas, feeling shut out, fret over the possible personal consequences of Frenhofer's completion of his masterwork, and the artist must decide whether to stand by his vision in the face of their resistance. A fascinating, fearless film, La Belle Noiseuse debuts on DVD with a solid-looking transfer and bonus features that include separate interviews with Rivette and screenwriters Pascal Bonitzer and Christine Laurent. Highly recommended. Editor's Choice. (T. Keogh) [Blu-ray/DVD Review—May 15, 2018—Cohen, 238 min., in French w/English subtitles, not rated, DVD: $25.99, Blu-ray: $30.99—Making its debut on DVD and Blu-ray, 1991’s La Belle Noiseuse features an excellent transfer with a mono audio soundtrack. Extras include audio commentary by film historian Richard Suchenski, and interviews with co-writers Pascal Bonitzer and Christine Laurent (21 min.) and director Jacques Rivette (14 min.). Bottom line: a contemporary French classic makes a welcome debut on Blu-ray.]