This “Limited Edition” 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray combo from Severin Films will be released on March 25th.
If you’ve read this column before, you’ll know that I have been regularly impressed with the quality of the 4K Ultra HD discs arriving from companies like Arrow Video, Severin Films, Synapse Films and Vinegar Syndrome. The wonderful French film Delicatessen is now being released by Severin. Sorry to sound like a broken record, but not only will I immediately praise this release, but go one step further. Despite the film being a relatively low-budget effort, the picture is jaw-dropping. This film looks magnificent on 4K Ultra HD (and the accompanying Blu-ray), and, for genre film fans, is pretty much a reference-quality presentation.
It is immediately made clear why everything looks phenomenal and I will quote the direct message at the beginning of the disc from French distributor StudioCanal. ”This 4K restoration has been supervised by Jean-Pierre Jeunet at L’Image Retrouvée. To meet the creative wishes of cinematographer Darius Khondji on the film’s first release, the 35mm interpositive was given a specific photochemical treatment. Today’s digital technology enabled us to work directly with the 35mm negative and restore the original image by optimizing color grading, contrast, and by harmonizing the grain.”
What follows is a visually dynamic feature given a superlative presentation. Vinegar Syndrome has released another incredible product with excellent extras that add even more value to the product. If you enjoy this film or have any interest in checking it out, it will not disappoint.
For those unfamiliar with the story, it is set in a strange, dilapidated future where buildings are falling apart and citizens struggle to survive. In fact, humans are starving so much that food has become a form of currency and cannibalism is common. We focus on the eccentric residents of a beat-up apartment complex. At the base is a delicatessen (with an emphasis on meats) run by building landlord and butcher Clapet (Jean-Claude Dreyfus). He regularly chops up assistants, and those living above happily accept the fresh meat.
When sweet, out-of-work ex-clown Louison (Dominique Pinon) arrives looking for a job, he is hired immediately. As tenants eagerly await a hearty meal, Louison meets and charms Julie (Marie-Laure Dougnac), the daughter of the butcher. She is unhappy with her dad’s business model and decides to try to save the man she has feelings for. Julie even goes into the sewers to talk to the vegetarian troglodyte population and get their assistance in helping Louison. Eventually, the pair must face-off against the cleaver-wielding Clapet and other residents, fighting for survival.
Despite the dark subject matter, the film itself is breezy and quirky, emphasizing comedy over shocks. The budding relationship between Louison and Julie is sweet, including a bit where they make music together with Louison using an unusual instrument. There are several hilarious scenes of physical comedy that evoke Charlie Chaplin. One great bit involves a sequence detailing the lives of many apartment-dwellers that cut around an amusing sound effect. Another hilarious bit involves Louison bouncing on a bed trying to fix a squeak. It almost ends up looking like a dance number. The camera angles are exciting, with sudden moves, as well as extreme angles, all gorgeously captured by Darius Khondji (Se7en, The Ninth Gate, Midnight in Paris, The Lost City of Z, Uncut Gems, Mickey 17).
And when the climax arrives, there are incredible shots of a floor collapsing, leaving the leads hanging on for dear life. Everything in the movie looks wonderful, from the sets and props, to the lighting and action, and it is all presented in 4K with crystal clarity. As mentioned, the detail is incredible. You can see droplets of sweat and water on the actors faces, and details that even retinal veins in the eyes of some of the performers. It looks perfect.
This is a really entertaining feature that, thanks to its unique setting, likable protagonists, clever sense of physical humor and stunning photography, isn’t just fun, but also feels timeless. I haven’t seen the movie since its original video debut and actually believed that it had come out in the mid-90s, rather than 1991. Truth be told, it was released in North American around the time of movies like Hook, Freejack and The Lawnmower Man and, as a fantastical narrative feature, blows them out of the water visually and on a creative level. You don’t look at this movie and wince at the effects work, as it is all practical. The movie is as convincing and enveloping today as it was 34 years ago.
An archival commentary with co-director Jean-Pierre Jeunet is included on the 4K disc. Jeunet notes that while he loves filmmaker commentaries, his co-director Marc Caro has no interest in them and thus didn’t want to participate. Jeunet gives a lot of detail about how hard the shoot was and how long it took to get financing for his debut feature. Apparently, he and Caro had made a couple of successful short films, but it took 10 years before anyone would put up the money for a feature. Their first screenplay was The City of Lost Children, but they realized that it was far too expensive and so they attempted to develop another story that could be set in one location. Jeunet and Caro were very thankful for the efforts of producer Claudie Ossard, who fought for them and championed the Delicatessen script when other studio executives wouldn’t.
Jeunet also notes that he might have been a little fussy on-set, but that the pair figured this might be their only film and so they wanted to make sure everything was just as they envisioned. The speaker also doesn’t mince words for another filmmaker whom he feels has blatantly copied shots and concepts from his work. Overall, it’s an informative track.
On the included Blu-ray, there are other extras. There is an interview with both Jeunet and Caro, in which they explain the origins of the project in more detail, their inspirations and how the two handled co-directing. It seems they just talked things out together, but admit they naturally veered into different areas of interest. Caro handled a lot of visual elements, while Jeunet dealt with the actors, as well as staging action within the shot. They also talk about how surprised they were by the success of the movie in France as well as internationally, given that most studio executives were not initially impressed with their movie. The duo also discuss signing a US distribution deal with Miramax, their difficult initial meeting with Harvey Weinstein (who wanted to heavily re-edit their film) and the amusing way they managed to get his hands off of their film. And they go into the difficulties of making their even more elaborate follow-up, The City of Lost Children.
A making-of featurette from the film’s time of release is also included, which primarily focuses on the cast and crew working on the bathroom collapse scene, which looks quite dangerous and they dangle a story above the floor.
There is also a lengthy coffee-shop talk with the more publicity-shy Caro, who talks about his career as a comic artist and his work with Jeunet. He notes that after their two films together, the two had different interests and moved on to separate projects (Jeunet went on to make Amélie, Alien: Resurrection, A Very Long Engagement, Micmacs and others). While they are still friendly, Jeunet was more interested in working in Hollywood, and Caro wasn’t as interested in leaving France. Caro also notes that he did help Jeunet on Alien: Resurrection by doing storyboards and designing the costume for the Dominique Pinon character. He also talks about his own work and projects, including his French science-fiction feature Dante 01, as well as notes other projects he’s currently working on. It’s an enlightening piece.
Another great little bonus is an extra featuring director Terry Gilliam. For those in English-speaking territories, Delicatessen was advertised with a “Terry Gilliam Presents” line placed above the title. Gilliam sits down to explain that he was asked to help sell the film by the distributor. After seeing the picture, loving it and asking Jeunet and Caro if they really wanted him to do this (they were delighted by the idea and huge fans of Gilliam), he happily agreed.
Gilliam talks about the film and what he thought was remarkable about it, also going into his own career and sharing stories about his difficulties dealing with studios. The filmmaker suggests that, in the process of doing this favor for the makers of Delicatessen, he was also inspired. Gilliam was depressed at the time, as his last two pictures, Brazil and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, had been box office flops. The positive experience and success of the movie inspired him to find more work. He was hired shortly afterwards to helm The Fisher King, which became a box office and critical hit for Gilliam.
A trailer is also included on the disc.
Delicatessen is a remarkable debut feature that holds up wonderfully well. The 4K Ultra HD upgrade is stunning, and the image quality will likely be on many “best of the year” lists. And the extras on the set are equally entertaining and informative, adding a bit of curious backstory to the film as well as the careers of both Jeunet and Caro. I can’t recommend this release enough. In fact, it makes me hope that Severin Films manages to get their hands on The City of Lost Children and Amélie (which I think are both part of the Sony catalog) as well as Micmacs and Jeunet’s more recent work, as they would look equally stunning in 4K Ultra HD.
In the meantime, be sure to pick up the 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray of Delicatessen, it’s a stellar release!