![The Double Life of Veronique (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray] (1991)](/wp_content/uploads/2011/03/51yPa3VouXL._SL500_AA300__150x150.jpg "The Double Life of Veronique (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray] (1991)")
THE DOUBLE LIFE OF VÉRONIQUE (1991, Blu-ray released February 1, 2010 – MSRP $39.95)
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The Double Life of Véronique is writer/director Krzysztof Kieślowski (Decalogue, the Three Colors trilogy) at his best, crafting a remarkable, subjective, dream-like tale that balanaces great complexity with poetic simplicity. Irène Jacob (Red, Othello) plays dual roles here, as a singer and her double, a music teacher. Both women live separate lives, unaware of the other while sharing an uncanny emotional bond that resonates through every element of their respective beings. When Weronika dies suddenly during a performance in Poland, Véronique, miles away in France, finds herself suffering from a crippling loneliness. The mysterious hole in her life leads her to make sweeping changes in her life, and follow mysterious clues that eventually lead her to love and contentment.
On the surface, The Double Life of Véronique seems a simple tale but it’s so deep and rich, full of imagery and symbolism that every piece of string wrapped around a delicate finger, every note of music played or sung, every reflection and illusion on screen can lead your mind down a new path, to follow Kieślowski’s dreamy narrative to surprising destinations. The director himself found the storytelling so challenging here, that he and editor Jacques Witta cut more than twenty versions of the film, each with varying levels of clarity in the narrative, toying with the way the audience would perceive the tale. In the end, he struck a balance, presenting just enough story detail to follow, while maintaining the otherworldly subjectivity of the mystical.
As it’s to be expected, Criterion has delivered a knock-out of a disc, with a stunning technical presentation and more special features than you can shake a stick at. The film looks better than ever, highlighting the extraordinary colourful photography of Slawomir Idziak in all it’s rich, vibrant glory. I’m in absolute awe of the way the film looks here. The natural, film-like image achieved on the Blu-ray disc is marvelous to behold. Colours are vivid, blacks are deep and a nice sheen of grain is ever present.
From the liner notes:
- “This high-definition digital transfer was created on a Spirit Datacine in 2K resolution from the original 35mm negative. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, warps, jitter, and flicker were manually removed using MTI’s DRS system, while Digital Vision’s DVNR system was used for small dirt, grain, and noise reduction. “
The DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack is a faithful representation of the source, eschewing a modern 5.1 mix for the original theatrical stereo while remaining crisp, clear and film-accurate throughout.
From the liner notes:
- “The stereo soundtrack was remastered at 24-bit from the 35mm magnetic tracks. Clicks, thumps, hiss, and hum were manually removed using Pro Tools HD. Crackle was attenuated using Audio Cube’s integrated audio workstation.“
The new Criterion Blu-ray disc carries over all of the features from the studio’s excellent 2006 DVD edition of the film, including the very informative commentary track by Annette Insdorf, author of Double Life, Second Chances: The Cinema of Krzysztof Kieslowski and the unusual “U.S. Ending”, forced upon the director for the film’s American release by Miramax boss-man, Harvey Weinstein. The highlights of the supplemental set are the two documentary features – the nearly hour-long “Kieslowski-Dialogue” in English-subtitled Polish and French (just like the film itself) and the MK2 produced “1966-1988: Kieslowski, Polish Filmmaker” covering the work of the auteur. Over an hours-worth of interviews with Jacob, Idziak and composer Zbigniew Preisner are also included, along with early short documentaries from the director and his greatest influence, his former teacher Kazimierz Karabasz.
The Double Life of Véronique Blu-ray disc from Criterion receives our highest possible recommendation.
Special Features:
- Restored high-definition digital transfer with DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
- Audio commentary by Annette Insdorf, author of Double Lives, Second Chances: The Cinema of Krzysztof Kieślowski
- Three short documentary films by Kieślowski: Factory (1970), Hospital (1976), and Railway Station (1980)
- The Musicians (1958), a short film by Kieślowski’s teacher Kazimierz Karabasz
- Kieślowski’s Dialogue (1991), a documentary featuring a candid interview with Kieślowski and rare behind-the-scenes footage from the set of The Double Life of Véronique
- 1966-1988: Kieślowski, Polish Filmmaker, a 2005 documentary tracing the filmmaker’s work in Poland, from his days as a student through The Double Life of Véronique
- A 2005 interview with actress Irène Jacob
- New video interviews with cinematographer Slawomir Idziak and composer Zbigniew Preisner
- New and improved English subtitle translation
- PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by Jonathan Romney and a selection from Kieślowski on Kieślowski
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