Blue Is the Warmest Colour Blu-ray Review

"Blue Is the Warmest Colour" comes to UK Blu-ray via Artificial Eye with an impressive 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer. Presented in the film’s original 2.4:1 aspect ratio, this high-definition presentation offers a near-stellar visual experience that capitalizes on the film's meticulous cinematography. The transfer is largely impeccable with outstanding detailing. Close-ups are particularly striking, rendering facial lines, pores, and minute hair details with remarkable clarity.

Colors are richly saturated and natural, enhancing the film's visual storytelling, while contrast levels remain stable throughout the runtime. There are no significant signs of digital noise reduction (DNR) or edge enhancement, ensuring the integrity of the original image. The only noted imperfection is slight banding in some shadowy scenes, though these instances are brief and minimal, not detracting significantly from the overall visual experience.

In summary, this Blu-ray release of "Blue Is the Warmest Colour" features a meticulously crafted transfer that does justice to the film’s intricate visual narrative. With its crisp detail, vibrant colors, and stable contrast, it will undoubtedly satisfy both new viewers and devoted fans. Note that this is a Region-B locked release and requires compatible hardware for playback.

The Blu-ray audio presentation of "Blue Is the Warmest Colour" offers a French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track and a French LPCM 2.0 option, both featuring forced English subtitles embedded in the image frame. The film exhibits a natural and organic sound design, with dialogue that is consistently crisp, clean, and easy to follow. The dialogue requirements are significant in this largely conversation-driven narrative, and they are met with exceptional clarity, ensuring that whispered or shouted words dominate the frontal array without any distortion.

While the soundtrack is subtle and minimally augmented, it excels in delivering natural, precise, and immersive soundscapes. Ambient noises, such as school classroom settings, enhance the realism and contribute to an engaging listening experience. Diagetic music elements play a crucial role during certain sequences, with club music and festival beats effectively filling your living room space and adding life to key scenes. Though LFE input is conservatively used, primarily during these musical interludes, the result feels entirely fitting for the context of the film. Overall, while not quite reaching demo-worthy status, this audio presentation remains robustly impressive in its authentic and dynamic execution.

The UK Blu-ray release of "Blue Is the Warmest Colour" by Artificial Eye significantly surpasses its US counterpart by offering a robust selection of extras. Key highlights include engaging interviews with actress Adele Exarchopoulos and director Abdellatif Kechiche, adding depth to the film's production story through detailed discussions on casting, directorial approach, and the extensive five-month shooting period—uncommon for French cinema. Additionally, viewers can explore three evocative deleted scenes, further enriching the narrative experience with nine additional minutes of unreleased footage. The comprehensive package is rounded off with the inclusion of the original UK theatrical trailer.

Extras included in this disc:

• Interview with Adele Exarchopoulos: Insights on casting, directing methods, and more.
• Interview with Abdellatif Kechiche: Discussion on film creation, character portrayal, and editing.
• Deleted Scenes: Three scenes offering additional narrative content.
• Trailer: Original UK theatrical trailer, subtitled in English.

Abdellatif Kechiche's "Blue Is the Warmest Colour" is an intricate coming-of-age drama that explores the intense relationship between two young women, Adele and Emma. Emerging from a setting by Kechiche that mirrors his previous work, "Games of Love and Chance," the film offers a realist depiction of teenage life, love, and the socially diverse backdrop of Lille. Both lead characters, portrayed by Adèle Exarchopoulos and Léa Seydoux, deliver compelling performances; the former depicting a high-school student from a conservative family, grappling with her burgeoning sexuality, and the latter as an openly gay, blue-haired art student.

The film's narrative structure is episodic, documenting shifts in time without warning, which imbues it with a documentary-style realism. This stylistic choice effectively conveys the character development and the tumultuous journey toward self-discovery and maturity faced by the protagonists. However, the film doesn't shy away from controversy. It features highly explicit and lengthy sex scenes that have sparked discussions about their necessity and the portrayal of lesbian relationships through a potentially heterosexualized lens. These scenes are raw and intense, balancing on the edge of discomfort while aiming to merge sex and emotional intimacy within the storyline.

The visual presentation of "Blue Is the Warmest Colour" is a technical achievement. Shot digitally, it boasts sharp imagery and vibrant colors that enhance its emotive impact. The director’s use of close-ups creates an intimate connection with the characters, capturing subtle emotional shifts. Despite its 179-minute runtime and occasional narrative shortcomings, it remains a film of significant artistic merit, underpinned by potent performances and meticulous cinematography. Its accolades, including the Palme d'Or at Cannes, underscore its critical recognition, albeit mixed reactions from various audience demographics highlight its polarizing nature.

Artificial Eye's Blu-ray release of "Blue Is the Warmest Colour" offers an impressive audiovisual presentation which faithfully captures the film's emotional depth and visual nuance. The high-definition transfer delivers crisp, richly detailed images that do justice to Abdellatif Kechiche's compelling direction and beautiful cinematography. Colors are vividly rendered, enhancing the film's evocative atmosphere, while black levels remain deep and consistent, providing excellent contrast throughout. The audio track is equally proficient, ensuring clear dialogue delivery and an immersive sound experience.

Supplemental features on this Blu-ray are noteworthy. The collection includes insightful featurettes and interviews that delve into the making of the film, contributing to a better understanding of its creative process. These extras provide meaningful context and enhance the viewing experience without overwhelming it. Although it's challenging to compare directly with the Criterion release in terms of video and audio quality, Artificial Eye has delivered a well-rounded package that stands strong on its own merits.

Although you might wonder whether this film would have received quite so much universal acclaim had it been about two men – or two heterosexuals – in a relationship, there’s much to embrace in the warmth of this intimate relationship study; a great deal of honesty and two bravely authentic core relationships offer an unflinching foundation for the film, to help it survive some riskily excessive sex scenes and occasionally distractingly pretentious dialogue.

Whilst it's impossible to comment on the video and audio in comparison to the Criterion release, Artificial Eye have certainly won on the extras front. This Region B-locked UK Blu-ray may not have exactly the same video and audio as the Region A-locked US Criterion release, but they are still undeniably excellent, and the extras package is certainly considerably more impressive – in that we actually have some. Region-restricted fans should consider this a welcome alternative, and maybe even a superior release. Artificial Eye's upcoming Blu-ray release of director Abdellatif Kechiche's Blue is the Warmest Color should make English-speaking fans of the film residing in Region-B territories very happy. The film looks fantastic in high-definition and there are some very good supplemental features on the Blu-ray. Enjoy! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.