Criterion? Anybody?


Beau-Pere is one of my all-time favourite movies. It's beautiful, sad, haunting, and unforgettable. I downloaded the soundtrack, hunted down the DVD, and can only sing its praises.
And yet, the DVD of it is ATROCIOUS. The subtitles become all scrambled, the sound/picture quality is nothing special, and the extras are practically non-existent. Based on a trailer I saw of it on youtube, Beau-Pere is now a property of Studio Canal, the one that keeps getting their hands on Criterion titles.
Since they obviously aren't planning on a release any time soon, couldn't Criterion snatch it up? I mean, they're famous for unearthing long-forgotten, out of circulation films, especially French. This movie is way more deserving of an upgrade than many of their more recent announcements (I love 12 Angry Men as much as the next guy, but it HAS been released on DVD; couldn't they give a more obscure film a chance?). I've emailed and pestered them, but have never gotten a response or any sign that they're listening.
Anyone out there who loves this movie like I do, would you help me try and get this film the attention it deserves? And if you do know something I don't, could you let me know? It would make me so happy if there was a shot this could be re-released. It's number one on my wish list! :)I just would hate to see this film fade into obscurity. It's too good for that.

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I agree totally about this masterpiece by Bertrand Blier. I have a similar copy where the subtitles get scrambled in the middle and suddenly return to synch near the end. But I would have happily watched it with no subtitles at all or even in Swahili. As far as getting replies from Criterion, there is never anyone on the other end. And Studio Canal! They insist on releasing foreign movies with no reference to the original title anywhere in the liner notes. It's some kind of a dumbing down insult to call Pierrot Le Feu Crazy Pete.

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(Yay! A response!)
They...didn’t...really...call it “Crazy Pete,” did they? My god, I just died a little inside!
As for Beau Pere, it sounds like you have the Fox Lorber disc, which had the subtitles scrambled for the middle section. Many people complained about this on the product page on amazon, but to no avail. It just takes a little more effort to watch the movie, is all (but boy, is it worth the effort!). I’ve messaged Criterion a few times and have posted on their Facebook page, but so few people know about the movie that it gets overlooked. Same goes for my “petition” for “Sundays and Cybele.” I just wish that these wonderful movies would get the resurrection they deserve! ARGH! It just drives me crazy to think that we may never see another release of Beau Pere! I can just picture the restoration now...
On a side note, how did you come to learn of the film? I actually first read about it in a Leonard Maltin book; he championed the film with 3 ½ out of 4 stars, and I caught the film at Hollywood Video, and the rest is history :) I wonder if he would ever pioneer to get it a good release?


Me? I'm a sort of scholar. And my major is you.

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I suddenly can't remember where I first saw "Beau Pere". Either in France (without subtitles) or on the SBS channel here in Australia. If the latter, it would have been obtained and shown by the great David Stratton, who single-handedly caused me to fill nearly 500 VHS tapes in the Nineties and early 2000s, before the station became just another outlet for advertising.

"Sundays and Cybele" another film with a similar theme that should be available somewhere.

Criterion just goes about its business. You never know what will be next. But we all bow before their wonderful existence.

Was surprised at Maltin's good review of BP as the various "Maltins" tend to be a tad squeamish with certain films.

Finally, if I could post a .jpg on IMDb I could show you the Crazy Pete cover. It does indeed make you die a little inside!

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Wow, so you've had a history with it for a while! I'm curious as to what films Stratton showed; he seems to have had very good taste! I know that Beau Pere screened recently on a French cable channel, but I was unfortunate and came in on the very end.
Sundays and Cybele is easier to find, but still tricky. It was released stateside in a very shoddy VHS format with hard to read subtitles and a murky picture. It has been released on DVD in PAL format, as well as a Korean import that is Region 1. Personally, I tracked it down on YouTube and spent the night watching it (as well as shedding a few tears). I'd love to see a Blu-Ray, but alas, the Korean import is my friend right now.
Maltin has introduced me to some great films, though I am quite surprised by some of his consensuses. He actually seems to review these types of 'romances' well: Sundays and Cybele-3½ stars, Beau Pere- 3½ stars, The Constant Nymph- 3½ stars, Lolita- 3½ stars (I'm sensing a trend). I still enjoy him as a critic, though I tend to agree with his older reviews and less with his recent ones.
Perhaps I shall Google the Crazy Pete cover! I really want to see it, but am also quite wary. I've seen what they've done to other films...


Me? I'm a sort of scholar. And my major is you.

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Studio Canal have released an 11 DVD box-set that contains 10 movies and one bonus DVD. It's r2 PAL, but you can get a multiregion DVD player for under $50 these days, and since you say you don't need subtitles, there are all the films Dewaere did except the last one, Paradis pour tous, that has yet to be released.
I bought my set from Amazon.it as it is the French edition at half the French price http://www.amazon.it/dp/B000RTH8L8.

As for "Crazy Pete", it is the literal translation of Pierrot le Fou, I don't see the problem.

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I have a recent release from Studio Canal and it's exactly the same version as mentioned above, with poor quality and botched subtitles. I agree with the OP that this beautiful and sensitive film deserves far better treatment than this.

As for "Crazy Pete", it is the literal translation of Pierrot le Fou, I don't see the problem.

No it isn't! That would be Pierre le Fou. Which would probably get translated as "Crazy Rock"...

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Pierre is the French form of Peter and Pierrot is a diminutive like Pete or Petey.

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Sure, but its other meaning is difficult to translate (puppet? clown?), suggesting the title is best left untranslated.

But I'll admit I haven't seen the film so maybe my comment was misguided.

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I suppose you're talking about Pierrot as in "Le Pierrot Lunaire". It's a character adapted from the commedia dell'arte. But in Godard's film there's no reference to this aspect, or I have missed something.

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Yes, that's what I was thinking of, perhaps rashly. I see from the plot summary that the lead character's nickname is Pierrot, so is there not a suggestion of pierrot-like traits in the character? Guess I'll have to watch it to find out, but I'm not greatly into Godard...

As an aside, even if Pierrot just refers to the name with no connotations, why translate it anyway? There is no need, and "Crazy Pete" just sounds slack and, well, horrible!

Bluedusk, what is the quality like of Beau-père, and the other films, on your box set? I see Studio Canal have recently released a 4-film set of Dewaere films including this one, could it be worth investing in do you think? I already have Les Valseuses.

http://www.amazon.fr/Collection-Patrick-Dewaere-valseuses-Beau-p%C3%A8re/dp/B008HQYMIA/ref=sr_1_3?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1361548536&sr=1-3

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The quality is good, I mean for DVDs (I'm not into HD and blu-ray anyway). But there's no subtitles whatsoever unlike what the Amazon page says, so you have to understand French.
There's the 10 DVD set: http://www.amazon.fr/dp/B000RTH8L8
Dewaere's last film "Paradis pour tous/Paradise for all", a speculative SF film of the 80s: http://www.amazon.fr/dp/B009PPMXT2
This film's also available in this budget box-set: http://www.amazon.fr/dp/B003ZIYTOW Altogether good films of the 60s through the early 80s but then again: only French subtitles on the non-French movies and no subs on the French ones. For example "The Battle of Algiers" (great docu-fiction on the events of 1957 in Algeria) has only fr subtitles on the Arabic dialogues.

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"Les Rutles de Eric Idle", oh, magnifique!

Thanks for the information Bluedusk, a quality copy of Beau-père would be good even without subtitles.

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The Novathèque box-set is quite a bargain. Beware there's one x-rated (explicit sex scenes) documentary (Exhibition) about a porn actress from the 70s. So if you have kids you may want to put this box in a locker.

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