"Babette's Feast" on BLU RAY – A Review Of The 1987 Danish Film...

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"…Love Shall Unite Us…" – Babette's Feast on BLU RAY

It’s September 1871 in a remote part of Jutland in Denmark – and on a rain-sodden night - a young French woman dressed in hooded garb knocks on the door of elderly sisters Martine and Filippa. The serenely beautiful ladies live frugally and quietly in tiny houses high above the cliffs in a deeply Christian Community – generously feeding the elderly of the flock every single day with hot food culled from their basic cooking skills.

The woman is Babette Hersant – once a worshipped culinary chef in Café Anglais in Paris - and she bears a letter from an elderly French Opera Singer called Achille Papin. He has sent Babette to Denmark by boat to escape political rioting in the capitol city that has robbed her of everything including a husband. Papin visited the sisters when they were youthful beauties many decades back – and lost his heart to Filippa’s angelic voice (words from a duet they sing in a clinch together titles this review). But because of fear and entrenched Christian beliefs – Filippa could not bear what their burgeoning love was doing to her soul – so she had her Pastor father send him away (and silence his singing). But Papin remembered her kindness too – so he has sent the broken Babette into their care.

14 years pass and Babette has now worked her way into the hearts of the kindly sisters, the local grocer and even the fishermen who can’t pass off rancid meat or old fish on the food-knowledgeable Babette.  She even knows where the herbs are on the wild grass stretches that overlook the Sea.

Babette’s only link with France is a lottery ticket a kind relative keeps renewing for her year after year. And one day she gets a letter – she’s won 10,000 Francs. To their astonishment Babette doesn’t want to squander the money on clothes or fine things – but instead payback their kindness by cooking the austere community a proper French Dinner in honour of their Pastor Father whose anniversary is approaching. And Babette wants to do it her way. The sisters agree but have no idea of the opulence that is going to invade their linen-covered table and remain tearfully terrified of its corruptive nature. But great wine, champagne, real turtle soup, sumptuous cooking and divine food mellow the bickering and tetchy elderly community and bring about a deep healing – even a spiritual renaissance of sorts…

Released in the summer of 1987 and directed by Gabriel Axel (a Danish language movie with English subtitles) – the film is based on a story by Karen Blixen (aka Isak Dinesen) and its full title is "Karen Blixen's Babette's Gaestebud". It was Denmark’s first Oscar Win for a foreign language film (also took the BAFTA).

Special mention should be made of the 'young' sisters whose back-story of 'lost love' gives the film its beating heart. A dashing Hussar called Lorens Lowenhielm is stationed in a Garrison Town living a life of tedium and gambling. His father feels he needs to be 'sent away' – so ships the blue-uniformed young man off to his aunt in Norre Vosburg in Jutland. One afternoon out of horseback he sees his redemption from creditor notes and parental lectures – the beautiful young Martine. He immediately tries to woe both her and the pious community who surrender her at every moment – but soon becomes painfully aware that his needs for luxury and easy living far outweigh his needs for Martine. So Lorens leaves and marries a countess with wealth and position. But he has of course made the mistake of a lifetime.

Now an old man but still a dashing officer – he is invited to the feast – and recognizes the extraordinary cooking skills from a past encounter in Paris (like a warm glow from the past). But more than that – he fills old Martine’s heart with joy by telling her that he has always loved her – and not even the physicality of years or body will keep them apart spiritually (his declaration of love to her at the end is one of the loveliest pieces of dialogue in cinema).

I wish I could say the Artificial Eye BLU RAY is a triumph – far from it. Despite its BFI logo – the print has specs of dirt on it, lines showing on occasion and a fair amount of natural fuzzy grain. It does look cleaned up in some places – beautiful even – but the BLU RAY improvement is slight. It’s defaulted to 1.85:1 so fills the entire screen but there’s no getting away from the fact that its good rather than great – which given the sumptuous nature of the feast – is so disappointing (docked a star for that).  As I say – it does look shockingly clean in places – but anyone expecting frame-by-frame clean up can look elsewhere.

There is a short interview in French with Stephane Audran who is intensely proud of the ‘masterpiece’ and Subtitles are Danish, Swedish, French and English.

"Babette's Feast" is a gentle film – slow and even pious to a point of being farcical. But the good-humour and warmth will etch its way into your heart – and after you witness the feast – be prepared to raid the cookie jars in your kitchen with a passion.

As young Papin's heart soars and he tells young Filippa she has 'the voice of joy' – there are moments in "Babette's Feast" when you are in complete lip-smacking agreement with the rotund Frenchman. A beautiful life-affirming film and then some…

“Out Of Africa Collector’s Series” on BLU RAY. A Review Of The 1985 Film Now Fully Restored And Reissued In A ‘Limited Edition BLU RAY Book Pack’ As Part Of Universal’s 100th Anniversary Celebrations in 2012.

"…He Began Our Friendship With A Gift…"

*** THIS REVIEW IS FOR THE '2012' BLU RAY 

COLLECTOR'S SERIES BOOK PACK VERSION ***

In April 2012 Universal Studios was 100 years old - and to celebrate that movie-making centenary they had 13 of their most-celebrated films fully restored for BLU RAY. 1985's "Out Of Africa" is one of them and like the other titles in this series so far - the print quality of this beloved film is extraordinary and the presentation classy (a full list of titles in the 100th Anniversary BLU RAY Series is in the attached 'comment' section - including DVD releases).

Issued in the US 6 March 2012 (later given a UK release) - "Out Of Africa Collector's Series" comes in a gorgeous limited edition 44-page hardback 'Book Pack' (use Barcode 025192127793 on the Amazon search bar to get the right issue). It's a 2-disc set with the BLU RAY to the front and the Anamorphic Widescreen DVD to the rear. There's also a foldout insert included that has a code for a Digital Copy via download from Universal's website valid until 31 December 2013.

But the really great news for film fans everywhere is a stupendously good print and a REGION FREE release - so it will play on ALL BLU RAY machines and PlayStation 3 Consoles too (there was a preceding version on BLU RAY that received bad reviews re print - this version is not that one). 
Also note: there is a cheaper standard packaging version due 4 September 2012 in the USA with slightly altered front artwork - again it has a BLU RAY, DVD and Download - so check you're using the Barcode provided above to get the 'best' version).

PICTURE QUALITY:

Digitally remastered and Fully Restored from Original Film Elements - Universal are reputed to have stumped-up over $300,000 for the restoration - and the results have already received huge praise on web sites dedicated to the format. This overhauled 2012 "Out Of Africa" print is a full 1080p High Definition release with an aspect ratio of 1.85:1. What that means is the picture fills your entire screen without stretching - and combined with the gorgeous transfer - the effect is truly cinematic. For example the movie opens with a sunrise on the African Plains - all yellows and gold and browns. With the natural heat haze the land would produce and the semi-lighting conditions - this is a very difficult moment to get right - yet it is fantastically clear and clean. But even this is aced a few moments later when a bi-plane flies over the open plains during the daytime and it's little short of gobsmacking (dialogue from it titles this review). There then follows a scene in Denmark in snowy fields at a shooting party where I swear it looks like Dr. Zhivago (it's that good). In fact it's in these outdoor scenes (of which there are many) that the beautiful 'look' of "Out Of Africa" really excels - and it does so right through to the very end when Karen (Streep) bids farewell to her trusty steward Farah (played by Michael Bowens) at the train station.

It should be stressed however that it isn't perfect at all times by any means - there is some shocking fuzziness and grain on indoor shots - sequences at night around campfires and tents with Redford. There's a scene where Michael Kitchen as the dapper Englishman Berkeley Cole is talking to Meryl Streep at dinner in her home - the camera cuts to Streep and the print is perfect - but it then flicks back to Kitchen and the shot is suddenly covered in speckles of grain. They were either filmed apart or on two cameras - but the cleaned up print has only made the discrepancy more apparent and not less so.

But for the most part this is a joy to look at and at last gives full reign to David Watkin's sumptuous cinematography and Milena Canonero's crafted outfits (aristocratic European fashions alongside the colourful garments of African tribesmen). Throw in John Barry's most magisterial score ever - and as you can imagine - the impact is properly beautiful. A good example of all three occurs when the credits role - a steam train trundles across the wide-open expanses of 1913 Kenya in East Africa as we see the Danish Baroness standing at the back of her carriage in her immaculate outfit - then John Barry's score just nails it as the title of the film goes up onscreen. It's both fabulous to look at and moving too...a rare combination indeed.

BOOK PACK:

The 44-page booklet inside the hardback outer is pure eye candy as you can imagine. It opens with a 2-page appreciation by film-critic and historian Leonard Maltin, has reproductions of several script pages, US, Polish and East German advert posters, a Cast of Characters, a piece on the political makeup of Kenya at the time - the British to the North and the Germans to the South and essays on the principal leads Streep, Redford, the Composer John Barry and Director Sydney Pollock. There's interesting trivia items dotted throughout the text - for instance Redford initially played the Englishman Denys Hatton with an English accent - but Pollock felt no-one would accept Redford as a Brit so he had him re-record all of the parts in American. Or that during the tender hair-washing scene wild Hippos were in the river nearby and they kill more people than lions if they feel their territory is threatened - so Streep was more scared of them than bullwhipping lions. The quality of the colour photos is top-notch too.

EXTRAS:

Clocking in a whopping 1 hour and 12 minutes Charles Kiselayk's "A Song Of Africa" is a substantial bonus feature that has charming, insightful and witty contributions from Streep, Redford and Pollock - intermixed with archive footage of the young, older and near-death Karen Blixen. It fills out a lot of the gaps as to what happened before and after the films' parameters where she left Africa in 1931 after 17 years - 46-years old, childless, penniless, divorced and broken-hearted. She then wrote over 10 books under the pseudonym Isak Dinesen between 1935 and 1996 and suffered from Syphilis all her life. This extra is also in standard 480p definition - so when you see the washed-out widescreen stock footage - you begin to realize just how astounding the cleaned-up 1080p fullscreen print really is. The only mild irritant is the overly wordy narration where the speaker wants to prove he's Kahlil Gibran every few moments, as he waxes lyrical about the lady's journey. The 15 or so Deleted Scenes (Widescreen and in Standard Definition) come fast and furious – they’re very short and although one or two with the Farah character are interesting - you can see why most were cut...

CAST:

With 18 Oscar nominations and 3 wins to her name - you can't imagine any other actress ballsy enough to take on such a difficult, willful and frustrated woman. Yet Streep chews it up. Her accented Karen Blixen is wholly believable - vulnerable, proud, literate, deep, religiously repressed yet wanting to be sensually liberated - and reaching for it with the man she grew to adore and love - the English and debonair African hunter Denys Hatton. This is a big and romantic canvas - and both principals have affection for each other and respect for their various skills - their on-screen chemistry being a lovely thing to see. The scene where Denys takes her up in the bi-plane and flies across the landscape of mountains, rivers, waterfalls, zebras, giraffes and a lake full of birds to show her the real beauty of Africa - is breathtaking and even a little spiritual. Pollock's use of the indigenous tribes is superbly done too. Klaus Maria Brandauer, Michael Gough, Leslie Phillips, Shane Rimmer and the sorely missed Irish actor Donal McCann as her Doctor - all wonderful. Blink and you'll miss IMAN - David Bowie's wife - nursing the Michael Kitchen character whose contracted black water fever...

To sum up - clocking in at 2 hours and 40 minutes - "Out Of Africa" may seem a tad indulgent by today's standards of chop-em-out-fast-and-leave-em-panting blockbusters - but it works precisely because its epic. It was a mammoth undertaking at the time made by maverick people (Pollock worked on the script with Kurt Luedtke for over a year - Pollock sadly passed away in 2008) and this BLU RAY reissue does it proud.

And as with the other titles in this series - it's also heartening to see Universal Studios finally throw some proper money at the preservation of their movie legacy and be proud about doing so too. I'm collecting the whole series and live in hope that other studios respect their past in the same glorious way.

BLU RAY and DVD Specifications:

EXTRAS:

1. Deleted Scenes - over 15 short segments (about 15 minutes)

2. A Song Of Africa - An Original Full-Length Documentary On The Making Of The Film and Karen Blixen's Life by Charles Kiselayk (72 minutes)

3. Theatrical Trailer

4. Feature Length Commentary With Director Sydney Pollack

5. My Scenes

6. BLU RAY Exclusive: Pocket BLU - For Tablets and Smartphones - take the content on the go

7. BLU RAY Exclusive: BD Live - Internet-Connected Feature

VIDEO: 1080p High-Definition Widescreen 1.85:1

BLU RAY AUDIO: English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and French 5.1 DTS Surround

DVD AUDIO: English Dolby Digital 4.1 and French Dolby Digital 2.0

SUBTITLES BLU RAY: English SDH (Deaf and Hard-Of-Hearing), Spanish and French SUBTITLES DVD: English SDH (Deaf and Hard-Of-Hearing)

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PS: The 13 Restored Titles in this Limited Edition Book Pack 'Collector's Series' are:

1. All Quiet On The Western Front (1930)

Released 13 Feb 2012 in the UK. Restored, Remastered and comes in a beautiful 40-page Book Pack. SEE DETAILED REVIEW.

2. The Birds (1963)

Release date to be advised...

NOTE: the UK 23 April 2012 'DVD' with Universal 100th Anniversary packaging does NOT contain a restored print - it will be in the BLU RAY book pack later in the year.

3. (Abbott And Costello in) Buck Privates (1941)

Released 17 April 2012 in the USA. A 2-disc Book Pack with Blu Ray, DVD and Digital Copy. It's fully restored and digitally remastered.

This BLU RAY has no UK release date as yet - but its a non-region coded disc so will play on ALL machines.

4. Dracula (1931)

Book Pack release date to be advised. Will contain both the English and Spanish versions. The restored print on BLU RAY is due in the USA and UK in Oct 2012 as part of the 8-film Box Set "Universal Classic Monsters: The Essential Collection".

NOTE: the UK 23 April 2012 'DVD' with Universal 100th Anniversary packaging does NOT contain a restored print.

5. E.T. - The Extra Terrestrial (1982)

USA release date Oct 2012 - November 2012 in the UK.

6. Frankenstein (1931)

Book Pack release date to be advised. The restored print on BLU RAY is due in the USA and UK in Oct 2012 as part of the 8-film Box Set "Universal Classic Monsters: The Essential Collection"

7. The Bride Of Frankenstein (1935)

Book Pack release date to be advised. The restored print on BLU RAY is due in the USA and UK in Oct 2012 as part of the 8-film Box Set "Universal Classic Monsters: The Essential Collection"

8. Jaws (1975)

Released August 2012 in the USA/September 2012 in the UK. BLU RAY Book Pack. Fully restored print with Steven Spielberg's involvement - new extras.

9. Out Of Africa (1985)

Released 6 March 2012 in the USA-Only. A 2-disc set containing a BLU RAY, DVD and means to a Digital Download via Universal's Website (a REGION FREE release so will play on all machines). There is a 'standard packaging' 2-disc version due 4 September 2012. See DETAILED REVIEW... 

10. Pillow Talk (1959)

7 May 2012 UK release. BLU RAY in a 44-page hardback Book Pack. Fully restored print and remastered sound. SEE DETAILED REVIEW.

11. Schindler's List  (1993)

Release date to be advised...late 2012 (DVD released in Jan 2012).

12. The Sting (1973)

Released 11 June 2012 in the UK. Restored and remastered and in Book Pack.

NOTE: There's also a 'card-wrap' version of this BLU RAY in the USA - so check which issue you're buying.

The Amazon code for the card wrap version is B007N31ZLA - the 'Book Pack Collector's Series' is B007UOWM6E. SEE DETAILED REVIEW.

13.  To Kill A Mockingbird (1962)

Released 10 January 2012. BLU RAY with 44-page Book Pack. SEE DETAILED REVIEW...