Andrzej Zulawski's La Note Bleue (The Blue Note) can be called an event. This is probably the first time that a director has, in all humility, treated the life of a composer – Chopin in this instance – without sacrificing any of his ambitions as a filmmaker. In others words, not for a single moment does he attempt to appropriate or put to his own use the music he is filming. He directs it, and perhaps illustrates it, but in no way reduces it.
In La Note Bleue the music therefore serves neither as an excuse nor as a foil. It quite simply is. Invisible by nature, and yet terribly present. Mazurka, Nocturne, Funeral March... Notes heard time and again, but which here regain all their strength, ardor, and virtuosity. New notes altogether, it might seem, and yet profoundly melancholy.
Paul Claudel declared "the eye can listen." La Note Bleue proves him to be right, whispering to us that the "ear can see.
BLU-RAY DISC CONTENTS:
MONDO VISION presents the first ever North American Blu-ray release of Andrzej Zulawski's La Note Bleue (1991) in an all new HD Digital Transfer - UNCUT & supervised and approved by the director. The film is presented in the original aspect ratio of 1.66:1 along with an uncompressed mono audio soundtrack. This Dual Layer disc has been transferred and encoded using a high-frequency process which preserves as much of the detail and texture from the original film as is possible on the Blu-ray format.
DISC 1 : THE FEATURE FILM
EXTRAS: [4 Hrs. 29 Mins.] [All extras except commentary come with Optional English Subtitles in White or Yellow]
DISC 2 : SOUNDTRACK CD [ Digitally Remastered ]
PLUS :
64pg Commemorative Booklet - Content rich including Exclusive + Rare and Insightful Archival Essays & Interviews (retranslated and published for the first time ever in English) + Rare Photos and Artwork.
Exclusive
- "Blue Notes" - An Essay By Daniel Bird (2012)
Archival
- Interview with Andrzej Zulawski, La Note Bleue's Pressbook (May 1991)
- "Chopin and 'The Blue Note': The Dying Flames of a Passion" - An interview with Andrzej Zulawski by Ivan A. Alexandre, Diapason Harmonie Nº371 (May 1991)
- "Janusz Olejniczak: Living Chopin" - An essay by Ivan A. Alexandre, Diapason Harmonie Nº371 (May 1991)
PACKAGING:
This edition of La Note Bleue comes in a heavy-duty Hardcover box with magnetic enclosure and is fully wrapped with import European velvet in rich Navy Blue color. The die-cut window on the front of the packaging reveals the artwork giving the impression of a fully framed picture. Gold stamping using premium ink is used throughout the packaging to highlight the title and the credits. Inside the box is wrapped with gold foil paper and features a foldout matte laminated 6-panel digipak, matte black trays to hold the Discs + a Hardcover magnetic pocket to store the 64pg booklet and the remaining contents. The gold stamping theme is carried throughout the inside. This is our first Limited Edition where the die-cut window is painstakingly cut through the actual boxset allowing us to use an artwork in addition to printed text on velvet.
This Limited Edition has a shipping weight of 2 pounds (0.9kg) and the following dimensions:
In Inches: 7.7" (H) x 5.9" (W) x 1.4" (D)
In Millimeters: 195 (H) x 150 (W) x 35 (D)
H= Height W= Width D=Depth
Technical Details:
Run Time: 2 Hrs. 12 Mins.
Audio Tracks:
1. Original French Mono [dts-HD Master Audio]
2. Audio Commentary
Subtitles: English, Polish (optional, in White or Yellow)
Image Format: 1.66:1 Original Aspect Ratio
Disc Type: Dual Layer BD-50 + CD
UPC: 013964720792
Catalog#: MVLE006