STUDIO: Criterion
RELEASE DATE: May 13, 2008
STARRING: Alain Cuny and Jeanne Moreau
WRITTEN BY: Louise De Vilmorin
DIRECTED BY: Louis Malle
FEATURES: Gallery of promotional material from the U.S. theatrical release
Selection of archival interviews with Louis Malle, actors Jeanne Moreau and Jose Luis de Villalonga, and writer Louise de Vilmorin
New and improved English subtitle translation
PLUS: A new essay by film historian Ginette Vincendeau

This month's Criterion releases turn to the masterful and influential director Louis Malle as the company releases The Lovers and The Fire Within as a part of its continuing and spectacular collection. By now, it's not surprising to note that The Lovers looks unbelievable. All Criterion DVDs do. We've been lucky enough at The Deadbolt to continue to review a Criterion DVD every month and, honestly, they make most other DVDs look like VHS tapes in comparison. The recent announcement that Criterion would start to expand into the world of Blu-Ray is great news. They've been the standard bearers in regular DVD. It's likely that they will be in Blu-Ray too. But, for now, we have The Lovers, a controversial and influential film that helped launch the career of the stunning Jeanne Moreau and another worthy addition to the best catalog of classic movies available on DVD.

The Lovers was the second pairing of Malle and Moreau after the even better Elevator to the Gallows. The Lovers was a scandalous sensation, showing a sexual woman at a time when a female interested in passion was not a regular part of the cinematic landscape. Moreau played a wife who not only already had a husband and a lover but was interested in an attractive passing stranger. After a passionate night with him, she leaves all of her wealth and life behind. It's a beautiful film, proving how gorgeously Malle knew how to structure a movie. And Moreau holds the screen like very few have before or since. She's the definition of screen presence. The Lovers caused such a stir that it was censored and protested for obscenity. The film still has a stunning sensuality, even if the shock value isn't what it once was.

Much has been made of the gorgeous video and audio transfers on Criterion releases, but, as someone who watches hundreds of DVDs a year, my favorite thing about the Collection is how the special features on each DVD never feel like an afterthought or a prerequisite but are always something crucial to the experience of the movie. So many DVDs feature "predictable" special features like talking-head featurettes, gag reels, and dry commentaries, but Criterion discs always have extras that don't just pile on to the experience of the movie but expand it. In this case, people who buy The Lovers will also be rewarded with archival interviews from Louis Malle from 1963 and 1994, Jeanne Moreau from 1958 and 1972, and Jose Luis de Villalonga from 1958. They will also find a short piece from the writer, Louise de Vilmorin from 1965. We often excuse older films when it comes to special features, presuming that the studios couldn't find any material and the participants have passed away, so it's great to see Criterion do the work of finding such great vintage material. Also a trademark of many great Criterion DVDs, The Lovers comes with an 18-page liner notes booklet with a new essay about the film.