| | |  | FRANCE | Home » » Jean De Florette / Manon of the Spring (Double Feature) | | | | | | | Description: | | Yves Montand. In a small French village, greedy farmers and herdsmen sabotage one of their neighbor's plans to cultivate his land by plugging up a nearby spring. The consequences are dire in Jean De Florette (Gerard Depardieu. 1986/112 min.). In the sequel, Manon of the Spring (Daniel Auteuil. 1986/113 min.), Jean's daughter exacts her revenge but her actions lead only to further unforeseen consequences. Color/PG. | | | Product Details: | | | Actors:
| Yves Montand, Emmanuelle Béart, Gérard Depardieu, Daniel Auteuil, Hippolyte Girardot | | Director:
| Claude Berri | | Format:
| Color, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC | | Language:
| French | | Number of Discs:
| 1 | | Studio:
| MGM (Video & DVD) | | Run Time:
| 235 minutes | | DVD Release Date:
| July 24, 2007 | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 82 reviews |
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156 of 178 found the following review helpful:
 +20 for the movie, -15 for the package.Jul 26, 2007
By Brent R.
I'm editing my review. In my case, I'm an obsessive fan of these movies, and maybe nothing would've met my expectations. If you haven't seen these films, buy this DVD IMMEDIATELY! You will not be sorry, and more than likely you'll find my criticisms baseless and nit-picky.
I wrote the original after skipping around the discs and being extremely disappointed by what I saw. Since then, I've sat down and watched both movies on this disc and my opinion has changed somewhat. The problem was my expectations, not the actual product.
On the whole, these films DO look fantastic when compared to every other DVD release available (MGM and the R2 Pathe discs from France). However, they don't look nearly as good as I believe possible. I think this film deserves the royal treatment, an all new, high definition transfer by seriously skilled people.
Unfortunately, while the resolution is good, it is anamorphic, and appears to be a straight NTSC transfer (and not a PAL-to-NTSC conversion as I previously thought), there is just something not right. The colors are way too hot when compared to the actual film, and there just seems to be a layer of fuzz or blur over the whole thing that is not present on the big screen.
I give it 5 stars because the films are fantastic. The two greatest foreign films I've ever seen. I've watched them each about 15 times, and never grow tired of them. I pretty much learned French watching these movies.
However, this DVD seriously lacks. This movie is in dire need of a new and improved subtitle translation. While the subtitles make sense on the whole, I've studied the French script, and there is a great deal missing in the translation.
There are no special features.
For YEARS, these films have been out of print in America, the originals going for upwards of $50 a piece on ebay. Clearly someone was paying attention and realized there's enough people who enjoy this movie to make it available again. But slapping this set together, while allowing new viewers the opportunity to see the films, is an insult to fans who've waited a LOOOONG time for a proper American release. But a cheap release is better than none at all.
Caveat: Perhaps if enough people buy this DVD, MGM will wake up and release a proper special edition. For $14, it's a great deal for two masterpieces, but we could've done better than this.
48 of 52 found the following review helpful:
Amazing Films Re-ReleasedAug 08, 2007
By Steven Beishuizen
For those who haven't seen these films originally released in the 80s, I give them my highest review. They're well worth seeing and everything from the story to the characters to the beautiful cinematography in the French village and countryside is exceptional. Another reviewer pointed out that the translation is a bit off in the subtitles. I've watched these films many times over the years both with and without subtitles and while there are obvious differences, I don't have a problem with them to the extent that the other reviewer did. Examples of differences that I picked up are quoting lengths in inches (presumably for an American audience) rather than the original centimeters. Several slang terms and phrases are also not translated literally sometimes eliminating little jokes and so on, but I don't think that detracts from the film at all.
Now as for the packaging, this new release is bare bones. Technically the picture, and sound are improved over previous releases in my opinion. It's presented in widescreen though not in an HD format. Refer to the other reviews for the technical mumbo-jumbo, but it looked great to me. The two subtitling choices are English and Spanish. Jean de Florette is on one side of the disc and the sequel on the other. That's it. There's nothing else. They could certainly have dome more here, but for the price, who's complaining?
Highly recommended!!!!! (one exclamation point for each star)
73 of 84 found the following review helpful:
 Yes, These ARE Anamorphic... but still not quite perfectJul 29, 2007
By C. Denham
Two big steps forward, and one 1/2 step back. Contrary to the impression from the disc specs on the back of the jacket, the new MGM/Fox double feature disc DOES present the films 16:9 enhanced. They are also, surprisingly a big step up from the earlier R2 PAL discs , which for the longest time were the only way to satisfyingly watch these on a widescreen display or front projector.
Unfortunately they still aren't a home run. The picture in general consistently looks a little too 'hot' - contrast is jacked up which blows out the details in the highlights in many shots- also there is an at times over bearing yellow tint to the image in the countryside exteriors. Some EE and ringing are also visible in a few shots. Fine detail on the other hand is much improved over the PAL disc and artifacts related to compression are a monumental improvment over the first MGM release.
These should have been color timed a bit cooler- but on the whole, this new release easily represents the most watchable versions of these two classics yet (at least, not counting the widescreen Image laserdisc set that is now long out of print).
Its a shame that this release is so close, and yet still misses the mark. At least this one will suffice for a few years until the film are (hopefully) properly presented on one or both of the High Def formats.
The films themselves get 5 stars easy- the new disc gets 3.5 for PQ and AQ.
9 of 9 found the following review helpful:
Berri's seminal two-film story offers an unforgettable cinematic experienceSep 15, 2010
By Dr. Trang
Claude Berri's two seminal films of Marcel Pagnol's literary classic need to be seen as one single piece of work. In sheer breadth of thematic scope and in their exploration of the unintended long-term consequences of human actions through generations, these fine works are right up there in the top ten best films of all time, in any language. Unfolding like a Shakespearean tragedy, the story reveals how a lost letter combined with deceitful, selfish actions from ultimately non-malign motives eventually bring catastrophe on an extended family and a whole community. When the audience learns a vital piece of information missing from the history at the same time as one of the principal characters (played by the excellent Yves Montand in his final cinematic role) some part-redemption is earned when the scale of the personal tragedy is fully realised in the final reel, but it's still epic tragedy and poignant beyond almost anything else in world cinema. "As ye sow, so shall ye reap" is the message, but it's far from simplistic moralising: these characters are deep, complex with many shades of grey, and in no way "good guy/bad guy" caricatures. They are real people, like you and me, and their tragic story is that of the human condition.
"Jean" and "Manon" form one continuous story with a 10-year time gap. You absolutely must see them both, and in the correct order. On no account should you see "Manon" before seeing "Jean" first. Ideally, the films should be paced over two nights, but at the end of "Jean" you might be unable to contain your burning curiosity about what happens in the sequel, "Manon", so may choose to see both films back-to-back in a single four-hour sitting. The films are best watched in the original French so as to keep the subtleties and nuances of the original dialogue; the script is not over-wordy and the English subtitling is (with a few minor niggles) mostly accurate to the original.
The cinematography and the Provencal locations: breathtaking. The storyline: absorbing, deep, slow-paced, gripping. Acting: absolutely first-class from Gerard Depardieu, Yves Montand, Daniel Auteuil (an oscar-worthy performance playing brilliantly out of character), Emanuelle Beart (though playing a solitary and barely literate shepherdess she has few lines, the sheer power of her presence dominates "Manon") and the rest of the cast. Script: word-perfect, nothing superfluous. Soundtrack: languid, appropriate, mood-setting perfection. Direction: career-defining; an object lesson to young directors of how to reveal a story through novelistic character development in the cinematic medium.
These films teach us something about ourselves: to what consequences our actions may lead, how we may not know what we think we know, and what a difference it might make if we did; people are complex, a mix of good and not-so-good; nothing is black-and-white, and sometimes only in the long-term can the truth be seen.
Caution: there are no explosions, car chases, cartoon violence or sex scenes (though there is one scene in "Manon" of the stunningly beautiful Emanuelle Beart cavorting outside in the buff, which is absolutely essential to the story); no profane language. But watching these films will be one of the greatest cinematic experiences of your life, so savour the occasion and view it as special, because it will be.
12 of 13 found the following review helpful:
MagnificentMay 08, 2007
By Bronwyn Reid
"Life is Music"
These two movies combined are the most beautiful I have ever seen in every respect. Gerard Depardieu has long since established himself in many genres, but as the poor guy who takes all the hard knocks and keeps on getting back up again, he's as good as they get. Emanuelle Beart is absolutely gorgeous as (adult) Manon, the scenery of the Luberon is amazing, and when I was offered a chance to visit that area by friends in France I jumped at it purely based on the wonderful memories of this movie experience. I had been hoping to get a copy on dvd for as long as dvds have been an option and have had the book for many years now. I am a true fan of this very special story which surely could not be depicted any more beautifully than it is here.
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