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Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec (The)
R2 - United Kingdom - Optimum Releasing Review written by and copyright: Neil Bray (19th July 2011). |
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The Film
 The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec began life as a series of comics written and drawn by Jacques Tardi and is now brought to life by Luc Besson, director of such films as Subway, Nikita, Léon and The Fifth Element. Léon is one of my all-time favourite films and, since its release, I have continued to watch Luc Besson’s films; from the brilliant The Fifth Element to the children’s fantasy film Arthur and the Invisibles; and what I have found is that Mr Besson has a tendency to insert a lot of humour into his films, and it’s something I’ve always appreciated. As Mr Besson says himself in one of the interviews included on this disc, he inserts humour to remind himself “not to take it all so seriously”. Well, with The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec there’s every reason to take what he does seriously. This film is an absolute joy from start to finish. Attempting to resurrect her sister after an unfortunate hatpin accident (yes, I did say hatpin), Adèle embarks upon a series of hilarious, and often surreal, adventures involving mummies, a love-sick scientist, a professor with psychic powers, oh, and don’t forget...a pterodactyl! From the very beginning this film is visually sumptuous. The colour palette is rich with detail and texture and the cinematography is outstanding. This heightened-reality world is populated with some of the quirkiest characters I have ever seen; each with highly developed personalities brought to life by a cast of incredibly talented actors; most notably the beautiful Louise Bourgoin whose delightful, feisty, touching and comic portrayal of the title characters is a joy to behold. The film steams along at a cracking pace and is never boring. There is a sequence in a Pharaoh’s tomb that is straight out of Indiana Jones, along with a pterodactyl flight and mummies-on-parade. First and foremost this is a comedy, and it is here that some may have a hard time. The French style of humour does not always translate as well as it could, so occasionally a joke is missed or underplayed, but in a film where even the most tragic events are tinged with humour this is not a big issue because there is still a lot to smile at here. I was also very pleased to see that Luc Besson once again hired his long-time collaborator Eric Serra to write the score for the film. I love Eric Serra’s scores, and his work on this film is no exception.
Video
Presented anamorphically at 2.35:1, this film is a feast for the eyes and, as such, I really wished I’d been watching the Blu-ray edition. The picture presented here is excellent, as to be expected for a modern film, but there were moments of pixilation (most noticeably on distance shots) and some of the CGI was not as clear as I would have liked. However, generally speaking, this is a perfectly sound picture.
Audio
Audio options are all in French with forced English subtitles; Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo and Dolby Digital 5.1. I viewed the film with the 5.1 track and there was nothing to complain about. A good range of sound, utilising all the speakers to give a rich cinema experience.
Extras
Making Of (26.04), French with English subtitles – a great piece covering everything from the original comic book through to production and casting. Includes interviews with Jacques Tardi, Luc Besson, Louise Bourgoin, Jacky Nercessian, Gilles Lellouche and Jean-Paul Rouve. Interviews with Luc Besson (14.52), Louise Bourgoin (15.50), French with English subtitles – These interviews are somewhat disappointing because practically all the footage was used in the above Making Of, making watching these redundant. However, of the two, Louise Bourgoin’s interview did give slightly more extra information. Cinemoi Interview with Luc Besson (25.44), English – This interview is the standard promotional interview with Besson being asked questions about the making of Adèle along with his previous films. Generally quite interesting.
Overall
A wonderful film deserving of more attention than it has received. Definitely one to have on Blu-ray. Think Sherlock Holmes in a corset or Indiana Jones in drag and you have the wonderful Adèle Blanc-Sec. Extraordinary indeed!
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