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Bluebeard's Castle
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray B - United Kingdom - British Film Institute Review written by and copyright: James-Masaki Ryan (27th November 2023). |
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The Film
 "Bluebeard's Castle" ("Herzog Blaubarts Burg") (1963) Newlywed Bluebeard (played by Norman Foster) invites his wife Judith (played by Ana Raquel Satre) to his dark grand castle. There are seven locked doors within the castle, each representing a part of Bluebeard’s life and are unlocked one by one by Judith. With each room unlocked, the castle starts to reveal an environment that turns more and more sinister with every step… "A kékszakállú herceg vára", or “Bluebeard’s Castle” was a one act opera written by librettist Béla Balázs and composer Béla Bartók. First performed in their native country of Hungary in 1918, it was an experimental work with a dark theme, had an elaborate yet minimal set design, a short runtime, and with only two singers performing. It proved to be a difficult work to showcase, as it was experimental in nature and was rejected by the Hungarian Fine Arts Commission for awards recognition. Coupled with Bartók’s exile from Hungary following the country’s revolution in 1919, his one and only opera production would not receive great recognition until after his death in 1945. In the early 1960s, American opera singer Norman Foster looked to bring two works by Bartók from stage to screen in a filmed form for television, with one being “Bluebeard’s Castle” and the other being the ballet “The Miraculous Mandarin”. Securing funding from Süddeutscher Rundfunk, the production would take place in Salzburg, Austria at the new Dürer Film Studios. Enlisting a crew of filmmaking veterans such as production designer Hein Heckroth and relative newcomers such as cinematographer Hannes Staudinger, the one missing key who would direct it. Heckroth had worked with British director Michael Powell on a number of productions including “The Red Shoes” (1948), “The Tales of Hoffmann” (1951) and “Oh… Rosalinda!” (1955), each being lavish music based features. Heckroth used his connection to try to lure Powell for the small independent production. Michael Powell’s career struck a massive blow with the critical and commercial failure of the slasher prototype horror “Peeping Tom” (1960). This was also coupled with the changing landscape of British cinema with kitchen sink dramas and low budget independent works becoming more popular in comparison to lavish productions that Powell and his producer partner Emeric Pressburger were famous for. His immediate production following “Peeping Tom” was the military drama “The Queen’s Guards” (1961) which also failed to find an audience, though Powell was honest to say that it was a weak production in hindsight. Heckroth contacted Powell and asked him to listen to an opera recording of “Bluebeard’s Castle” and if he would be interested in directing a film adaptation. Even though the production would be for television and the budget would be extremely low, Powell jumped aboard to lend his skills for the unique production. For the music of “Bluebeard’s Castle”, Foster would play Bluebeard while Uruguayan opera singer Ana Raquel Satre would play Judith. They would record their vocals in studio in Zagreb, Croatia in both a German translation and an English translation of the lyrics, accompanied by the Zagreb Symphony Orchestra conducted by Milan Horvath. They would then perform against the recorded audio on the studio set in Salzburg for the cameras. There was some concern for the vocals as Satre was not fluent in English or German, but Foster was adamant that she was the first and only choice for the role of Judith. The studio in Salzburg was incomplete when production began. That coupled with the very low budget ignited some ingenious creativity from Powell and the crew. The minimal set designs were decorated with props that were lit with intricate lighting techniques. The blackened areas of the set would be part of the décor, accenting the lit or barely lit portions. The bold colors would indicate and accentuate the different rooms that were unveiled. Optical techniques such as superimpositions and rear screen projections would make the dreamlike and nightmarish images come to abstract life. Props were built or gathered from makeshift materials, giving it a handcrafted feel of theater rather than a reflection of reality. The production took inspiration from the original stage production. The minimal sets were accented with colors for the differing rooms through lighting. Red for the torture chamber, yellow for the armory, gold for the treasury, green for the garden, white for the kingdom, etc. The filmed version would use the same structure of colors and scene transitions, which had a similar effect with the colorful visuals that Powell used in some of his lavish Technicolor productions of the past. Although “Bluebeard’s Castle” would be shot on Eastman Color film, it had a bold and dark look that captured the gloomy atmosphere of the story strikingly. The film premiered on German television on December 15th, 1963 on ARD. Unfortunately the intricate color schemes were not visible for initial audiences, as the broadcast was in black and white. Though an English audio track was recorded for English language broadcasts, the English version would never find a broadcast distributor. The film, in full color, received a screening in the UK almost fifteen years later on November 9th, 1978 at a retrospective of Powell’s works at the National Film Theatre. The version was in German with added English text in certain portions for English speaking audiences for explanation, rather than full translation subtitles. The subtitled annotations were supervised by Powell. By this time Powell’s reputation scarred from his later critical failures were being reevaluated, though “Bluebeard’s Castle” seems to have had issues with further distribution, as it was rarely screened after that and never received a home video release. The Film Foundation, the organization founded by Martin Scorsese for film restoration and preservation along with the BFI and the Ashbrittle Film Foundation restored the long out of circulation film in 2021. Following some festival screenings, the BFI has given the film its first home video release on Blu-ray in 2023, nearly sixty years after its premiere. Some have called “Bluebeard’s Castle” a missing link in Powell’s filmography, as the music based film that darkly centers on a murderous man shares the visual aura of “The Tales of Hoffmann” and also the serial killer nature of “Peeping Tom”, though it should be noted that “Bluebeard’s Castle” was made well after those two features. There are common threads to be found, though the full credit should not go to Powell, as Heckroth’s designs and Foster and Satre’s performances were also some of the keys to bringing the film to life. The shoot lasted a swift 8 and a half days, and Powell stated that it was one of the best productions that he had ever worked on. The small scale, the productivity, and the camaraderie between the cast and crew were said to be great, and it was not one that was hampered with studio mandates or outside pressure. It's time for its rediscovery through this restored form. Note this is a region B Blu-ray
Video
The BFI presents the film in the 1.37:1 aspect ratio in 1080p AVC MPEG-4. The film was restored in 4K resolution, with the original 35mm Eastman Color negative, Powell's personal print (which are both preserved by the BFI National Archive) and copies from Südwestrundfunk's archive as the elements used. The film was restored by the Film Foundation and the BFI in association with the Ashbrittle Film Foundation in 2021, with the restoration being supervised by Martin Scorsese and Thelma Schoonmaker, who is Powell's widow and Scorsese's longtime editor partner. The film has a very dark look with it taking place entirely on a soundstage with many portions in pure darkness, with no windows or daylight striking the castle halls. Colors are very important to the production with colors representing the differing door segments, and they are displayed wonderfully in this restored version. From dark blues to the off-whites, the dark rich blacks and the shiny golds, all colors look astonishing within the darkness. There are little if any damage marks visible, with the restoration cleaning the image while still keeping film grain intact evenly. There are no issues of image wobble or color weaving, and it is a pin sharp looking transfer throughout. This is an absolutely strong restoration and is an absolute wonder to see. There are two versions of the film available on the disc. One is the original German version. There is also the 1978 version which was screened in the UK. Both are using the same film elements and restoration, with the only difference being that the 1978 version has burned-in English subtitle annotations at certain parts of the film. The subtitles have been reproduced specifically for the Blu-ray release and are burned-in and non-removable for the 1978 version, while the original German version is presented without them. Both versions of the film have a runtime of 62:30, which includes restoration information text screens at the start.
Audio
1963 Version: German LPCM 2.0 mono (48kHz/24bit) English LPCM 2.0 mono (48kHz/16bit) 1978 Version: German LPCM 2.0 mono (48kHz/24bit) The soundtrack elements from the original 17.5mm magnetic mono final mix master from August of 1964 were digitized at 96kHz 24-bit. The film is entirely presented without on set sound and only with studio recorded vocals and music. The vocals are the main draw and both Foster and Satre's voices are dynamic and clear throughout in the original German audio track with deep bass and high notes. There are no issues with distortion to be had and the audio is free from hiss, pops, crackle, or other audio damage for clean and clear sound. The 96kHz audio was downscaled to 48kHz for the Blu-ray's audio. In addition, the German version (without the burned-in annotations) has the never before heard alternate English version of the film, which was also performed by Foster and Satre. Interstingly the English version is downscaled to 48kHz 16-bit rather than 24-bit, and there is a difference in the audio. The vocals seem to have less bass, yet at times their vocals sound a little clearer, though it may depend from scene to scene. Like the German audio track, this has been restored and is without any audio damage to speak of. There are optional English subtitles for both versions of the film. When playing the English subtitles with the German audio, they translate all the lyrics and are well timed and easy to read. Note that they technically also caption the English vocals as the translation matches word for word, though there are times that the subtitles do not match the timing of the English vocals as there are discrepancies with their vocal timings. In addition, the subtitles were also made in mind for the subtitled annotations on the 1978 version, so there are examples when the optional English subtitles move to the top of the screen so it wouldn't cover the burned-in annotations.
Extras
2023 interview with Ian Christie (21:07) This new interview with film historian, critic and programmer Ian Christie is a discussion about the opera and the film. He talks about the history of the opera and its themes, Foster's work in bringing the opera to screen, the career of Powell at the time, Satre's career and role, the initial plans for the film's release, as well as Christie's story about introducing the film in 1978 to British audiences for the first time with Powell. There are clips of the film presented as well as a few clips from "Peeping Tom" shown. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.78:1 / 1.37:1 / 1.66:1, in English Dolby Digital 2.0 without subtitles "Picture Business: Michael Powell at Dartmouth" 1980 documentary short (15:46) In 1979 Michael Powell was given the opportunity to be teach film as a senior artist at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire in 1979. He moved to Hanover in December of 1979 to teach the second semester, and it was during his time there that this documentary short was filmed, in January of 1980. The documentary shows Powell making an adaptation of fantasy writer Ursula K. Le Guin's "A Wizard of Earthsea" with the students, with behind the scenes processes of lighting, set design, acting, and more. There are also some interview clips with Powell on the filmmaking process and he shares some memories from the making of "Bluebeard's Castle" as well. The transfer comes from the original film materials, and the colors are a little faded, though there is little damage to speak of. The audio is fair, though there is a bit of crackly portions. There is an odd stutter with the image for the first 5 minutes, which seems like the film was incorrectly transferred in 16fps and missing frames in between, rather than 24fps. After the 5 minute mark the image seems to be correctly transferred at 24fps. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.33:1, in English Dolby Digital 2.0 without subtitles Hein Heckroth production design gallery (2:23) Presented here is an automated silent slideshow gallery of illustrations and sketches by Heckroth. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4 Booklet Included is a 30 page booklet in the first pressing. First is the essay "An Artwork of the Future" by Ian Christie which covers some of the information said in the interview along with some additional information on the film's making and its history. Next there is "Bluebeard's Castle: A Prologue" which includes extracts from Michael Powell's book "Million-Dollar Movie" which has his recollections of being offered the chance to direct the production and his memories from the set. There is also a page from his personal diary from the production included. Then there is writing on the film by filmmaker Bertrand Tavernier (whose quote is on the cover art) from 2008 in translated form. This is followed by special features information, written biographies of Hein Heckroth, Norman Foster, and Ana Raquel Satre by Lillian Crawford. Finally there are restoration and transfer notes by Kieron Webb, acknowledgements, and stills. As stated, this marks the first time the film has been made available on a home video format in any form. Though the film may have benefited from an audio commentary, there have been far too few people that have actually seen the film to give full background information, and the Christie interview plus the written information does an excellent job with the film's background. Other notable clips: A clip from the film, courtesy of the BFI. The BFI trailer for "Cinema Unbound: The Creative Worlds of Powell + Pressburger" The BFI promo for "Cinema Unbound: The Creative Worlds of Powell + Pressburger" Gina Telaroli introduces "Bluebeard's Castle" at the 2021 New York Film Festival.
Overall
"Bluebeard's Castle" is a visually and aurally fascinating piece of filmed opera that has been underseen and overlooked for nearly sixty years. Long unavailable to experience on home video, the BFI have done an exceptional job with the presentation here with restored versions of the film with a nice selection of extras. Highly recommended.
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