The Movie
Louis Malle had already directed nine full-length feature films, plus documentaries and shorts, before tackling the curious 1975 offering, Black Moon. It is classified by many as an "experimental" movie, although I would posit that it is an experiment in eccentricity. There really is no story per se, rather just a post-apocalyptic backdrop, and even its validity is suspect as well.
Pretty Lily (Cathryn Harrison) is driving through the countryside until she's stopped at a military checkpoint. Apparently there is some sort of war going on, possibly between men and women, and when her identity is uncovered, she bolts, ultimately coming upon a secluded estate occupied by a most peculiar family. A brother and sister (both also named Lily) never utter a word. A bed-ridden old lady never wants to shut up. A pack of naked children is perpetually giggling and chasing an enormous pig. Some of the people communicate telepathically and some of the animals (including a fat, ugly unicorn) speak.
Now you know everything I know about Black Moon.
There's a vague Alice in Wonderland feel at work here, with the sassy blonde seemingly surprised and confounded by everything she sees, and there are lots of intriguing scenes... if only we could figure out what they are supposed to mean.
The Picture
Black Moon has received a new high-definition digital transfer from the original 35mm camera negative and the results are splendid, deliciously dark but with rich, natural nuance but for a few shots with harsh blacks. The movie is set entirely in rural areas and the blades of grass and so much more are quite crisp, with subtle differences evident between the green shades of leaves. Edge enhancement and video noise are minimal, and we can even make out the faint, accidental shadow of the camera in one shot. The trailer and the vintage TV special among the extras help us put this glorious new 5:3 master into proper perspective.
The Sound
The disc defaults to the original English soundtrack (in uncompressed linear PCM mono), but an alternate French track (Dolby Digital mono) is also provided, with optional subtitles. Either way, we're not hearing a lot of dialogue, and certainly nothing too memorable. There is tremendous character in the audio, which was apparently kind of a big deal to the director, be it the off-screen battle, sharp gunshots, running/driving off-road, the many scratching feet of a centipede, an angry flock of sheep, a bunch of alarm clocks all going off at once and then getting thrown out the window. It's a high-quality single channel, so any depth is left to our imagination. Lily screams a couple of times, and the full range of her voice is clipped somewhat.
The Extras
The bonus materials are sparse but well-focused to the topic at hand. In a twelve-minute excerpt from the TV show Pour le cinéma, originally aired September 21, 1975, Louis Malle discusses several of the themes of the movie, with clips. The interview is in French, subtitled, in 4:3 HD. We can use the remote to flip through a variety of lovely color and black-and-white photos from the set, and the two-minute trailer is also here in HD, really just the opening scene of the film, no dialogue but the text is in French only.
Final Thoughts
Black Moon is not for everyone certainly, but if a surreal '70s head-scratcher beautifully shot by Sven Nykvist and magnificently mastered by Criterion piques your interest, then do check out this new Blu.
Product Details
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