Raymond Bernard [Criterion Collection] [3 Discs] [DVD]

Raymond Bernard was one of the first great auteurs to emerge in France during the first era of sound films, but his work fell out of favor in Europe after the rise of the New Wave, and he's never fully received his due in the United States. Eclipse, the Criterion Collection's new sister label, has finally given Bernard's two most celebrated films a proper video release in the United States with this special box set. Raymond Bernard includes 1932's Les Croix de Bois (aka Wooden Crosses), a powerful anti-war drama set during the latter days of World War I, and 1934's epic-scale screen adaptation of Victor Hugo's Les Miserables, released in three parts and running close to five hours. Both films are presented in restored versions; while the new opening credits to Les Croix de Bois warn of certain flaws that still remain in the restored edition, for the most part the image is strong, through the audio is often tinny and harsh (but still audible). For years, Bernard's Les Miserables was only available in a shortened reissue edition, but this Eclipse edition presents the most complete edition available in 2007, and the film looks impressive, with the photography by Jules Kruger and Rene Ribault quite beautiful in this transfer, even if the painted backdrops and miniatures aren't always up to Hollywood standards. Both films have been transferred to disc in their original full-frame aspect ratio of 1.33:1, and the audio, in the original French, has been mastered in Dolby Digital Mono. There are no audio options, but both films feature optional English language subtitles. In keeping with Eclipse's traditional policy, there are no extras included in this set, though each film's slim case is accompanied by a thoughtful essay on the picture and its history. Film fans with a taste for classic French cinema will certainly want to give this set a look, and Bernard's Les Miserables awaits rediscovery as one of the most thorough and thoughtful adaptations of Hugo's venerable tale.