A Blu-ray titled The Complete Works of Jean Vigo might seem at first to be somewhat daunting, after all, few filmmaker’s portfolios can be entirely contained upon one disc, even if it is a high-capacity technology. Except in the case of Jean Vigo, a visionary director taken before his time by tuberculosis. His work weaves with threads of dreamlike fantasy and biting satire in the same breath, and despite having a very distinct style, albeit a fluid one, his films float like islands unto themselves in the sea of his creativity. You can see the visual similarities that make them entities linked to a single man’s creativity, but when watched back to back, the atmosphere of each film feels wildly different and it quickly becomes clear that even though the four films of Jean Vigo have been compiled onto one disc, no force in the world can ever fully contain the vision he translated to film. On that note, The Criterion Collection's assembly of films and complementary materials make for a wholly immersive look into the world of Jean Vigo and the legacy he left behind.
L’Atalante, the most famous of Vigo’s works and the only that runs at feature-length, tells the tale of a newly wedded couple as they begin their life aboard a barge. For all its whimsy and wonder, it’s a clear commentary on cultural trends of France at the time and its aesthetic will follow you for days after. Zero de conduite, the tale of schoolyard rascals engaging in all manner of shenanigans, shows the innate tendency of anarchy within the soul of humanity as the children of a boarding school push the limits of bad behavior to increasing levels of daring. A propos de Nice, the true precursor for mockumentaries if ever there was one, takes a humorous look at “real life” in a fashion that blends realism and absurdism into a silly but true statement on city life. Finally, Taris, a film apart from the rest of Vigo’s roster, plays like an instructional swimming video that loses itself in the life aquatic where time slows to a halt.
The restoration on each of these films is impressive considering how poorly they were received at the time. As film historian Bernard Eisenschitz relates in his documentary devoted to the restoration of L’Atalante, there are some works that simply cannot and should not be left to disrepair, and his work bringing L’Atalante to its present state is deserving of an award. If there isn’t a society that annually presents film restorers with accolades for bringing films back from the edge of oblivion, there should be, and the quality of Jean Vigo’s films as they appear here is a testament to the caliber of work they do. It’s truly astounding how superb they look in high definition.
Blu-ray Bonus Features
It’s odd to think that with this set the Criterion Collection is essentially outlining the extra features of a groundbreaking filmmakers’ entire career. These are, for all intents and purposes, the complementary materials for the works of Jean Vigo, it makes the set a textbook of sorts, a comparison that isn’t entirely unjustified were you to start your consumption of the set with the liner notes. The four essays included in The Complete Jean Vigo are: “Jean Vigo” by Michael Almereyda, a brief analysis of the underlying qualities of his work and the life experiences that led to the creation of Vigo’s mind; “A Propos de Jean and Boris” by Robert Polito, a look at Jean Vigo through the eyes and words of his contemporaries; “Rude Freedom” by B. Kite, looks at the balance of chaos, structure, and reality in Vigo’s film and, perhaps, his perspective on life; and “Canal Music” by Luc Sante, a look at the climate of the world and film culture which that spawned and consequently welcomed L’Atalante into the world.
If the booklet seems dense, just wait until you reach the disc-bound extras where the true value of the Criterion Collection’s Vigo video compendium awaits. Once you’ve taken the 163-minute trip through the four works of Jean Vigo, you could and should watch them again with Michael Temple’s insightful audio commentaries turned on, each looking at the unique camera tricks and histories of the films. For L’Atalante, the feature-specific extras include an analysis of the film by filmmakers Francois Truffaut and Eric Rohmer as well as a deeper look into the film about barge life by film restorer Bernard Eisenschitz in the form of the documentary Les Voyages de L’Atalante. The only other Vigo feature with exclusive extras is A propos de Nice, however those are more for changing how you view the feature itself, and not post-viewing retrospection: they include Marc Perrone’s 2001 score for the film as well as an alternate cut by Jean Vigo with additional footage.
After that, the extras become much more concentrated on Jean Vigo as a filmmaker instead of pieces dedicated to specific works. First and best is the episode of Cineastes de notre temps dedicated entirely to Vigo’s films, and it’s one of the best video analyses of the kind. In second place is an interview on the topic of Vigo and his films with filmmaker Otar Iosseliani, discussing his methods, vision, and philosophy. Finally, a fun but questionable inclusion on the set is a tribute to Vigo courtesy of Michel Gondry in that animated style for which the modern director is known.
"The Complete Jean Vigo (The Criterion Collection)" is on sale August 30, 2011 and is not rated. Comedy, Drama.
