Press Release Criterion Press Release: Jean de Florette / Manon of the Spring: Two Films by Claude Berri (4k UHD Combo) (Blu-ray) (1 Viewer)

[Ronald Epstein]

​

A sprawling tale of greed, betrayal, and revenge plays out amid the bucolic splendor of the French countryside in Claude Berri’s masterly two-film adaptation of a literary work by the legendary Marcel Pagnol. Spanning three generations in the lives of two families, Jean de Florette andManon of the Spring vividly recreate the provincial world of an early-twentieth-century village, where an outsider’s arrival sets in motion a devastating chain of events. With gorgeous cinematography, keen insights into human nature, and superb performances from icons of French cinema (Gérard Depardieu, Yves Montand, Daniel Auteuil, and Emmanuelle Béart), these richly absorbing moral tales—at the time of their production, the most expensive French films ever made—are triumphs of epic storytelling in the classical tradition.

FILM INFO​

• Spine #1257
  
  

  FILMS IN THIS SET​

  • • 
      Jean de Florette
      
      1986
      The sun-dappled beauty of the Provence countryside belies dark motivations, in the first installment of Claude Berri’s monumental pastoral tragedy. When the naively idealistic tax collector Jean Cadoret (Gérard Depardieu) unexpectedly inherits a family farm, he leaves the city for a new life in the agrarian community where his mother, Florette, grew up—though she moved away decades ago. His neighbors, however, the scheming Ugolin (Daniel Auteuil) and his proud uncle César Soubeyran (Yves Montand), have plotted to divert the flow of water away from Jean’s land. Brought to extraordinary life by acting legends Depardieu, Auteuil, and Montand, Jean de Florette draws viewers into a fully realized vision of 1920s rural France in which the culture clash between modern ideas and the rustic older codes of the country takes a heartbreaking turn.
    
    
    • 
      Manon of the Spring
      
      1986
      Shot simultaneously with Jean de Florette, this second chapter in the epic story of the intersecting fates of the Cadoret and Soubeyran families unfolds ten years after the events of the first film, as Jean Cadoret’s daughter, Manon (Emmanuelle Béart, in a César-winning performance), now a teenage shepherdess, learns of the circumstances that drove her family to ruin—and seeks revenge on those responsible. A stirring portrait of a young woman’s awakening to her own agency, Manon of the Spring brings to a close Claude Berri’s sweeping Marcel Pagnol adaptation with a devastating power that approaches Greek tragedy.

  SPECIAL FEATURES​

  • New 4K digital restorations, supervised by director of photography Bruno Nuytten, with 5.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtracks
  • In the 4K UHD edition: Two 4K UHD discs of the films and two Blu-rays with the films and special features
  • Claude Berri: The Card Dealer (2018), a documentary on director Claude Berri’s life and career
  • The Force of Destiny (2017), a documentary about the making of the films
  • Trailers
  • New English subtitle translations
  • PLUS: An essay by film scholar Sue Harris
    
    Illustration by Sam Hadley
    
    April 22, 2025

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Thank you for supporting HTF when you preorder using the link below. As an Amazon Associate HTF earns from qualifying purchases. If you are using an adblocker you will not see link.

Amazon.com

https://www.amazon.com/Jean-Florette-Manon-Spring-Collection/dp/B0DTB77JJ1/ref=tmm_blu_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&dib_tag=se&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.XumVQg36OgCvYmuy8fSFI9T8TcQc63O2GUo8jDm5P4hPc9_0fM2adA7X3ocvqyoKgL8KBSIS4sNxKEghIVy-lnGsToIBBbvAGkSwo-lZO_fvDupbg_y5dqTnCxFe1-GVg5qMv_S7UELivGZ_9wupMQ.POKB4KAMV2UyevHWiJ-AOdOnSvbG19pq957bykuo73E&qid=1737703352&sr=8-1

 

[Lord Dalek]

So is "5.0 Surround" going to be a thing going forward for movies that were in Dolby Surround originally?

 

[Konstantinos]

Great! I love these films. It seems I have to sell now my French Pathe blu-rays.
(unless the encoding in Criterion is not something to write home about)

 

[Stephen_J_H]

So is "5.0 Surround" going to be a thing going forward for movies that were in Dolby Surround originally?

It will probably depend on materials available for the remaster.

 

[titch]

It will probably depend on materials available for the remaster.

This could be a typo. The excellent 2017 4K remastered Pathé blu-ray from the OCN has 5.1 and 2.0 soundtracks. Really looking forward to this Criterion release - I was half expecting Pathé to suddenly release a 4K UHD. The picture is superb but will benefit from a native 4K release. Great to get the Force of Destiny documentary from the Pathé too - my French is a bit rusty, so the sous-titres Anglais on the supplements will help!

 

[tenia]

The 5.1 tracks might have an empty LFE channel and be a 5.0 track in a 5.1 container. This would explain that.

The 2017 4K restorations are indeed very good, saved for the color gradings that leave quite obvious whose the lab that did them (funnily enough, the Criterion cover clearly uses these restorations' color scheme, so it also has the lab's signature).

 

[titch]

The 5.1 tracks might have an empty LFE channel and be a 5.0 track in a 5.1 container. This would explain that.

The 2017 4K restorations are indeed very good, saved for the color gradings that leave quite obvious whose the lab that did them (funnily enough, the Criterion cover clearly uses these restorations' color scheme, so it also has the lab's signature).

That could probably be the case. I just ran the opening titles through my system and there was no subwoofer activity. I don't find any problem with Pathé's colour grading, which was performed in 2015 with the cinematographer. Utterly evocative of the Provence milieu, the film was set in. I certainly didn't notice the supposedly "blue tint", that everyone was trying to make a fuss about, while peering on computer screens. The skin tones on my old Shout! Factory blu-ray made everyone looked like they had been boiled like lobsters. The Pathé restoration looked terrific, in motion, on a big screen. It will be interesting to see the wider colour gamut from the 4K UHD, as well as the film grain.

Pathé's grading for last year's Le Samouraï release was the polar opposite, all colours subdued and grey.

 

[tenia]

I don't find any problem with Pathé's colour grading, which was performed in 2015 with the cinematographer. Utterly evocative of the Provence milieu, the film was set in. I certainly didn't notice the supposedly "blue tint", that everyone was trying to make a fuss about, while peering on computer screens.

The older grading(s) certainly was (were) quite video-y, but the issue I have with the new one isn't so much that it has a "blue tint" but that it's similar (too similar) to other gradings performed by Hiventy, as if applying a "one grading fits all" philosophy. It's akin to what Ritrovata has done to 150+ movies and Eclair to 150+ other movies, which is why I'm not talking of a tint but of a color signature. Fortunately, Hiventy have more variety in what they're doing, so not fewer movies are concerned than for Eclair and Ritrovata, but still.

It will be interesting to see the wider colour gamut from the 4K UHD

It looks like this will be a SDR release.

Pathé's grading for last year's Le Samouraï release was the polar opposite, all colours subdued and grey.

It was kind of an interesting case : it's a joint project with Criterion, yet they ended up being relatively different releases. The previous Pathé grading was supervised by Lhomme, yet they haven't really ported it over to the new restoration. The new grading was done by Ritrovata, yet they stayed away from applying their usual color signature.

 

[Peter Apruzzese]

So is "5.0 Surround" going to be a thing going forward for movies that were in Dolby Surround originally?

From a post on the other site (asking if the 5.0 descriptor is an error):

There are no errors in these descriptions. As an example, the audio for THIEF on the 4K UHD is the same as the Blu-ray, approved by Director Michael Mann, but we have recently decided to list a film's actual channel status rather than the codec's channel status.

It's common practice in the industry to call all types of surround sound 5.1 but this is not accurate. A 5.1 codec can contain many different audio channel configurations - 5.1, 5.0, 4.0, LCRS, even 1.0 for example - and we've decided to list those on packaging to better represent the film's audio content.

In this case, 5.0 simply means that the LFE channel is silent, as it has always been, but is now conveyed more accurately in our product description.
When you select the Blu-ray, it still says 5.1 because that's how it's listed in our previously produced packaging, but you will continue to see this more precise formatting for disc audio information going forward.

I hope this helps,
Jon Mulvaney

 

[Citizen87645]

I just purchased the digital copies, but I'll pick up the UHD eventually.

 

[Lord Dalek]

From a post on the other site (asking if the 5.0 descriptor is an error):

Well that would also impact Heaven's Gate if that ever gets upgraded.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Amazon preorders are live. See post #2

 

[Sultanofcinema]

I did a comparison of the first film last night (Jean de Florette) using my 2017 4K remastered Pathé Blu-ray and the new 4K version now on the Criterion Channel. Both have exact restoration credits and Pathe logo. 4K version features more detail and is very sharp, especially when closeups are presented. The main thing I noticed on the new 4K is that it has a yellow tint to it. The Blu-ray has a slightly greenish blue tint to it. I had also seen these films theatrically when they were released several times.

 

[Bartman]

I rented the fullscreen laserdiscs. I purchased the VHS, DVD & Shout Factory Blu-ray (purchased very inexpensively!). Next I'll stream these in 4K from ATV+ when they become available, as they surely will, then I'm done.

 

[CarlLaFong]

I find the lack of reviews of the new versions of these films here and on other sites quite odd.