To be honest, I am not all that familiar with the works of director Krzysztof Kieślowski until recently and had the pleasure of watching his masterpieces Three Colors Blue, Three Colors White and Three Colors Red which are all part of his Three Colours Trilogy. These are all French classics, although these are all co-productions with France, Poland, and Switzerland with the colors blue, white and red symbolizing the colors of the French flag. Each movie has a theme, liberty (Blue), equality (White), and fraternity (Red). Plus, some of the characters that star in one movie have cameos in another film of the trilogy to solidify the connection between the three films.
In Three Colors Blue, the story is about a woman, Julie (Juliette Binoche, The Unbearable Lightness of Being) whose successful husband and young child are killed in a car crash. She tries to commit suicide, but she cannot do it. Even though she is free from being a responsible wife and parent, Julie struggles to continue living, which for her is starting her life over again. Julie, in part of her starting over, prefers to move on in her life, live in isolation away from people including her friends.
The story in Three Colors White, Karol Karol (Zbigniew Zamachowski, The Pianist) is a Polish immigrant living in Paris. Karol is not a rich man, is apparently impotent, and without any papers. One morning his lovely French wife, Dominique (Julie Delpy, An American Werewolf in Paris), is filing for divorce for several reasons, including the big one where the marriage was never consummated. Karol is pleading in front of the judge, asking Dominique not to divorce him but to no avail. She leaves Karol for dead basically, taking his money, his possessions, essentially leaving him with nothing. On the run and wanted by the police Karol meets another Polish immigrant Mikolaj (Janusz Gajos, Dekalog) who helps get him return to Poland and where he can get back on his feet. He does and his focus is to get revenge on his wife.
Three Colors Red is the story of a model, Valentine Dussaut (Irene Jacob, The Secret Garden) living in Geneva. On a random evening, she runs over a pregnant dog and once healed she wants to return her, but the owner doesn’t want the dog anymore. The owner is a cynical, disgruntled former judge, Joseph Kern(Jean-Louis Trintignant, Death Laid an Egg, Z) who spies on his neighbors including eavesdropping on a phone call between two male lovers. Valentine is so disgusted telling him to respect people’s privacy; it causes Kern to admit his crimes and ends up in a class-action lawsuit. Kern also admits that he heard a conversation about drug trafficking which may help his case.
The Three Colors Trilogy was released on Blu-ray by Criterion back in 2011. The three films have now been done in 4K. The 4K presentations can be viewed with HDR and Dolby Vision. Their release of Blue, White, and Red is a 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack. The three films are in their own digipacks, containing one UHD disc and one Blu-ray disc. The 4K Blu-ray discs is Region-Free. The Blu-ray discs are Region A only.
Inside the box set alongside the digibooks is a booklet about the release which provides some information about the 4K restorations:
“The new 4K restorations of all three films (Blue, White, Red) were undertaken by MK2 at Hiventy in Joinville-le-Pont, France, using the 35mm original camera negatives. The restoration of Blue was supervised by director of photography Slawomir Idziak; the restoration of Red was supervised by cinematographers Piotr Sobocinski Jr. and Michael Sobocinski, sons of director of photography Piotr Sobocinski; and an archival 35mm theatrical print was used as a color reference for White. The 5.1 surround soundtracks were created from the 35mm magnetic tracks.”
This booklet is a 80-page illustrated booklet featuring essays by Colin MacCabe, Nick James, Stuart Klawans Georgina Evans, some excerpts from Kieslowski on Kieslowski from 1993, a an interview with the director conducted by writer Danusia Stok, interviews with the cinematographers of Three Colors – Slawomir Idziak, Edward Klosinski, and Piotr Sobocinski, plus much, much more!
The 4K UHD picture quality for Blue, White, and Red to me all looked outstanding. To me the three films look almost as if they were made yesterday. I did notice that the movies look a bit darker than their Blu-ray counterparts. The textures to all three films are incredibly rich in 4K. The scenery is quite detailed throughout the presentation and was a pleasure to sit through and watch. Reds, yellows, and blues also seem to benefit from the 2160p image and look as bold and sharp as ever. Close-ups to the characters face also boast a lot of detail. Black levels look balanced and have fantastic shadow detail. No DNR or artificial enhancements seem to have been applied.
The audio for the trilogy on the UHD discs is French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main features. The dialogue, background sounds, action noises sound fantastic, fluid, and balanced. You will not have any difficulty when it comes to listening to the movie.
The Blu-ray disc has two standard audio tracks which are French DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. There were no issues with either track and it just depends on your own preference.
There are no extras on the UHD 4k discs, all the supplements are on the Blu-rays which have been ported over.
For Three Colors Blue there is the French trailer with English subtitles, the video essay written and narrated by film studies professor Annette Insdorf, author of Double Lives, Second Chances: The Cinema Krzysztof Kieslowski. With clips and stills from the Polish director’s films.
Other features include:
Kieslowski’s Cinema Lesson from 1994, Krzysztof Kieslowski discusses the significance of a couple of specific scenes from Blue. He also talks about the importance of the sugar cube scene in the Parisian Cafe. It is in Polish language, with forced French subtitles and optional English subtitles.
Actress Juliette Binoche comments on specific scenes from the film which are part of a 2004 commentary. This is in French with optional English subtitles.
There is an interview with composer Zbigniew Preisner, who recalls his work with Krzysztof Kieslowski on the Three Colors trilogy, No End, The Decalogue, and The Double Life of Veronique. The interview was recorded exclusively for Criterion in 2011. This is in Polish, with optional English subtitles.
Reflections on “Blue“. This is with film critic Geoff Andrew, actor Juliette Binoche, filmmaker Agnieszka Holland, cinematographer Slawomir Idziak, Professor Annette Insdorf, and editor Jacques Witta reflect on the production of Blue and talk about the works of director Krzysztof Kieslowski. This is in English, without subtitles.
Kieslowski: The Early Years – an interview program from 2003 in which film critic Geoff Andrew, filmmaker Agnieszka Holland, cinematographer Slawomir Idziak, Professor Annette Insdorf, and actor Irene Jacob discuss director Krzysztof Kieslowski’s early documentary films and the complex socio-political environment he lived in. This is also in English without subtitles.
Two Student Films – This feature consists of two student films, The Tram from 1966 directed by Krzysztof Kieslowski and runs for about six minutes and is a black and white silent film. The Face is the other movie directed by Piotr Studzinski which is also in black and white and is music only. In the latter, Kieslowski played a tortured artist. Both are presented courtesy of the Polish National Film, Television, and Theatre School in Lodz.
.On the Blu-ray of Krzysztof Kieślowski’s White, the supplemental features on the release include archival program with Zbigniew Zamachowski and Julie Delpy; behind the scenes documentary; two documentary films by Krzysztof Kieslowski; and a lot more. In French and Polish, with optional English subtitles for the main feature.
The Blu-ray has the original theatrical trailer for White which is in Polish and French, with optional English subtitles.
On White is a video essay written and narrated by film critic Tony Rayns. This is in English and not subtitled.
Kieslowski’s Cinema Lesson, this is from 1994 where the director discusses the opening scene from White. In Polish, with forced French subtitles and optional English subtitles.
Zamachowski and Delpy is avideo interview with Polish actor Zbigniew Zamachowski and French actor Julie Delpy recall their collaboration with director Krzysztof Kieslowski on White. The interview was recorded exclusively for Criterion in 2011 and is in Polish and English, with optional English subtitles.
Krzysztof Piesiewicz which is a feature with Krzysztof Piesiewicz, cowriter of the Three Colors Trilogy and politician, discusses his collaboration with director Krzysztof Kieslowski and the complex themes of his films, the socio-political climate in Poland during the 1970s and 1980s and after the fall of the Iron Curtain. The interview was also recorded exclusively for Criterion in 2011. It is in Polish, with optional English subtitles.
The Making of “White” – in this behind-the-scenes featurette, director Krzysztof Kieslowski discusses the production history of White. The interview is in Polish, with imposed French subtitles and optional English subtitles.
Two Documentaries which consists of two documentary films by Krzysztof Kieslowski. The first focuses on a group of ballerinas, entitled Seven Women of Different Ages from 1979. Talking Heads from 1980 is the second short film that focuses on an interesting survey. Both are in Polish, with optional English subtitles.
The Three Colors Red Blu-ray disc also has lots of features which includes the original theatrical trailer for the film. The trailer is in French, with optional English subtitles.
On Red, this is a video essay written and narrated by film writer Dennis Lim. This extra is in English, with no subtitles.
Kieslowski’s Cinema Lesson, which is from 1994 where the director discusses a key scene from Red where the dog runs off.
Irene Jacob is a video interview with the French actress where she discusses her collaboration and friendship with director Krzysztof Kieslowski. The interview was recorded exclusively for Criterion in 2011. In English and offers no subtitles.
Marin Karmitz, is another video interview where she talks about the production history of Red, its acceptance at the Cannes Film Festival, the controversy surrounding the film’s “nationality” and its unusual Oscar nominations. The interview was recorded in 2001. In French, with optional English subtitles.
Jacques Witta, the editor of Blue and Red, discusses specific scenes and selected shots in Red that were removed during the editing of the film. This video interview was recorded in 2001 and is in French, with optional English subtitles.
Behind the Scenes of Red is a featurette that shows some footage from the shooting of Red, with Krzysztof Kieslowski directing key scenes. In French and English, with optional English subtitles where appropriate.
Kieslowski Cannes 1994 is a short documentary shot during Red’s premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. The documentary has interviews with director Krzysztof Kieslowski and actors Irene Jacob and Jean-Louis Trintignant. In Polish and French, with optional English subtitles.
Krzysztof Kieslowski: I am so-so… – in 1995, a year after Red premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, director Krzysztof Kieslowski was interviewed at his home in Poland. This documentary film is directed by Krzysztof Wierzbicki. In Polish, with optional English subtitles.
The Three Colors Trilogy in 4K may well be the holy grail of releases for Kieslowski’s films. The UHD discs have made the films look even more impressive along with the great soundtracks to them. There is a wealth of bonus materials that are on the Blu-ray discs and will keep you busy for hours. I can’t imagine any fan of these films not owning this impressive box set! Highly recommended!
The Three Colors Trilogy: Blue, White and Red
Director- Krzysztof Kieślowski
Cast- Juliette Binoche, Julie Delpy, Zbigniew Zamachowski, Benoît Régent, Jacques Disses, Michel Lisowski
Country of Origin- France, Poland Switzerland
Distributor – The Criterion Collection
Number of Discs – 6
Reviewed by – David Steigman
Date – 4/8/2023