Au Hasard Balthazar (Criterion Collection)

Au Hasard Balthazar (Criterion Collection)
by Robert Bresson

Au Hasard Balthazar (Criterion Collection)
List Price: $29.95
Our Price: $18.30
You Save: $11.65 (39%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Category: DVD
See more DVD releases

Compare Prices for Au Hasard Balthazar (Criterion Collection)

(Click here)
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada

DVD Cover Information

Actor: Anne Wiazemsky, Fran?ois Lafarge, Jean-Claude Guilbert, Philippe Asselin, Walter Green
Director: Robert Bresson
Brand: WIAZEMSKY,ANNE
Cinematographer: Ghislain Cloquet
Writer: Robert Bresson
Editor: Raymond Lamy
Producer: Mag Bodard
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: French (Original Language); English (Subtitled)
Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, DVD, NTSC, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.66:1
Running Time: 95 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-06-14
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Criterion

Movie Reviews of Au Hasard Balthazar (Criterion Collection)

Movie Review: I think I understand the Germans a little better now .....
Summary: 2 Stars

"... flawed characters....", "noble suffering...", Christ metaphors, critiques on capitalism and religious faith pahhhh. If these were your neighbors you would think they needed a good conquering also. Sometimes pain can be cathartic. This movie is just painful. Some movies have multiple layers or levels of meaning. You can read most anything you are inclined into this movie (parallels to modern day politics!), just don't expect anything consistent or cohesive (see earlier) other than those absurd French folk. This movie gets closest to its own truth when shoveling out the stables ( wow, that clinches it, Bresson/Nostradamus predictive metaphors of 21st century American politics!!). Bresson should have been English, then maybe the French would have known how to react to this film. Technical quality is very good.

P.S. If you think I am insulting France in general rather than its depiction in this film, you are missing the point.
Write your own review
More Au Hasard Balthazar (Criterion Collection) reviews:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Summary of Au Hasard Balthazar (Criterion Collection)

A profound masterpiece from one of the most revered filmmakers in the history of cinema, director Robert Bresson's Au hasard Balthazar follows a much-abused donkey, Balthazar, whose life strangely parallels that of his owner, Marie. A beast of burden suffering the sins of man, Balthazar nevertheless nobly accepts his fate. Through Bresson's unconventional approach to composition, sound, and narrative, this seemingly simple story becomes a moving religious parable of purity and transcendence.
Au hazard Balthazar can have a profoundly moving effect on those who are sensitive to its power. Like any film by Robert Bresson, it provokes widely different responses: Many critics have hailed it as a masterpiece, while others (as Pauline Kael observed) "may find it painstakingly tedious and offensively holy." It all depends on what the viewer brings to Bresson's seemingly simple tale of a donkey named Balthazar, who experiences kindness and cruelty as he is passed from owner to owner. Populated by a variety of sinners and saints alike, the film can be seen as a simple animal fable, as Balthazar suffers nobly at the hands of his handlers. Dig deeper into Bresson's art, however, and you're likely to find a very Catholic story with strong parallels to the life of Christ and his unbearable burden of the sins of mankind.

No matter how you approach the film, only the most cold-hearted viewer will be immune to Balthazar's fate. And if you're not sure what to make of it all, this superb Criterion DVD offers two essential bonus features to guide you toward a greater understanding of Bresson's approach to cinema: Film scholar and devoted "Bressonian" Donald Richie offers his astute observations in a 2004 video interview, and in an in-depth French TV appearance from 1966, Bresson talks at length about Au hazard Balthazar along with fellow directors Louis Malle and Jean-Luc Godard, and members of the film's cast and crew. This is a remarkable document from a bygone era, when "art film" was at its peak, and directors (especially French ones) were eager to discuss the intellectual significance of their work. Kudos to Criterion for including this archival gem of film appreciation. --Jeff Shannon

Art House & International DVD Video
DVD Video
Movies most talked about in Michael Haneke, One of Cinema's Finest
L'Eclisse - Criterion Collection ImageL'Eclisse - Criterion Collection
Image Entertainment; Release date: 2005-03-15; DVD
Best price: $23.51
Price in other shops: $39.95
Roberto Rossellini's War Trilogy (Rome Open City/Paisan/Germany Year Zero) (Criterion Collection) ImageRoberto Rossellini's War Trilogy (Rome Open City/ Paisan/ Germany Year Zero) (Criterion Collection)
Release date: 2010-01-26; DVD
Best price: $72.49
Price in other shops: $79.95
Woman Under the Influence - Criterion Collection ImageWoman Under the Influence - Criterion Collection
IMAGE ENT.; Release date: 2008-11-04; DVD
Best price: $23.78
Price in other shops: $39.95
Psycho (Collector's Edition) ImagePsycho (Collector's Edition)
Universal Studios; Release date: 1998-05-27; DVD
Best price: $12.42
Price in other shops: $19.98
The Gold Rush (2 Disc Special Edition) ImageThe Gold Rush (2 Disc Special Edition)
Warner Brothers; Release date: 2003-07-01; DVD
Best price: $36.55
The Exterminating Angel - Criterion Collection ImageThe Exterminating Angel - Criterion Collection
Image Entertainment; Release date: 2009-02-10; DVD
Best price: $22.49
Price in other shops: $39.95
Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom - Criterion Collection ImageSalo, or the 120 Days of Sodom - Criterion Collection
Image Entertainment; Release date: 2008-08-26; DVD
Best price: $17.99
Price in other shops: $39.95
The Mirror ImageThe Mirror
Kino Video; Release date: 2000-04-10; DVD
Best price: $17.24
Price in other shops: $29.95
Lancelot of the Lake ImageLancelot of the Lake
Release date: 2004-05-25; DVD
Best price: $99.95
Au Hasard Balthazar (Criterion Collection) ImageAu Hasard Balthazar (Criterion Collection)
Image Entertainment; Release date: 2005-06-14; DVD
Best price: $17.99
Price in other shops: $29.95
Similar DVD Movies
The Decalogue (Special Edition Complete Set) ImageThe Decalogue (Special Edition Complete Set)
Release date: 2003-08-19; DVD
Best price: $50.80
Price in other shops: $79.95
The Passion of Joan of Arc (Criterion Collection Spine #62) ImageThe Passion of Joan of Arc (Criterion Collection Spine #62)
DREYER,CARL; Release date: 1999-10-19; DVD
Best price: $23.75
Price in other shops: $39.95
L'Eclisse - Criterion Collection ImageL'Eclisse - Criterion Collection
Image Entertainment; Release date: 2005-03-15; DVD
Best price: $24.36
Price in other shops: $39.95
Solaris - Criterion Collection ImageSolaris - Criterion Collection
Solaris; Release date: 2002-11-26; DVD
Best price: $23.68
Price in other shops: $39.95
The Rules of the Game - Criterion Collection ImageThe Rules of the Game - Criterion Collection
Image Entertainment; Release date: 2004-01-20; DVD
Best price: $23.00
Price in other shops: $39.95
Fanny and Alexander (Special Edition Five-Disc Set) - Criterion Collection ImageFanny and Alexander (Special Edition Five-Disc Set) - Criterion Collection
Image Entertainment; Release date: 2004-11-16; DVD
Best price: $39.46
Price in other shops: $59.95
Andrei Rublev (Criterion Collection Spine #34) ImageAndrei Rublev (Criterion Collection Spine #34)
Image Entertainment; Release date: 1999-02-02; DVD
Best price: $24.51
Price in other shops: $39.95
Diary of a Country Priest - Criterion Collection ImageDiary of a Country Priest - Criterion Collection
LAYDU,CLAUDE; Release date: 2004-02-03; DVD
Best price: $24.33
Price in other shops: $39.95
Mouchette - Criterion Collection ImageMouchette - Criterion Collection
IMAGE ENT.; Release date: 2007-01-16; DVD
Best price: $24.37
Price in other shops: $39.95
Pickpocket - Criterion Collection ImagePickpocket - Criterion Collection
Image Entertainment; Release date: 2005-11-08; DVD
Best price: $24.00
Price in other shops: $39.95
Books | Health and Personal Care | Beauty | Digital Cameras and Photo | Kitchen and Housewares | Tools and Hardware
Copyright © 2005-2007 dvdnear.com
Google
 
Web dvdnear.com
Compare prices and read customer reviews for more than one million DVD titles.
Oscar 2005 Winners