Hiroshima Mon Amour [Criterion Collection]

"Alain Resnais' meditation on love and desperation, framed by the story of two lovers who fall into a brief but emotionally draining affair in Hiroshima, has been given a typically sterling presentation in this DVD edition from The Criterion Collection. Hiroshima Mon Amour has quite simply never looked better on home video, and rarely this good since its initial release; Sacha Vierny and Michio Takahashi's cinematography is beautifully served with a luminous full-frame transfer that's richly detailed and free of blemishes. The Dolby Digital Monophonic soundtrack has also been lovingly restored and sounds rich and clean throughout. The dialogue is in French, and easily readable optional subtitles have been included. And Criterion has, as usual, loaded this disc with relevant bonus material. Author Peter Cowie contributes a literate commentary track on Resnais and Hiroshima Mon Amour, while another alternate audio track isolates the haunting score by Georges Delerue and Giovanni Fusco. Two vintage interviews with Resnais are included -- one from 1961, the other (audio only) from 1980 -- while leading lady Emmanuelle Riva is represented with an interview shot at the 1959 Cannes Film Festival, as well as a longer chat recorded in 2002 as she looked back on the making of the film and working with Resnais. And finally, several ""annotations"" on sequences from the film, written by scenarist Marguerite Duras, are read along with the scenes they illuminate. In short, a superb and lovingly assembled presentation of an important and influential work, and a great example of what Criterion does best."