From the Journals of Jean Seberg (1995) is a profoundly illuminating exploration of Jean Seberg’s career from the brilliant filmmaker Mark Rappaport (Rock Hudson’s Home Movies). Mary Beth Hurt (The Age of Innocence) portrays Jean Seberg, who reflects on her life as it is illustrated through her work. It follows her as she is plucked from obscurity to star in Otto Preminger’s Saint Joan (1957), to the critical drubbing that followed, her resurrection as a star in Godard’s Breathless (1960) and through her death in 1979. From the Journals of Jean Seberg is a revelatory interrogation of film history, and women’s place in it, that examines Seberg’s involvement with the Black Panther Movement while also touching on the careers of Jane Fonda, Vanessa Redgrave, and Clint Eastwood.
For thoughts on From the Journals of Jean Seberg, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:
Video Quality
From the Journals of Jean Seberg comes to DVD with a decent 480p transfer that showcases the material well within its source limitations. While my initial guess was this was shot on video, IMDb lists 35mm film as the original format. Given this, it would have been nice to have a more robust restoration with a Blu-Ray release.
That being said, there is very little in the way of age related wear throughout. The archival clips seem to be in the best condition that would have been expected back in 1995. The skin tone of Mary Beth Hurt looks fairly natural, but the presentation offers up little in the way of fine detail. The image can look quite soft and the lighting can cause some blooming, but the fact that the source material is as stable as it is should count as a minor miracle. What colors there are appear a bit flat and black levels are subject to some crush and compression artifacting. The film is not beautiful, but those looking for a straightforward representation of the material will just be glad to have it available.
Audio Quality
The DVD comes with a Dolby Digital 2.0 track that mostly does everything it needs to do well. Vocals are pretty clear throughout, with only occasional moments where things sound a bit fuzzy due to the quality of the source material. This is not a persistent issue, but it should be noted that these issues exist. There is very little in the way of music, but what is here maintains a good fidelity with no extreme issues of clipping or blown out audio. This was never going to be a knockout audio presentation, so this disc is about as good as the source material will allow. There are optional English SDH and French subtitles provided.
Special Features
- Bonus Films By Mark Rappaport
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- Anna/Nana/Nana/Anna (2019): A 26-minute tribute to classic actresses including the Ukrainian Anna Sten to the French Anna Karina. This piece gives a well-rounded account of their careers, as well as the humanity that defined them when the cameras were not rolling.
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- Becoming Anita Ekberg (2014): A nearly 18-minute exploration of actress Anita Ekberg and her position as a “sex goddess” which was a product of careful curation by different powerful creative figure. More broadly, this piece takes a look at the obvious and not so obvious ways in which these exploitative depictions have impacted society.
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- Debra Paget, For Example (2016): A 37-minute dive into the career and life of the American actress who was under contract at Fox in the 1950s and the ways in which she was being cultivated to replace aging starlets of the past.
Final Thoughts
From the Journals of Jean Seberg is a work that features some interesting observations about a performer the world deserves to know much more about. Unfortunately, the manner in which this information is relayed is not always the most captivating in its delivery. Some of the parallels drawn and issues broached still feel relevant today, but the uncanny portrayal of Seberg never really sits right with the viewer. Nevertheless, there is still a great deal to learn from this and it is worth wading through all of the same. Kino Classics has provided a DVD with a fair A/V presentation and some fascinating supplemental documentary shorts.
From the Journals of Jean Seberg is currently available to purchase on DVD and Digital.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the DVD
Disclaimer: Kino Classics has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.