Following the worldwide smashes Emmanuelle (1974) and The Story of O (1975), influential French filmmaker Just Jaeckin returned in 1977 with the sensual real-life drama Madame Claude. Starring French New Wave icon Françoise Fabian in the title role along with a sinister Klaus Kinski and lovely Dayle Haddon, Madame Claude is an incredibly timeless look at one of the most controversial figures in recent French history. Originally released as The French Woman in the United States, Madame Claude is a mesmerizing mixture of elegant eroticism and potent political thriller powered by Jaeckin’s inventive direction and an unforgettable score by legendary French composer Serge Gainsbourg. Cult Epics presents Madame Claude in a stunning brand new 4k transfer, supervised by Oscar nominated cinematographer Robert Fraisse, fully loaded with a plethora of new bonus features. 2 Disc Limited Edition with CD soundtrack by Serge Gainsbourg featuring Jane Birkin.

For thoughts on Madame Claude, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:

[youtube https://youtu.be/z9pfsHI0T1Q?t=1551]

Video Quality

Madame Claude comes to Blu-Ray with a digital AVC encoded 1080p transfer in its original aspect ratio derived from a 4K restoration of the original 35mm Camera Negative supervised by cinematographer Robert Fraisse. While there are elements of this restoration which look great, it is somewhat nullified due to the color grading implemented by L’immagine Ritrovata. This practice will not be unfamiliar to those who keep track of boutique physical media releases, as the company often mucks about with their restorations. There is a gorgeous presentation underneath, but the color saturation is not as precise and natural as it should be.

Outside of the misguided color grade, there is a lot to admire. Only the occasional minor specks of print damage pop up, and overall clarity and detail is outstanding. The picture can be a bit soft in long shots, but there is some great detail in medium and close-up shots. All throughout the film there are unique interiors with little details in the production design that are easily noticeable thanks to this transfer. Black levels are a bit flat thanks to the issues with the color grade. Digital noise is thankfully not a major issue anywhere that we could discern. While not ideal, this presentation is the best version available right now, and the film is well worth seeing in one form or another. Cult Epics has done a fine job with the restoration they were provided. .

Audio Quality

The Blu-Ray disc comes with a very capable LPCM 2.0 in the original French mono, along with a new DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track in the original French with optional English subtitles. There is also an English dub available is lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 that purists should not waste their time with. There does not seem to be any substantial instances of age-related wear and tear detected here. The terrific score from Serge Gainsbourg sounds wonderful throughout the duration of the film as it establishes the tone of the narrative. The dialogue is well defined as the showcase of the mix without threat of being overwhelmed by competing sounds. Environmental sounds such as the ocean waves or car engines are rendered well alongside everything else. This audio presentation is as great as you would want it to be.

Special Features

The new 2-Disc Limited Edition Blu-Ray release of Madame Claude comes with the original Blu-Ray release of the film that was first released in February 2021 along with a second disc containing the 15-track CD soundtrack by Serge Gainsbourg featuring Jane Birkin. The Blu-Ray special features are below:

Audio Commentary: Jeremy Richey (Author of the book Sylvia Kristel: from Emmanuelle to Chabrol) provides a very thorough and enjoyable commentary track in which he discusses where this film falls in the career of Just Jaeckin, how it handles the real-life story, the backgrounds of the talent involved on screen and behind the camera, the score of Serge Gainsbourg, the general response to the film and more. This is well worth a listen if you are interested in gaining more from the film.

Interview with Just Jaeckin: A 27-minute conversation with the writer/director from 2020 in which he discusses his journey to becoming a director, the process of getting this story made, how closely it relates to the truth, his, his feelings about this film and what it means in his career, the legacy of the feature and more.

Theatrical Trailer: The minute-and-a-half trailer is provided for Madame Claude.

Promotional Gallery: A collection of posters and stills from the movie are provided here.

Trailers: The minute-and-a-half trailer is provided for Madame Claude. There are also trailers provided for Death Laid An Egg, P.O. Box Tinto Brass, Paprika, The Lickerish Quartet, Camille 2000, Blue Movie and My Nights with Susan, Sandra, Olga & Julie.

Final Thoughts

Madame Claude is a surprisingly engrossing drama from the under-appreciated Just Jaeckin. As with The Last Romantic Lover, this film has the outward appearance of a tawdry drama made only as an excuse to expose some flesh on the big screen. While there is a fair amount of nudity, the film itself does not put all of its eggs into this basket as you get a top-tier political thriller mixed with a “star on the rise” narrative of a young woman getting wrapped up in a life she never expected. The performances are incredibly effective, and the direction keeps things focused and moving at a considered pace. Cult Epics has delivered a Blu-Ray that offers a pretty decent A/V presentation and an enjoyable collection of special features. If you are a fan of French cinema or erotic political thrillers, this film is definitely worth your time. Recommended

Madame Claude is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Cult Epics 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.