Fanny Ardant, Emmanuelle Béart, and Gérard Depardieu star in this story of an unusual love triangle. When Catherine’s husband is unfaithful, she doesn’t want revenge – she’s curious. She wants to share the experience, but in secret, so hires an elite prostitute to seduce her husband and report back to Catherine. Her desire to remain in control of the situation is soon tested by other desires.
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Video Quality
Nathalie… debuts on Blu-Ray courtesy of the Cohen Film Collection with a brand new 1080p transfer in the original 2.39:1 aspect ratio. There are no details about the source of this transfer, but the presentation is quite fetching throughout. The moody photography captures the almost dreamlike state of some of the nightlife along with the crisp palette of daytime scenes. Every environment shines in high definition with natural grain intact and nicely resolved. There is a striking amount of detail present with nice textures on the clothing, and the new transfer shows off a great amount of depth and enhanced detail. When you are in “Nathalie’s” place of employment, you can almost feel the texture of the decor. Black levels are deep with no notable amount of black crush or compression artifacts. The contrast is well defined, and there is virtually no print damage to be found. The Cohen Film Collection has given this title a deserving release.
Audio Quality
Nathalie… is given a DTS-HD 5.1 and 2.0 Master Audio track in the original French with forced English subtitles. Not being given an option to turn off the subtitles is one of the few missteps of this release. Otherwise, the track delivers this story exactly as intended. Every environment from intimate hotel encounters to strip club performances creates a din of sound that permeates through the room to provide some excellent ambient details. The music provides a very sensual mood to the proceedings that is represented well in the mix. The dialogue comes through crystal clear without being overwhelmed by the sound effects or score. There is nothing in the way of action here, so do not expect the low end support to be pushed to the limits. All of the various sounds in the mix are balanced with nice fidelity. This presentation is free of any hiss or other age-related wear-and-tear. Outside of the forced subtitles, this presentation is ideal.
Special Features
- Trailer: The two-minute trailer is provided here.
Final Thoughts
Nathalie… is not the most thoughtful or nuanced sexual drama that has ever been created, but there is enough intrigue on the menu to keep things interesting. The real joy of this odyssey is in seeing these talented performers really commit to every moment. The narrative leaves you wanting a bit more, but for pure titillation it delivers a fairly engaging time. The Cohen Film Collection has released a Blu-Ray featuring a terrific A/V presentation, but not much at all in the way of special features. If this naughty concept sounds intriguing to you, it is worth a shot. Recommended
Nathalie… 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: Cohen Media Group and Kino Lorber have 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.