Note: Publicity stills are NOT necessarily screenshots from the 4K master
Joey is a struggling writer with no money. His roommate Carl is a charming stud with a taste for young girls. Together, these two insatiable dreamers will laugh, love and screw their way through a decadent Paris paved with wanton women, wild orgies and outrageous erotic adventures. Based upon the long-banned novel by Henry Miller and featuring a hit soundtrack by rock legend Country Joe McDonald, QUIET DAYS IN CLICHY is considered to be the most daring film adaptation ever of one of the most controversial authors in history.
In May of 1970, the United States Government seized the only English-language prints of QUIET DAYS IN CLICHY on charges of obscenity. And while it was ultimately cleared in Federal Court, the film mysteriously disappeared shortly after its release. Now more than 50 years later, this landmark ‘adults only’ classic can be seen in a brand-new restoration, scanned in 4K 16-bit from its recently discovered uncut & uncensored original fine-grain negative, with Dolby Vision HDR and DTS-HD Master Audio!
For thoughts on Quiet Days In Clichy, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:
Video Quality
Blue Underground presents Quiet Days In Clichy with a mesmerizing 2160p transfer in its original 1.66:1 aspect ratio sourced from a 16-bit 4K scan of the recently discovered uncut and uncensored original fine-grain negative with Dolby Vision HDR. The level of fine detail and clarity is jaw dropping with a sumptuous amount of natural film grain intact. The grain resolves nearly perfectly with nary a fluctuation in density. The texture on display in the outfits (when characters ARE wearing clothes) and within the production design are a marvel. This transfer does not register anything in the way of print damage for a problem-free experience. There also does not appear to be any unfortunate digital anomalies such as compression artifacts, banding or any other such nuisances. Given the complicated release history of this title, it is doubtful it even looked this good and complete during its original theatrical run anywhere in the world.
The application of Dolby Vision is terrific even if this black-and-white film means no increased color output. Where this shines is in the command of the contrast in the grayscale and in different lighting conditions. There is a pretty fine balance between the brightly lit daytime sequences and the nearly pitch black moments that still maintain detail. For example, take a look at Joey’s darkened room when Carl comes in to show off Colette, and you will notice distinct object detail. This disc handles every environmental change with precision and care. The black levels are deep without ever veering into crush, and white levels are firm with no evidence of blooming. This presentation is a wonderful revitalization from Blue Underground.
Audio Quality
The 4K UHD Blu-Ray disc comes with a DTS-HD 1.0 Master Audio track in English which presents this material quite well. This mono track is not terribly ambitious, but it offers the appropriate nuance for the story. There is not much in the way of age-related wear and tear, but there are a handful of instances when audio fluctuates which would appear to be source related. The audio also appears to have been captured in a way that results in instances of loose sync which are thankfully not too distracting. Environmental sounds such as car horns and chatter are rendered well alongside everything else. The music from Country Joe McDonald has never sounded better and is used impeccably to move along the story. Blue Underground has delivered a perfectly preserved audio presentation that represents the material favorably. There are English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles provided.
Special Features
4K UHD Blu-Ray
- Deleted Scene: A new fully-restored six-minute scene is provided here which finds some women giving up on the promise of making love and Joey sinking to certain depths in order to not be hungry.
- Theatrical Trailer: A four-minute trailer is provided here.
Blu-Ray
The Blu-Ray features all of the extras on the 4K UHD disc plus the following:
- Songs Of Clichy – Interview with Country Joe McDonald: An 11-minute archival piece in which McDonald begins with a quick tune before discussing how he became involved with the project, the work of Henry Miller, how he went about creating songs to suit the narrative, the radical nature of the content and more.
- Dirty Books, Dirty Movies – Barney Rosset On Henry Miller: A 17-minute archival featurette with with Henry Miller’s editor and publisher Barney Rosset in which he discusses coming to the work of Miller, his feelings about “pornography” and “erotica”, how he came to be a publisher, his interactions with the authorities, the filming of Quiet Days In Clichy and more.
- “Midnight Blue” Interview with Barney Rosset: A 25-minute vintage episode of this show in which Rossett again talks about his troubles with the FBI, his work as a publisher, his relationship with Henry Miller and more.
- Poster & Still Gallery: A collection of posters, advertising, reviews, lobby cards, stills and more.
- Book Cover Gallery: An array of different book covers are provided for the novel Quiet Days In Clichy.
- Court Documents: A glimpse at the documents attempting to suppress the release of the film.
Final Thoughts
Quiet Days In Clichy is a film for a very narrow audience thanks to its near-pornographic level of sexual escapades, much of it seemingly unsimulated. As much as this may be a hurdle for some, what should be the larger hurdle should be the faux-artistry of the endeavor. The actual capturing of the story on film is handled in an admirable manner with an obvious ode to Godard, but the actual narrative is very loosely defined and mostly very dull. This goes back to the Henry Miller source material, which is extremely misogynistic and off-putting. Yet, apparently, it is also imbued with philosophical underpinnings which complement the sexuality of the novel. This film does not give you much more than men roaming around looking for sex and saying the most reductive things. If there were an honest attempt at bringing some grander philosophical ideas into the mix, whether we agree with them or not, it could have been a much more compelling film to debate. Blue Underground has released a new 4K UHD Blu-ray release which features a tremendous A/V presentation and a great assortment of special features. If you are an enthusiast of erotica, this release will have you on cloud nine.
Quiet Days In Clichy is currently available to purchase on 4K UHD Blu-Ray, Blu-Ray and DVD.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the 4K UHD Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Blue Underground has supplied a copy of this set 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.