Polytechnique (Denis Villeneuve)

[McCrutchy]

Polytechnique Blu-ray.com review

I hadn't even heard of this film, but the site's review (courtesy of Dr. A ) now has me very interested so I bought a copy (my first Canadian disc!). I see it has been out since last year, so I was wondering if anybody saw it and could comment on it?

Also, it would seem that there are no English subtitles for the extras even though they are in French. Since this seems to be a Pan-Canadian release from Alliance, and not a localized Québécois release from, say TVA, isn't that kind of...unfair for Canadians who don't speak French? should there eventually be another Canadian release with English subs on the extras?

[Rhylliam]

I highly doubt there will be another release where the extras have english subs. Dr. A forgot one MAJOR thing in his review IMO, & that is that the disc has 2 different versions of the film:
1) French Version
2) English Version: Alternate english speaking scenes were filmed simultaneously, basically making another version of the film (as opposed to a dubbed track).

[pro-bassoonist]

Originally Posted by Rhylliam

...forgot one MAJOR thing in his review IMO, & that is that the disc has 2 different versions of the film.

No, he didn't

Pro-B

[Rhylliam]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

No, he didn't

Pro-B

Haha dammit, I didn't pay close enough attention to his Audio section, which is the only spot where he mentions both versions are included.

It is an excellent disc though. The film however, I would say, didn't really have much doing for it all-in-all. The running time of 77 mins alone indicates this, & I felt that really there should have been more to it.

[McCrutchy]

Originally Posted by Rhylliam

I highly doubt there will be another release where the extras have english subs.

But I'm more curious as to why that would happen, as I thought that French is far less spoken outside of Montreal/Quebec and the surrounding areas. Is French really so prevalent in Canada that almost any Canadian who buys the disc will know enough French to understand the extras?

[Rhylliam]

Originally Posted by McCrutchy

But I'm more curious as to why that would happen, as I thought that French is far less spoken outside of Montreal/Quebec and the surrounding areas. Is French really so prevalent in Canada that almost any Canadian who buys the disc will know enough French to understand the extras?

Its odd yes, but Alliance basically just culls extras available, & doesn't put any extra work into them. So if the extras (which were 1st shown on TV I believe) were not produced with subs, then they will not provide it themselves.

[McCrutchy]

Originally Posted by Rhylliam

Its odd yes, but Alliance basically just culls extras available, & doesn't put any extra work into them. So if the extras (which were 1st shown on TV I believe) were not produced with subs, then they will not provide it themselves.

Ah, that's a shame. Since I know next to nothing about the massacre (other than what's on Wikipedia, which I looked up after reading the review of the film yesterday), it would have been nice to be able to understand the supplements, as they would seem to be educational for those not aware of the real incident. This has been playing at a couple American film festivals since the beginning of this year, so hopefully a forthcoming U.S. BD release would have some educational supplements in English or with English subtitles...

[Rhylliam]

The only "extras" that have an english option, are the bonus trailers for other films haha.

[Immersion]

Great to see this one is finally out on Blu-ray. I watched it last year and thought it was really good, and anticipated a wider release. It doesn't seem to have happened and it is disappointing as Quebec has such a great quality of cinema.

Hopefully one day we might see Denis Côté on Blu-ray

[Rhylliam]

Originally Posted by Immersion

Hopefully one day we might see Denis Côté on Blu-ray

Do you mean actor Michel Côté (http://www.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=h...1016&bih=597)? Because there are a few of his films already out on blu-ray...

[McCrutchy]

My copy arrived today, and I have just finished watching the French and English versions back-to-back. A fascinating and profoundly disturbing film. This makes me all the more angry that Alliance did not provide English subtitles for the extras, as I would have greatly appreciated the information and commentary on the real-life events.

[pro-bassoonist]

McCrutchy,

Which version did you like better - French or English?

Pro-B

[McCrutchy]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

McCrutchy,

Which version did you like better - French or English?

Pro-B

I preferred the French version, as it felt more natural--even though the actors did a commendable job of translating the film into English. Did you notice that Valérie's interviewer left out the line about not wanting employees to quit in the English version? That was the only inconsistency I spotted, otherwise the English-language version seems spot on with the English subtitles on the French version...

I also have to say that the lossless 5.1 DTS-HD MA tracks played a huge role in my experience of the film, because of the way the gunfire is so profoundly crisp and suitably jarring.

I didn't notice whether this was on the French version, but on the English version credits it seems Sébastien Huberdeau (Jean-François) and Johanne-Marie Tremblay (Jean-François' mother) were dubbed, and I'm wondering if that was exclusive to the English version or if they were dubbed in both versions?