Falbalas

The careful restoration on this newly restored version of Jacques Becker's early film is clear to see in the Falbalas: restored version, which shows the muddier original against the light and spark of the cleaned up copy. Becker plays a lot with light and shade through the movie, particularly in its final scenes, so this is a hugely welcome improvement.

The rest of the collection of additional features is an odd assortment, with any sort of academic viewpoint missing - unusual for Studiocanal releases which generally include at least something to set them in context. That said, there's plenty of interest to be found in Falbalas: A Family Affair, in which Becker's son Jean talks about his father's inspiration and approach. It's enjoyably quirky, with Jean freely admitting he finds the fashion element of the film boring - even as he explains how it was inspired by his grandmother. He not only discusses his love of the character study element of the film but also offers observations on the personality of his father - his similarities and differences with the main character. All in all a juicy little watch.

Micheline Presle also shares her observations in an interview, although it seems a little odd that the interviewer didn't steer her to talk a little about working with the other members of the cast as well as Becker. Still, the director emerges as a well liked if meticulous sort. Snippets of audition reel are fun, if only to see the way various actresses were asked to turn this way and that in the light, eliciting a range of emotional responses.

Fashion And Clothing: Jean Paul Gaultier rounds out the set and is enjoyable in its own way. Essentially, a chance for Gaultier to explain how the film inspired him in his work, this is a very personal insight but offers unexpected detail about today's fashion world as well as Gaultier's reaction to the film.