The Films (3.5/5 - Average)

    Since Godard, Truffaut, and the other members of the French New Wave found a way into my heart about 15 years ago, I have found myself marginally obsessed with French cinema. However, pre-New Wave French cinema tends to get overlooked by many film historians and critics. You have a few of the silent directors who made their initial impact out of France, and then prior to the 50's there were French directors like Marcel Carne with film's like Children of Paradise and other landmark director’s like Jean Renoir making an impact, but by an large the period is largely ignored.

    Of course, cinema having such a broad expansive history, there are certainly gaps, and among those is the director and writer Sacha Guitry. Guitry was born in 1885 in St. Petersburg, Russia to a French acting father Lucien Guitry, who was at the time contracted to the French theater in that eastern city. Sacha grew up in the shadow of the theater, and by the time he was 17 would become a theatrical artist himself as both a playwright, and actor.   He would cross over to also becoming a cinema artist during while still in the silent era and direct his first film Those of Our Land in 1915.  As a director his most prominent period would be the 1930's and 40's though the Nazi occupation of France would end up causing him issues (to put it mildly).

    His films have been described as having an overt theatrically quality to them as if he is translating his theatrical works (which he is) 1:1 from the stage to the screen without much of a thought of how they should be depicted for the cinema, however, while watching the 4 films included in Arrow Academy's Sacha Guitry: Four Film's 1936-1938 I understood why some viewers might grasp at that notion, but I felt that there was some deeper quality in the films presented here.   They are certainly limited in how the camera moves choosing instead to focus on the actors, their performances, and of course, Guitry's dialogue which blends the comic with the occasion bit of the dramatic, and so quite well.

      I will say having marathoned all 4 films across the course of 2 nights was probably not the best way to experience them, and as such I would recommend that viewers of this set experience them across a longer gap of time. I would suggest that, in order to allow them to feel less repetitive, and let them truly sink in. As even though I felt an appreciation for Guitry, and his style. Each film did feel distinct there was a certain stylistic overlap from such a concise viewing period that took away from some of the impact of the 4 films.

Audio/Video (3.5/5)

    All 4 films are presented with an LPCM 1.0 mono track in French with subtitles and in 1:37:1 1080p AVC encoded transfers. Everything here looks as best as they can be expected.  Contrast is stable, detail is excellent, and there is solid organic grain field. Throughout the presentations there is still some damage from the source to contend with but for the most part everything looks quite reasonable here. Audio comes through clear and concise.

Extras (3.5/5)

     Extras include introductions to the films by French cinema expert Ginette Vincendeau, selected scene commentaries by critic Phillippe Durant, interviews regarding Guitry by Pascal Thomas , Video Essays on the themes of Guitry by Phillippe Durant, sounds tests for Let's Make A Dream, the theatrical trailer for Let's Make a Dream, and a wonderful in depth booklet of liner notes.

Overall

    It would seem that Sacha Guitry is one of the forgotten auteurs of the early French cinema and aside from a few scattered releases has been treated with minimal releases on home video. Arrow Academy has seen to help rectify that with their Four Films 1936-1938 releasing 4 fine examples of the directors work Indiscretions, My Father Was Right, Let's Make a Dream, and Let's Go Up the Champs-Elysees showcasing this director/playwrights unique comic and occasionally dramatic blend of writing and cinema for a new generation. These films are certainly not for anyone, but for the daring and open-minded film viewer they are certainly a treat. They come with solid restorations courtesy of Arrow Academy and Gaumont, and an excellent in depth extras slate to help contextualize the work of this early French auteur. RECOMMENDED.