Jules and Jim (1962) 2-Disc DVD Criterion Collection, Spine #281
Hailed as one of the finest films ever made, Jules and Jim charts, over twenty-five years, the relationship between two friends and the object of their mutual obsession. The legendary François Truffaut directs, and Jeanne Moreau stars as the alluring and willful Catherine, whose enigmatic smile and passionate nature lure Jules (Oskar Werner) and Jim (Henri Serre) into one of cinema’s most captivating romantic triangles. An exuberant and poignant meditation on freedom, loyalty, and the fortitude of love, Jules and Jim was a worldwide smash in 1962 and remains every bit as audacious and entrancing today.
Disc One
• New, restored high-definition digital transfer, supervised by director of photography Raoul Coutard
• Two audio commentaries: one featuring co-writer Jean Gruault, Truffaut collaborator Suzanne Schiffman, editor Claudine Bouché, and film scholar Annette Insdorf; the other featuring legendary actress Jeanne Moreau and Truffaut biographer Serge Toubiana
• Excerpts from The Key to Jules and Jim (1985), a documentary on author Henri-Pierre Roché and the true stories on which the novel and film are based
• Truffaut on Roché, from the French program Bibliothèque de poche (1966)
• Theatrical trailer
• New and improved English subtitle translation
Disc Two
• New video interview with Coutard
• Video interview with Gruault
• New video conversation between scholars Robert Stam and Dudley Andrew
• Excerpt from a 1965 episode of the French television program Cinéastes de notre temps dedicated to François Truffaut
• Segment from the French program L’invité du dimanche (1969), featuring Truffaut, Moreau, and Jean Renoir
• Excerpts from Truffaut’s first appearance on American television, a 1977 interview with New York Film Festival director Richard Roud
• Excerpts from a 1979 American Film Institute Dialogue on Film given by Truffaut
• Archival audio interview of Truffaut by Claude-Jean Philippe (1980)
PLUS: A 44-page booklet featuring an essay by film critic John Powers, reprints of Truffaut’s writings, and a Pauline Kael review
Technical Features
• 1962 • 105 minutes • Black and White • Monaural
• In French with Optional English Subtitles • 2.35:1 Aspect Ratio