Jean De Florette / Manon of the Spring (Double Feature)

I'm editing my review. In my case, I'm an obsessive fan of these movies, and maybe nothing would've met my expectations. If you haven't seen these films, buy this DVD IMMEDIATELY! You will not be sorry, and more than likely you'll find my criticisms baseless and nit-picky.I wrote the original after skipping around the discs and being extremely disappointed by what I saw. Since then, I've sat down and watched both movies on this disc and my opinion has changed somewhat. The problem was my expectations, not the actual product.On the whole, these films DO look fantastic when compared to every other DVD release available (MGM and the R2 Pathe discs from France). However, they don't look nearly as good as I believe possible. I think this film deserves the royal treatment, an all new, high definition transfer by seriously skilled people.Unfortunately, while the resolution is good, it is anamorphic, and appears to be a straight NTSC transfer (and not a PAL-to-NTSC conversion as I previously thought), there is just something not right. The colors are way too hot when compared to the actual film, and there just seems to be a layer of fuzz or blur over the whole thing that is not present on the big screen.I give it 5 stars because the films are fantastic. The two greatest foreign films I've ever seen. I've watched them each about 15 times, and never grow tired of them. I pretty much learned French watching these movies.However, this DVD seriously lacks. This movie is in dire need of a new and improved subtitle translation. While the subtitles make sense on the whole, I've studied the French script, and there is a great deal missing in the translation.There are no special features.For YEARS, these films have been out of print in America, the originals going for upwards of $50 a piece on ebay. Clearly someone was paying attention and realized there's enough people who enjoy this movie to make it available again. But slapping this set together, while allowing new viewers the opportunity to see the films, is an insult to fans who've waited a LOOOONG time for a proper American release. But a cheap release is better than none at all.Caveat: Perhaps if enough people buy this DVD, MGM will wake up and release a proper special edition. For $14, it's a great deal for two masterpieces, but we could've done better than this.

Great story, acting, scenery, language.

This is a great 2 part French movie with English subtitles, that shows the simple village life and a great story. In part 1 ,a family moves to a remote farm from the city to try a different life, but soon find out that farming is very hard with little water and a drought. This part ends sadly when the young girl's father loses his life trying to find a spring with explosives . She later finds some neighbors, who knew the spring's location, digging it up after her father's death. In part 2, It's hard to believe a spring, which is the only source of water for the village, could make a big impact, when it's stopped by a beautiful blond French woman, getting revenge against her neighbors , who had kept the secret. . The drama begins when a man stalks this beautiful woman, trying to get the courage to ask her for marriage. But the woman remembers him from part 1 of the series, and how he and his uncle , who knew the location of the spring, dug it up. There's no love at all, and she hates this man for that very reason. The man commits suicide when she refuses him. The uncle finds out that the beautiful woman is his grand daughter, and when he dies , leaves his farm to her after feeling much guilt about he way he had treated his relatives. A great movie, and great French acting. Highly recommended !!

Luckily I've seen both these films several times in the late 80's early 90's. Also lucky... the sub-titles with both films were complete and accurate. These are WONDERFUL films. I've been wanting to add them to my DVD collection, and found these on Amazon at a great price for the pair.I was so bummed when I watched them because the sub-titling was HORRIBLE!! I believe they must have used a failing first-semester high school French student to write the sub-titles. Only 30% of the dialog was written, and not well. Person 'A' askes Person 'B' a question.. only you would only see the first 3 words of the question... then tons of dialog on the screen, then Person 'B' would answer the question, and if you were lucky, they would answer in such a way that you may be able to figure out what the question must have been.I'm convinced that if it was not for the fact that I was very familiar with both stories, I would have been completely lost... someone who was not familiar with them, would have absolutely no clue what was going on.If you are familiar with the stories, by all means, purchase the DVD's.. the price is great and you'll be able to watch and enjoy. If you have never seen these films before... PLEASE... find versions with GOOD sub-titles, as these films deserve to be watched and read acurately!!

I had the good fortune of seeing Jean de Florette and Manon de Sources at a theater 30+ years ago. I've owned VHS copies and have bought the DVDs for myself and friends. Unfortunately they're popular now and the price is ridiculous. But one thing buyers should beware of. So called "Korean copies" or made in Korea. I don't know about every copy but mine were burner DVDs. Very poor quality; the English translation wasn't poetic like my other copies (though you'd still get the story) and the picture and color was poor quality. I'm considering sending my friend my good copies and keeping the crap copies because she's never seen them and I want her to have the best experience. When you purchase make sure you know where your DVDs were made! Pay the extra money to be sure they're not Korean. I have nothing against Korea and enjoy the South Korean films I've seen. Just don't buy these 2 if made in Korea bc you don't know what you're getting.

I first saw these 2 films on Public Television and bought the VHS tapes. Am glad to get them on DVD as a double feature. They are a classic "force of destiny or fate" story. I won't give away the ironic ending.