The Video: How Does The Disc Look?
Last Year at Marienbad looks quite impressive here, though it doesn't stand as tall as other Criterion BD titles of late. Finely detailed textures are the real question mark here - while there is a degree of detail presented on this BD that is undeniable (we also peeked at the Criterion DVD edition, and this BD offers a distinct increase in overall presence), there's a minor smear to a bit of it that I had trouble ignoring. It's not distracting, and it may have more to do with the original look of the film rather than the prowess of this 1080p transfer, but only a few days after bathing in the glory of Criterion's Seventh Seal BD transfer, I must say that this one doesn't pack the same punch. But it's nevertheless a well-oiled presetation of the film, to say the least, and knowing Criterion's care to get things right, I would expect that the lack of fine resultion is due to the source material itself.
The Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?
In an interesting comparison, Criterion has included both (lossless) a restored and unrestored mono mix of the film (director Alain Resnais explains why he demanded this in an essay in this edition's booklet), and while the restored version is by far the most preferable, if anything, haveing them both available showcases just how much work Criterion puts in to making their mono mixes sound as clean as possible. Last Year at Marienbad's sound presence is the same as other Criterion BD PCM mono mixes - taking into considerations its mono vintage, it's doubtful that the film could sound much better at all.
English subtitles are included.
