SEASONS [LES SAISONS] [2015 / 2017] [Blu-ray] [USA Release] A Dazzling Testament to the Breath-taking Wonder of the Natural World! Captures the Poetry, Humour and Drama of Wildlife!
After traveling the world alongside migrating birds in ‘Winged Migration’ and diving into the oceans with whales and manta rays in ‘Oceans,’ Jacques Cluzaud and Jacques Perrin return to more familiar ground: the lush green forests and megafauna that emerged across Europe following the last Ice Age.
Winter had gone on for 80,000 years when in a relatively short period of time the ice retreated, the landscape metamorphosed, the cycle of seasons was established, and the beasts occupied their new kingdom. It was only later that man arrived to share this habitat, first tentatively as migratory hunter/gatherers, then making inroads in the forest as settled agriculturalists, and later more dramatically via industry and warfare.
With its exceptional footage of animals in the wild, Seasons is the awe-inspiring and thought-provoking tale of the long and tumultuous shared history that inextricably binds humankind with the natural world. Narrated by Jacques Perrin (French dialogue).
Directors: Jacques Perrin and Jacques Cluzaud
Producers: Jacques Perrin, Nicolas Elghozi, Olli Barbé and Romain Legrand
Screenplay: Jacques Cluzaud, Jacques Perrin, Jan Walencik and Stéphane Durand
Composer: Bruno Coulais
Cinematography: Christophe Pottier (Director of Photographer), Éric Guichard, A.F.C. (Director of Photographer), Jan Walencik (Director of Photographer), Philippe Garguil (Director of Photographer), Laurent Charbonnier (Director of Photographer), Michel Bouvier (Director of Photographer), Stéphane Aupetit (Director of Photographer) and Sylvain Maillard (Director of Photographer)
Image Resolution: 1080p
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Audio: French: 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
Music & Effects: 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
French: 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio
English: 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio
Subtitles: English and French
Running Time: 96 minutes
Region: Region A/1
Number of discs: 1
Studio: Galatée Films / Pathé / Pandora Film / France 2 Cinéma / Music Box Films
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: Award-winning wildlife documentary maker Jacques Cluzaud and Jacques Perrin explore the world of land animals in the golden age of forests. This Nature Documentary ‘SEASONS’ [LES SAISONS] [2016] looks at Land Animals and the Beginning in endemic tranquillity and ending in death and destruction, ‘SEASONS’ [LES SAISONS] is the mesmeric nature documentary from ‘SEASONS’ [LES SAISONS], and does not make you feel particularly proud to be human.
At a budget approaching $40 million, the French-German natural history film or wildlife film was able to make use of cutting-edge technology, like flying drones and high-speed scooters created especially for the film, that give the feeling of standing, or running, a few feet away from the animals. This is the real difference with standard wildlife docs, which have to make conspicuous use of telephoto lens to bring the action home. Here it is so real one begins to ponder how it was technically possible.
It has been Four years in the making and 15,000 in the telling, French co-directors Jacques Cluzaud and Jacques Perrin’s millennia-spanning ‘SEASONS’ [LES SAISONS] does for beasts of the land what the Jacques Cluzaud and Jacques Perrin duo did for the documentaries ‘Winged Migration’ and ‘Oceans’ did for those of the air and sea, with two notable caveats. First, while it features some of the most breath-taking nature photography this side of BBC’s “Planet Earth” miniseries, this gorgeously cinematic documentary ties said footage to a leaden all-purpose eco-consciousness message that nearly spoils the otherwise timeless experience. And second, the animals and environments on offer aren’t nearly as exotic and mostly wolves and wild horses and limiting to the gee-whiz factor to younger audiences than might have turned out for their internationally acclaimed earlier collaborations.
Neither did their previous collaborations, ‘Winged Migration’ in 2003 and ‘Oceans’ seven years later, which were beautifully photographed entreaties to stop ravaging our wildlife. Having checked off fish and fowl, the filmmakers now turn to land animals, traversing millenniums to explore the fate of the vast forests that blanketed Europe after the last ice age.
Beasts of all varieties and sizes scamper and slink, gallop and play, fight and reproduce for the film’s crew of sharpshooting cinematographers. The images are totally gobsmacking and totally gorgeous, and the animals are so close up, we can see the ripple of muscle in a wild horse’s flank. ‘SEASONS’ [LES SAISONS] has the advantage of its focus on a timeline, showing the gradual incursion of man into this earthly paradise.
The ‘SEASONS’ [LES SAISONS] camera crew manages to get stunningly close to these interactions, reportedly rejecting zoom lenses, though the Angenieux brand gets an opening-credit nod in favour of actual physical proximity. That means cosying up to a pair of brawling brown bears, getting within kicking range of feral horses and using ultra-fast ATVs to race alongside actual wolf hunts. But it also keeps the bloodletting to a minimum, unless it is humans doing the hunting, preserving a potential PG rating while staying true to its ASPCA grade claims that “no animals were harmed in the making of this film.”
The soul of any nature documentary emerges in the brilliant and awesome editing, and ‘SEASONS’ [LES SAISONS] is elegant if not always very intuitive, following roughly the cycle of one calendar year, though winter comes and goes more than once, subdivided into one day and night dramatically falls mid-film to allow the pincushion hedgehogs and predatory owls to go about their nocturnal business, thereby providing some sort of temporal continuity for several millennia’s worth of natural history. As always, there’s a fair amount of cheating involved, particularly evident in cutaways, to a curious red squirrel shown spectating over a wolf fight, or the bear cub who seems to cover its eyes in reaction to a tussle between adults, which serve to transition between the species-agnostic roundelay, which occasionally soars above or through the treetops to follow birds and bugs.
‘SEASONS’ [LES SAISONS] can be rather heavy-handed message and reinforced by Jacques Cluzaud and Jacques Perrin’s spare, soothing narration and it is clear, as war and pesticides are unleashed and animals displaced. But it’s delivered with Gallic politesse and swamped by a fairy-tale quality that tilts the tone away from urgency and toward winsome innocence. So we barely register the gasping bees, so entranced are we by the fawns and foxes and a crystalline soundscape exploding with trilling, cawing, hooting and howling. The film’s cinematographers may hog the limelight, but it is the sweat of the sound engineers that brings their work to life in a totally awesome and brilliant way.
At a budget approaching $40 million, the French-German production company was able to make use of cutting-edge technology, like flying drones and high-speed scooters created especially for the film, that give the feeling of standing, or running, a few feet away from the animals. This is the real difference with standard wildlife docs, which have to make conspicuous use of telephoto lens to bring the action home. Here it is so real one begins to ponder how it was technically possible.
Please Note: They inform us that no animals were harmed in the making of this film, but I must warn you that some of the scenes with animals attacking other animals look very realistic and can make you feel uncomfortable or squeamish, but when watching one of the special features, you realise it is was very cleverly and realistic filmed.
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Blu-ray Image Quality – Galatée Films, Pathé, Pandora Film, France 2 Cinéma and Music Box Films presents us this stunning Blu-ray disc ‘SEASONS’ [LES SAISONS] with an impressive 1080p encode image that is equally impressive with the 2.40:1 aspect ratio that really enhances this awe inspiring nature documentary. But having it sourced from a 4K image definition, detail levels are totally superb throughout this video presentation. Everything from the depth of field and especially in the vistas of the mountain valleys to up close and personal looks at virtually every bristly hair on a bison's head is presented with precision and often a totally immaculate clarity. The colourful palette is totally fresh, totally vivid and natural looking, and this should certainly satisfy any nature documentary lover's desire for reference quality Blu-ray video.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – Galatée Films, Pathé, Pandora Film, France 2 Cinéma and Music Box Films brings us this ‘SEASONS’ [LES SAISONS] brilliant Blu-ray disc that offers us two 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio experiences, one with a French narration and the other audio track offers you just the composed music of Bruno Coulais and all the environmental sound effects, and is of course a personal choice in how you want to watch this stunning environment documentary. The stunning audio track is amazingly immersive most all of the time, with a substantial amount of environmental sounds scattered throughout the surround sound experience and of course the Bruno Coulais sumptuous composed music film score gives you an amazing experience with the all of the channels as well working in harmony. So all in all this is an amazing sound and visual experience that will definitely impress anyone who experiences this brilliant and awesome Blu-ray disc. As an added bonus, you can watch the film ‘SEASONS’ [LES SAISONS] without the French narrator, but you still get to view the English subtitles at the bottom of the screen.
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Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
Special Feature: Through the Seasons: Behind The Scenes [2015] [1080p] [2.35:1 / 1.78:1] [53:04] Here Jacques Perrin Presents ‘SEASONS’ [Au fil des ‘SAISONS’ – Dans les coulisses du tournage]. With this special feature documentary it takes us behind the camera for the film ‘SEASONS’ [LES SAISONS] to let us discover the unique special techniques deployed to produce this contemporary tale, produced by five years of work, on the history of the European forests through its animals. Here everything is real, or almost. The directors have indeed used real animals. It was necessary, however, to deploy treasures of ingenuity to achieve the result presented without transforming the beasts and perfectly tamed. The animal part remains present but, through the technique of impregnation, the fear of Man has disappeared so that we can approach them as close as possible and let their instincts express themselves. The technological challenges were as numerous to seize the fantastic rides and flights that populate this film. The documentary thus makes it possible to discover that no montage or encrustation has been used to produce these scenes, but where a few ingenious systems made it possible to achieve this striking result and hats off to their total ingenuity, especially when we get to see how the animals were trained by professionals and how they were supposed to react when being filmed and e also get to see how different animals react to each other in being trained. Right at the end of this special behind-the-scene filming of the film ‘SEASONS’ [LES SAISONS] they inform us for this film, that they attempted to get closer to the creatures around them, to tell the story of characters from the animal world. A world whicj is both so near and yet so far from us today. Telling the story of the natural world by travelling through the ages, is an attempt to provoke reflection about our modern world . . . a world that tends to forget these relationships. It’s time to get back in contact with the rest of the natural world. On our continent, wildlife is still present and all it wants is to prosper again, if only we have the desire and will to let it. They also say a big thank you to the crew of ‘SEASONS’ [SAISONS] and to all those who helped and supported us during shooting. Dedicated affectionately to the film’s animals who were true companions on this journey. French narration with English subtitles. Contributors include: Jacques Perring [Realisateur/Director], Jacques Cluzaud [Realisateur/Director], Gilbert Cochet [Conseil Scientifique/Scientific Adviser], Marie-Nöelle Divet [Responsable Animalier/Animal Keeper], Pauline Correia [Imprégnatrice Oiseaux/Animal Keeper], Alexander Bugel [Chef Machiste et Constructeur/Head Machinist and Builder], Laurent Charbonnier [Directeur de la Photographie/Director of Photographer], Stéphane Chollet [Steadicamer/Steadycam Operator], Jérôme Bouvier Directeur de la Photographie/Director of Photographer] and Aurélen Gallier [Imprégnateur Grue/Crane Imprinter].
Special Feature: Filmmaker Panel Discussion from the LA Premiere [2015] [1080p] [1.78:1] [16:26] Here we get to meet the amazing team behind the stunning nature film ‘SEASONS’ [LES SAISONS] where the invited audiences has just watched the film ‘SEASONS’ [LES SAISONS] and here we find Peter Debruge from the Variety publication asking questions about the making of the film and luckily everyone speaks in English, despite the team on stage are from France. Contributors include: Peter Debruge [Variety], Stéphane Durand [Screenwriter] and Jacques Cluzaud [Director],
Special Feature: The Orchestra of ‘SEASONS’ [L’ORCHESTRE DES SAISONS] [2015] [1080p] [1.78:1 / 2.35:1] [8:47] Jacques Perrin presents us this special feature, where in June 2015, the composed film score for the film ‘SEASONS’ [LES SAISONS] was recorded to be later mixed with Dolby ATMOS technology, which adds a vertical dimension to sound and new sense of audio immersion in cinemas. Here we get an intimate profile on the composer Bruno Coulais [Compositeur/Composer] and brings us into the recording studio to see the recording of the film’s composed music score in progress. Here Bruno Coulais talks about the process of getting the composed film score right for each scene in the film and says, “For ‘SEASONS’ [LES SAISONS] it happened very naturally. The difficulty for film composers is how to explain the music they intended to write . . . hoe I have to talk about it and its function in the film. From the start, we asked the big question: how to cover 10,000 years of history through the lives of animals . . . with only a few references to the passage of time and human evolution. We knew we’d certainly punctuated the film . . . with musical accents. I sensed I didn’t want contemporary music, but music that stirred memories, it had to be meaningful music: meaningful in terms of emotions and feelings the music would evoke. I’ve made it a habit to compose using only my memory of the scene. If I’m too concentrated on the images, I feel I’m too restricted by the editing. Once I’ve done a rough draft of the orchestration, I go back to the images and see how it works. Then I correct flaws, or in any case, things I hadn’t remembered correctly. Quite often, we didn’t want the music to dominate of illustrate the images. Instead, it should blend into the sounds of nature, as if music were being played on the other side of the forest. Even for the orchestration, I had to keep this in mind. I found it very interesting on this film in particular . . . we had to experiment a lot as we went along. We want to hear nature, to hear the forest. We knew we’d hear more of the forest than what was visible on-screen, and wanted the concept of the music was in the forest too, especially having a huge orchestra, which consisted of about a 100 musicians, in addition to nature’s orchestra. I wasn’t familiar with the system Dolby ATMOS, I went to Joinville to the audition to see it in action. I listened to the sounds and began to understand how it creates “audio objects” which can be moved independently. It was important to learn how it worked in order to orchestrate the music correctly . . . to make full use of its 3-D audio specialization.” We also get to view the amazing music mixing studio and also the awesome Dolby ATMOS film mixing studio. What was also great, is we get an in-depth look at the orchestra performing the amazing music the composer had originally down on his music sheets and we get to see Bruno Coulais looking very pleased with the result in finally hearing his composed music via the 100 piece orchestra. Contributors include: Bruno Coulais [Compositeur/Composer], Jacques Perring [Realisateur/Director], Jacques Cluzaud [Realisateur/Director] and Gérard Lamps [Mixeur/Mixer].
Special Feature: Production Featurettes [2015] [1080p] [1.78:1 / 2.35:1] [6:03] Here we get to view several small featurettes all rolled into one special feature and we go behind-the-scenes of the filming of ‘SEASONS’ [LES SAISONS] and the director always wondered why all animals in films don’t seem complete. They aren’t truly present. They’re like an afterthought. Why not make films about animals themselves? Not only that, but why not make a film on the history of animals from its origins? We want the film to be like a fable. We want it to immerse us in nature, but not documentary-style nature that’s only concerned with animal behaviour. Also, we want to show a multitude of animals, not just wolves or bears. To understand an animal, it has to be in its habitat. The relationship between it and its habitat, explains why it is there. An animal is an expression of life and life is movement. We relearn what we knew 10,000 years ago. For this film . . . we had to develop in motion. Three-wheeled scooters had been around for a while. They thought they’d be interesting as a base for a filming vehicle. Each wheel has individual suspension, making it possible to lean into turns like on a motorcycle. It also had to be low to the ground to avoid filming small animals from above. Having two back wheels leaves room for the cameraman to be seated low to the ground. They developed a drone with Galatée Films for difficult task of making a SONY F55 airborne. Here mainly we get the in-depth thoughts from the aspect of the cinematographers and here are their comments. As a camera, it is relatively long and therefore difficult to mount on a drone. To understand an animal, it must be seen in its habitat. The relationship between the animal and its habitat and explains why the animal is there. We wanted a filming technique that erases the fourth wall, which separates the viewer from the subject matter, where we want to bring them together. Directors Jacques Perrin and Jacques Cluzaud asked us the cinematographers to do an entire sequence on small nesting birds raising their chicks. The most difficult part is finding the right spot. The cinematographer works very close to the nests. They must be very precise. When setting up blind, and we observe if the birds accept us. We must film without disturbing them, and if the birds have any doubt, they leave the nest immediately. If we want to film with the Steadicam in the forest near the wolves, first they have to accept us and it is all actually up to them. When framing a shot, you need to sense the wolves’ movements and anticipate them. It’s similar to working with actors actually. When filming the mountain scenes Jacques Perrin and Jacques Cluzaud asked me to get up as close as possible for the close-ups of the mountain chamois animals, because positioning is important. For the mountain chamois animals, we have to stay in one spot, and not move around. We had to be in their area for eight days, so they know we are there and that they know we are not dangerous and we do not run after them. If we tried to rush after the chamois animals to film them, they’d be really upset. It’s important to capture beautiful shots of the wild animals, but without disturbing them. Directors Jacques Perrin and Jacques Cluzaud asked me to infuse the images to give them a look of mystery. The landscape and climatic conditions should be like an extension of the animal. We ended up on the high plateaus of central Norway to film the wild animals and the concept is that we’re entering another era, 10,000 years ago, because it is very wild. In order to film with a Steadicam in the forest near the wolves, first they had to accept our presence actually, it is all up to them really. To understand an animal, it must be seen in its habitat. The relationship between the animals and its habitat explains all that we get to see with the scenes we filmed and we had to develop a way to film in the forest to see the animal’s motions. For the animals’ movements, they needed to be nearby and not with a zoom lens, but right next to the wolves as it speeds through the forest and the trees. We had to find a way to champion the animals and it is important to keep still. Again, in the mountainous area we had to be there for eight days filming, so they get use to us filming them and show them we are not dangerous to them. Again, we observed them very closely, but also make sure we are slightly hidden so we do not disturb them and if we have any doubt about filming them, then we leave immediately. Again, filming in the high plateau, we wanted to give the impression we were entering another era of 10,000 years ago, because it was so very wild and we decided why not make a film on the history of the animals? We wanted the film to be a fable, for it to tell a great story with a multitude of animals, not just wolves or bears. When framing a shot, you need to sense their physical sensations. An animal is an expression of life, and life is movement and we relearn what we knew 10,000 years ago. Contributors include: Jacques Perring [Realisateur/Producleur/Director/Producer], Jacques Cluzaud [Realisateur/Director], Alexander Bugel [Développment Technique/Technical Research], Mathieu Raymond [Air Drone], Laurent Charbonnier [Chef Operateur Animalier/Wildlife Cameraman] and Jérôme Bouvier [Chef Operateur Animalier/Wildlife Cameraman].
Special Feature: Animated Image Gallery [2015] [1080p] [1.37:1] [5:19] Here we have an interesting gallery of stunning HD images from the film ‘SEASONS’ [LES SAISONS] and is shown in the form of a slide show. In the background you get to hear the wonderful evocative composed film score by Bruno Coulais.
Theatrical Trailer [2016] [1080p] [2.351] [1:57] This is the Original Theatrical Trailer of the film ‘SEASONS’ [LES SAISONS]. Here the narrator informs us, “Winter has lasted 80,000 years. In hostile conditions, animals withstand the freezing cold. Over this great expanse, traces of man are scarce. Imperceptibly, Earth tilts, allowing itself a little more sun. A few more degrees and radical changes occur. Immense forests stretch out across the continent. So begins the golden age of the forest. So begins the seasons. Experience nature first-hand. Discover an alternative history of our world. From the ice age to present day. Under man’s growing influence, the wilderness shrinks. Seen through the eyes of the animals. At the dawn of this new century, a new cohabitation with our fellow creatures of the planet is born . . . ‘SEASONS’ – A film by Jacques Perrin and Jacques Cluzaud.
MUSIC BOX Film Trailers: Here we get to view some spectacular film trailers and they are as follows:
ANTARTICA – ICE AND SKY [2015] [1080p] [1.78:1]
MERU [2015] [1080p] [1.78:1]
EMPTYING THE SKIES [2013] [1080p] [1.78:1]
ANTARTICA – A YEAR ON ICE [2014] [1080p] [1.78:1]
BIRDERS – THE CENTRAL PARK EFFECT [2013] [1080p] [1.78:1]
Running Time: 9:20
Finally, ‘SEASONS’ [LES SAISONS] has the ability to follow the film’s freeform logic, while others may want to inject a more educational dimension. Most importantly, as written, the finale scenes in the film serves as a slight downer, especially showing what man’s impact becomes increasingly evident, building to the image of a smoking power plant, which appears like the devastation on the wildly deforested landscape. In addition to filming in French forests, the crew travelled to Norway, Scotland, Romania and Holland to cobble together its unspoiled Euro wilderness. “Man has become a geological force,” so says the French voice over narration. “He modifies nature and the seasons.” But then so, too, do wolves, bison, deer, badgers and bears and species that are routinely culled to contain imbalances in nature. Meanwhile, a sceptic might point to Paris, glimpsed in the images in the final minutes, as evidence of human innovation and ask what animals achieved in that same time. ‘SEASONS’ [LES SAISONS] ultimately suggests what such a portrait might look like. The philosophy of the film is to keep narration to a minimum, and no explanatory titles are used, forcing the audience to feel sensations rather than to analyse what exactly is on screen. Very Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
