6 April 2023

Review: The City of Lost Children 4K UHD

4K UHD, Blu-ray, DVD & Digital: The City of Lost Children (1995)

The City of Lost Children directed by Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet, is one of those ‘foreign’ films.
Oh dear Lord how so many of us hate to read the subtitles (actually I don’t mind at all), but wait dear reader! There isn’t so much talking in this film, more grunting and ‘noises’ than actual dialogue, and the dialogue is a bit …out there. So sit back and cast your eyes over the wonderful world of Jeunet and Caro.

Scientist Krank (Daniel Emilfork) can’t dream, which causes him to age prematurely (I think?). He shares his ‘Bond villain-esque oil rig lair with six clones (Dominique Pinon), Martha the little person, and a brain in a vat named Irvin…who may have been his scientific partner at one point(?).

Evil Krank steals children, then uses his infernal machine to take their dreams. The cyclops gang steal the children and in return Krank gives them robot eyes and ears. One day the cyclops make the mistake of stealing the strong man’s (Ron Perlman) little brother. He pursues the kidnappers, meets some orphans, but does he win the day?

Well not many people know as this film is rather infamous for it’s brilliance, beauty and ‘what the fuck is that all about’?, which just adds to its overall charm. In its truest sense, a real movie fairytale. Why, it even has a French speaking strongman/giant (Perlman grunts French beautifully).

This new restoration presented here by Studiocanal in 4k UHD, makes it a wholly different experience watching this film, not just for the clearer sound but the amazing ‘cleaned up’ visuals. I’ve always thought of City of Lost Children as a ‘green’ film, but in 4K it’s a rainbow film as everything comes out of the greenish shadows into the light. It really is spectacular. The costumes and sets are amazing and put together, it doesn’t really matter that the narrative may be difficult for a UK audience, you’re blinded by its look.

INCLUDED WITH THE CITY OF LOST CHILDREN: