Priceless

 (2006)

Priceless Blu-ray delivers great video and superb audio in this excellent Blu-ray release
In the south of France, Jean, a shy young bartender, is mistaken for a millionaire by a beautiful, scheming opportunist named Irene. When Irene discovers his true identity, she abandons him, only to find that a love-struck Jean has no intention of letting her get away. Jean's comical attempts to gain her affections gradually evolve into setting himself up as a gigolo at a luxury hotel, until Irene finally starts to warm to her persistent, persuasive suitor.

For more about Priceless and the Priceless Blu-ray release, see the Priceless Blu-ray Review

Starring: Audrey Tautou, Gad Elmaleh, Marie-Christine Adam, Vernon Dobtcheff, Jacques Spiesser, Annelise Hesme
Director: Pierre Salvadori

» See full cast & crew

Priceless Blu-ray Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov, February 5, 2009

A modest bartender-server and do-it-all loner (Gad Elmaleh) falls for an ambitious and beautiful gold digger (Audrey Tautou) in Pierre Salvadori's chic comedy "Hors de Prix" a.k.a "Priceless" (2006). The film is cluttered with clichés, some quite well repolished, but it is nevertheless enjoyable. Courtesy of First Look Studios.

The gold digger

Jean (Elmaleh, The Valet) is every business owner's dream – he works hard and never asks for a pay-raise. But when a lovely looking girl (Tautou, A Very Long Engagement) walks into the cozy bar of the hotel where he works and asks for a drink, things suddenly change. Jean presents himself as a rich but lonely bachelor, the girl likes what she is told and after a few drinks the two end up in bed.

On the following morning, instead of revealing who he really is, Jean decides to stick with the bachelor play. Unfortunately for him, it becomes obvious that the girl is already staying at the hotel with someone else - a rich, twice her age, man with little stamina and plenty of cash to burn. Does Jean have enough in his savings account to earn the girl's heart?

Priceless is a simple film with an even simpler story. It is about a girl fishing for her Sugar Daddy on the French Riviera. She is careful, kind, and always respectful with those willing to invest in her. Like most girls, she also likes expensive gifts and fine dining. But when a lonely workaholic falls for her, and later on manages to impressively beat her at her own game, Priceless gets interesting. Elmaleh and Tautou clash in a fascinating "let's see who's the better player" game where all bets are off.

Surprisingly, Elmaleh's game is better (well, let's face it, if it wasn't this film would have been unwatchable). He unexpectedly conquers the heart of an old widow willing to pay for a younger companion, and the once shy and poorly dressed bartender immediately becomes a man of interest. He acts as a gentleman, and Tautou's character begins to see in him what she couldn't while he was spending on her the last Euros from his savings account.

Obviously, as much as Priceless is a sweet comedy with plenty of clichés, it is also a film with a good dose of sour realism. The beautiful young girls at the French Riviera being pampered by their old (not older, I mean old) and financially stable partners, the young men being bought by wealthy old (again, old, not older) women to escort them, so they could parade themselves at the luxurious restaurants, all of this at times comes off as sour rather than sweet. With other words, Priceless offers plenty of humor, but there is a good dose of drama in it as well.

Tunisia-born French director Pierre Salvadori (who also helmed the similarly themed Après Vous with Daniel Auteuil and Sandrine Kiberlain) does a good job of capturing the glamor of the French Riviera. The endless chic hotels, expensive boutiques, and exotic cars seen in Priceless certainly allow the viewer to get a good taste of the playing field where Elmaleh and Tautou's characters collide. The title of the film, however, is rather misleading. As Priceless comes to an end, it becomes fairly clear that everything, even love, has a price tag. C'est la vie!

Priceless Blu-ray, Video Quality

 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with VC-1 and granted a 1080p transfer, Priceless arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of First Look Studios.

This fairly recent French comedy has received a lovely Blu-ray treatment – contrast is pleasing, clarity and detail exceptionally strong, and edge-enhancement not a major issue of concern. The color scheme is also terrific. Yellows, reds, blues, greens, whites, and blacks look lush and well saturated. They are also as impressive during the daylight scenes as they are during the nighttime scenes. Furthermore, detail is consistently strong, and there are more than a few scenes in Priceless that I definitely think will make an impression on those of you who like the marquee popping look newer films transferred in 1080p tend to reveal. I certainly did not detect any DNR alterations to report here either, and, as far as I am concerned, the film looks as natural and uncompressed as I was hoping it would. This being said, I detected a bit of video noise during a few selected scenes but, again, Priceless looks very healthy, and I have absolutely no problem recommending it to you. For the record, I did not detect any disturbing specks, debris, or dirt. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release which you will be able to play on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location).

Priceless Blu-ray, Audio Quality

 

There are two audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: French Dolby TrueHD 5.1 and French Stereo 2.0. I opted for the French Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track and did random comparisons with the French Stereo 2.0 track for the purpose of this review.

The difference in quality between the two tracks is enormous. Not only is the Dolby True HD 5.1 more active (the rear channels surprisingly get quite a bit of activity), but also more effective. Priceless isn't a dialog-driven comedy and there are quite a few key scenes in this film that truly benefit from the Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track. Furthermore, balance isn't an issue here either. Dialog and music are adequately mixed, and I certainly did not detect any serious problems to report here. On the contrary, I thought that it was tremendously easy to follow the crystal clear dialog (which shouldn't be a surprise given that this is a relatively new film). Finally, I did not detect any disturbing pops, cracks, or dropouts to report here. Switching quickly to the French Stereo 2.0 track, well, I don't believe that there is a technical aspect of it that matches even partially what the Dolby TrueHD 5.1 delivers - depth is lacking, the music isn't as immersive, and the dialog comes off the speakers in quite an ordinary fashion. To sum it all up, there really isn't any need for you to consider the French Stereo 2.0 track. For the record, First Look Studios have provided optional English subtitles (they appear inside the image frame), but they do tend to be a bit too wild for my taste. The subtitles switch from the right side of the screen to the left side in a somewhat puzzling manner. Slightly smaller subtitles, placed towards the center-bottom of the image frame, would have been far more appealing.

Priceless Blu-ray, Special Features and Extras

 

Aside from trailers for other First Look Studios films, on this Blu-ray disc you will find two sections with deleted scenes (I counted well over 15) and outtakes. Unfortunately, none of these offer optional English subtitles.

Priceless Blu-ray, Overall Score and Recommendation

 

Priceless is an enjoyable French comedy that will certainly appeal to those who are still fascinated with Audrey Tautou. The Blu-ray disc herein reviewed, courtesy of First Look Studios, is of very good quality. The 1080p transfer is certainly amongst the best I have seen from the US distributors. Given the dramatic improvements the Blu-ray disc offers over the distributor's corresponding DVD release, and the terrific price tag it comes with, I cannot but HIGHLY RECOMMEND it.