Criterion Collection, out now

A double-bill release of Chris Marker’s best known works features a classic tale of time travel and a travelogue documentary that questions the reliability of memory.

The influence of Chris Marker’s monochrome short La Jetée (1962) cannot be overstated. Quite apart from the direct (and credited) structure re-used in Terry Gilliam’s 1995 12 Monkeys, its plot of travelling to the future/past to impact the future/past has been ‘borrowed’ countless times since.

Played out as a series of black and white stills with voiceover narration, sound effects and score, the film might not hit a thirty minute running time but still squeezes in more plot than a ninety minute feature. Played out over three timeframes we watch our protagonist travelling backwards and forwards to prevent the destruction of humanity. Will he succeed, and what is the relevance of that moment he recalls atop the airport’s viewing platform (la Jetée)?

Criterion Collection’s Blu-ray release is a sharp HD transfer. There’s a handful of extras, including a focus on Marker’s fascination with Hitchcock’s Vertigo – really obvious when you’re presented with the evidence.

Sans Soleil (1983) is a feature length (100 minutes) documentary travelogue around Japan and Guinea-Bissau, the narrator reading from letters sent by the cameraman. It’s a handsome film, again bolstered by a hood HD transfer, but don’t look for any genre or sci-fi slant.

Verdict: I suspect that most collectors will pick up this release for La Jetée, and that alone is reason enough to have this in your collection, with Sans Soleil a nice extra. The former’s impact has not been diminished by time – a masterpiece. 10/10

Nick Joy