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Diary of a Country Priest (The Criterion Collection)

Claude Laydu (Actor), Nicole Ladmiral (Actor), Robert Bresson (Director, Writer) Rated:
Unrated
Format: DVD
4.1 out of 5 stars 40 customer reviews
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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

A young priest arrives in the French country village of Ambricourt to attend to his first parish, but the apathetic and hostile rural congregation rejects him immediately. Through his diary entries, the suffering young man relays a crisis of faith that threatens to drive him away from the village and from God. The fourth film by Robert Bresson (Les Dames du Bois de Boulogne) finds the director beginning to implement his stylistic philosophy as a filmmaker, stripping away all inessential elements from his compositions, the dialogue and the music, and exacting a purity of image and sound. The DVD also features an audio commentary by film historian Peter Cowie, deleted scenes and the trailer.

Amazon.com

Diary of a Country Priest is the first masterpiece by the great Robert Bresson, a towering and slow-working figure in French cinema. Starkly adapted from a successful novel by Georges Bernanos, the film locks in to the mind of a sickly, ineffective young priest trapped in an unfriendly rural area. Bresson charts the priest's collapse with a series of brief scenes, a minimalist style that makes the slightest touch of a hand or far-off sound of a dog barking seem magnified in importance. (This is a movie that must be watched and listened to--it is not a casual experience.) Bresson's luminous portrait of faith and worldly humiliations takes on the intensity of a saint's notebook. In the central role is Claude Laydu, one of Bresson's early experiments with non-actors; his sad, open face is often in close-up, lighting our way into a world of private salvation. --Robert Horton

Special Features

  • New essay by film critic Frederic Bonnaud

Product Details

  • Actors: Claude Laydu, Nicole Ladmiral, Jean Riveyre, Adrien Borel, Rachel Bérendt
  • Directors: Robert Bresson
  • Writers: Robert Bresson, Georges Bernanos
  • Format: Black & White, Subtitled, NTSC
  • Language: French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
  • Subtitles: English
  • Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Rated:
    Unrated
    Not Rated
  • Studio: Criterion
  • DVD Release Date: February 3, 2004
  • Run Time: 95 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B000127IF2
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #132,636 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
  • Learn more about "Diary of a Country Priest (The Criterion Collection)" on IMDb

Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsA Strange and Beautiful Film
By A Customer on February 6, 2004
Format: DVD Verified Purchase
Diary of a Country Priest, which made Bresson a name in French cinema, is one of the most perplexing films I've ever seen, despite being one of his earliest. Here he begins developing the minimalistic style that would mature throughout the rest of his unprolific career. The editing is furious and bizarre, unlike anything in any other film. Long, forboding shots of natural settings are closed in by barrages of short, clausterphobic indoor shots. Scenes often begin in the middle, or even after the important dramatic events. What I noticed most of all is that sound often preceeds the image -- and many time the screen is black for several seconds, leaving the viewer to absorb and reflect solely on the audio before the visuals kick in. And, oddly enough, reading of the diary is accompanied by the actual shot of the priest writing, defying the cinematic "rule" that sound isn't needed. Bresson makes full use of all cinematic effects, and listening to this film is as important as watching it.
The film is adapted from the French conservative Catholic novelist Bernanos's book of the same title. It is faithful to some degree, but with small, very important departures. A young, sickly priest arrives in a miserable French village and is immediately outcasted by the townspeople. Living off of hard bread and sugared wine (one of many almost too-obvious religious symbols), he desperately tries to make a spiritual difference in the town. The more he tries, however, the more suspicion and scandal is heaped on him by the townspeople, especially the local count, who entertains a mistress while his wife and daughter fall into a bottomless pit of morbidity and hatred. His spiritual failures are echoed by his physical weakness, and at last his constitution gives out.Read more ›
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5.0 out of 5 starsDiary of A Country Priest ...Art at its most pure!!
By Daniel G. Madigan on August 13, 2014
Format: DVD Verified Purchase
A deeply spiritual film that surpasses all other films about Catholic priests or nuns, with the exception of "The Nun's Story," and "Viridiana." Moving, compelling, a conversion experience..and Bresson's landscapes, hues of black, gray, light gray, and white, the quick editing, the wonderful acting by Ayud as the priest and all of the rest of this amazing cast, make this a momentous film. Do not miss it.
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5.0 out of 5 starsBresson's vision in daunting simplicity...
By Swederunner on February 8, 2004
Format: DVD Verified Purchase
Through the journaling of a young priest the audience can follow the priest's first assignment as he is managing the small parish Ambricourt, which is located on the French countryside. As swiftly as the priest arrives he is discouraged by the unfriendly atmosphere that surrounds him in the village. His discouragement leads him on a path of spiritual and cerebral suffering as he struggles with his faith in God and humanity. Besides the intellectual struggle the priest is suffering physically from an illness in his abdomen that has forced him on a rare diet based on old bread that he softens in sweetened wine. Unselfishly, the priest continues to face-up to the adversity of his environment as he clasps on to remains of his minuscule faith. Bresson's vision of the priest is visually stunning as the film emotionally draws the audience into a vortex of thoughts, feelings, and presence. In the process, Bresson communicates his philosophical message with daunting simplicity as he removes all the miscues that could distort his position. This leaves the viewer with an utterly brilliant cinematic experience as one can sense and reflect on Bresson's revelation of a country priest.
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5.0 out of 5 starsDiary of a Country Priest
By John Farr on June 25, 2007
Format: DVD Verified Purchase
Bresson's exquisite, quietly affecting study of a young priest's spiritual travails remains one of the great achievements of world cinema. Adapted from the novel by George Bernanos, "Priest" is decidedly minimalist in style, with Laydu's supremely restrained performance eliciting our empathy and subtly attuning us to his character's inner struggles. Bresson handles the details brilliantly, his unadorned elegance and intensity permeating the mood, set design, and action. "Priest" is a sublime film that will reward attentive viewers with a profound meditation on life, faith, and purpose.
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1.0 out of 5 starsOne Star
By I. Oconnor on September 19, 2016
Format: DVD Verified Purchase
Will not play, cannot watch
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5.0 out of 5 starsDiary of a Country Priest
By Jean de St-Hikaire on December 23, 2012
Format: DVD Verified Purchase
It is a film of great value that illustates the sublimity of the catholic priesthood, even if some priests are not always faithful to their sacred vows.
J.-Réal Bleau
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5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars
By Leticia Sanchez on June 4, 2015
Format: DVD Verified Purchase
FUE UN REGALO
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4.0 out of 5 starsSmile, God Loves You
By Randy Keehn VINE VOICE on September 9, 2007
Format: DVD Verified Purchase
As a country priest myself, I was interested in "Diary of a Country Priest" and I found much to like about the movie. However, I was bothered by the title character's somber approach to his faith, his parishioners and just about everything else. This was a man who seemed to have accepted a "Calling" about the same way others accepted being drafted during the Viet Nam War. I realize that it fits the image of the stern, "nobody better be having any fun" sort of minister that seemed to have been common-place 3-4 generations ago. However, I had a hard time figuring whether the priest was suffering from his stomach pain or his official duties.

There was a defining moment to this movie and I felt it was a pretty powerful extended scene. The theology was relevant and on-the-mark. The movie proceeded from that point in a sort of self-destructing manner and the ending was intentially anti-climatic (depending on your perspective of faith in general).

There was a lot that interested me during the movie and I even used some of it in the sermon the next day. The relationship of priest to parishioner, the need for the priest to be there at the right moments and nowhere to be seen at the wrong moments, the loneliness of the job (for some),etc, were pretty well examined. I couldn't help but be disappointed in how "Diary of a Country Priest" portrayed the priest and his job in such a dismal way. When the priest said, "God is love itself", I wondered at how he could be so right yet seemingly uncomprehending of what he had just said. I'll be watching it again for the many positive things this movie has to offer; depite my complaint, it is a noteworthy film.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 starsSlow, spare, not easy -- but with beautiful images and tastes of...

Bresson’s ultra spare, ultra depressing study of a young sickly priest trying to find his place in a small town. Read more

Published 9 months ago by KG
5.0 out of 5 starsDon't fall asleep or you may end up one of Hitlers " We did not know"

If you sleep through it or are bored.... you missed it. Watch it one more time. To give a hint: what matches? that is as big a hint as you get... Read more

Published 24 months ago by gadfly
5.0 out of 5 stars"What does it matter? All is grace."

Robert Bresson's 1950 masterpiece Diary of a Country Priest (Journal d'un curé de campagne) is a film which has achieved legendary status largely due to many (Andrei... Read more

Published on September 21, 2014 by Film Buff
3.0 out of 5 starsPowerful Film that Requires Close Attention

DIARY OF A COUNTRY PRIEST, (1951). This black and white, classic 115 minute French film was adapted by acclaimed French director Robert Bresson, (LES DAMES DU BOIS DE... Read more

Published on March 12, 2014 by Stephanie De Pue
5.0 out of 5 starsA GREAT WORK

THIS MOVIE LEADS YOU INTO A SPIRITUAL CONTEMPLATION OF OUR RELATIONSHIP TO GOD AND THE CONFLICT WITH THE SECULAR WORLD..
PRECICELY FILMED AND EDITED.. Read more

Published on June 5, 2013 by interested consumer
4.0 out of 5 starsMuch angst, powerfully if slowly presented

Robert Bresson's story of a young and inexperienced priest trying to serve God and the villagers of Ambricourt could easily be called, by a smart ass, Diary of a Country Sad Sack. Read more

Published on July 22, 2012 by C. O. DeRiemer
5.0 out of 5 starsSad but rewarding

This is one of the finest films I know (they are not many), and the only one that gives an intimate view of spiritual life and pastoral ministry.

The tone is sad. Read more

Published on October 13, 2011 by Steve V
5.0 out of 5 starsA remarkable film

A young Priest goes to a French rural village and is disliked by the villagers.He has an unknown stomach ailment and is weak and ailing,living on a diet of bread, soaked in sugar... Read more

Published on September 7, 2010 by technoguy
3.0 out of 5 starsMean-spirited antagonists undermine otherwise thoughtful tale of...

*** This review contains spoilers ***

Throughout the years, the 'passion story' of Jesus has always remained the bedrock of the Catholic church. Read more

Published on May 17, 2010 by Turfseer

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