Frantz Arrives on DVD/BD on June 13

At once a mysterious, romantic period piece and a somber, soul-searching melodrama, FRANTZ presents a tale of love and reflection as it unfurls in a small German town in the days following World War I through the memories and relationships of loved ones left behind. It is the latest acclaimed film from the prolific French writer/director François Ozon, whose previous critical and commercial successes in the U.S. include Swimming Pool ($10 million domestic box office), 8 Women ($3 million) and Potiche ($1.6 million).

Set in Germany and France in the aftermath of the First World War, FRANTZ recalls the mourning period that follows great national tragedies as seen through the eyes of the war’s “lost generation.” They are Anna (21 year-old Paula Beer in a breakthrough performance), a bereft young German woman whose fiancé, Frantz, was killed during trench warfare, and Adrien (Pierre Niney, Yves Saint Laurent), a French war veteran who shows up mysteriously in Anna’s town, placing flowers on Frantz’s grave. Adrien's presence is met with resistance by the small community still reeling from Germany’s defeat, yet Anna gradually gets closer to the handsome and melancholy young man, as she learns of his deep friendship with Frantz. What follows is an exploration of how Anna and Adrien wrestle with their conflicting feelings - survivor’s guilt, anger at one’s losses, the overriding desire for renewed happiness, and the longing for sexual, romantic and familial attachments.

 Ozon drew his inspiration from a post-WWI play by Maurice Rostand that inspired the 1932 film adaption by Ernst Lubitsch under the title Broken Lullaby. Not surprisingly, Ozon was initially leery about the prospect of “remaking” a film by the late, great filmmaker.

“My first reaction was to scrap the idea. How could I top Lubitsch? Seeing Lubitsch's film reassured me. His direction is admirable and highly inventive, as always,” recalled Ozon in a recent interview. “But [Broken Lullaby] is the film of an American director of German descent who didn't know a second world war was looming on the horizon. He made an optimistic film of reconciliation. The First World War was such a bloodbath that many politicians and artists in France and Germany spoke out loudly for pacifism. My approach, as a Frenchman who did not experience either of those two wars, was obviously going to be different.”

Following its recent theatrical rollout to the U.S.’s top 50 markets, Music Box Films Home Entertainment will release FRANTZ on Blu-ray and DVD for the first time on June13, 2017 (prebook May 9, 2017). Filled with bonus materials that include a Q&A with filmmaker François Ozon and an assortment of deleted scenes, the Blu-ray and DVD carry the suggested retail prices of $34.95 and $29.95, respectively.

A critical favorite that garnered a NYT Critics’ Pick and Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, FRANTZ was nominated for 11 César awards including Best Film, ultimately picking up the prize for Best Cinematography (Pascal Marti, who shot the film in both sumptuous color and luminous black-and-white). Additionally, FRANTZ won the Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best Young Actress (PaulaBeer) at the 2016 Venice Film Festival, along with winning the Grand Jury Prize for Best Performance-International Narrative (Paula Beer) and Best International Feature at the 2017 Gasparilla International Film Festival.

Frantz
Music Box Films Home Entertainment

DVD & BLU-RAY RELEASE DATE: June 13, 2017

PRE-ORDER DATE: May 9, 2017
Price:   DVD $29.95
            Blu-ray $34.95
Director/Screenwriter: François Ozon
Cast: Paula Beer, Pierre Niney, Ernst Stötzner, Marie Gruber, Johann von Bülow, Anton von Lucke, Cyrielle Clair, Alice de Lencquesaing
Running Time: 114 minutes 
Format:  2.35:1 widescreen
Sound Format:  Dolby SR/SRD
Rating: PG-13
Country: France and Germany
Language: French and German with English subtitles