Maurice Pialat's Van Gogh To Master Stroke Its Way Into A Masters Of Cinema Release

UK Release Date:
23rd September 2013
Distributor:
Eureka Entertainment
Buy/Pre-Order:
2-Disc DVD or Blu-ray
Eureka Entertainment have announced that they will be releasing VAN GOGH, considered by some to be the greatest film by Maurice Pialat, the legendary French filmmaker, seven of whose previous films have been given Masters of Cinema editions (including L'Enfance-nue and A nos amours). Van Gogh, the epic and powerful bio-pic of the final weeks in the life of Vincent van Gogh, will be released on DVD and Blu-ray on 23 September 2013.

One of the greatest films by one of the finest directors of the second half of the 20th century, Maurice Pialat's Van Gogh represents an ambitious and crowning achievement in its portrayal of the master painter's final weeks of life, almost exactly one-hundred years earlier.

Van Gogh, depicted by the remarkable actor/songwriter-singer Jacques Dutronc (Godard's Sauve qui peut (la vie)), has arrived at Auvers-sur-Oise to come under the care of Dr. Gachet (Gérard Séty) for his nervous agitation. Soon after the arrival of Vincent's brother Théo (Bernard Le Coq) and his wife, plein air portraiture and conviviality give way to the more crepuscular moods of brothels and cabarets, and the painter's anguished existence, tossing between money worries and an impassioned relationship with the doctor's teenage daughter, finally meets its terminal scene.

With its loosely factual and wholly inspired treatment of the last period of Van Gogh's life, Pialat's film applies an impressionist touch to the biographical picture — indeed, the filmmaker was himself an accomplished painter, and the personal resonance of the subject matter results in an epic, major late work. The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present Maurice Pialat's Van Gogh on Blu-ray for the first time in the UK, and also in a special two-disc DVD edition.

Check out The Van Gogh trailer...


SPECIAL BLU-RAY AND ‘TWO-DISC DVD’ EDITIONS:

• Gorgeous new restoration of the film, appearing in 1080p on the Blu-ray
• New and improved optional English subtitles
• Van Gogh (1965) — a short, early documentary about the painter, by Maurice Pialat
• A 10-minute video interview with Pialat from 1991
• A 50-minute video interview with Pialat from 1992
• Video interviews with actors Jacques Dutronc and Bernard Le Coq; director of photography Emmanuel Machuel; and editor Yann Dedet
• Deleted scenes
• Original theatrical trailer
• 56-PAGE BOOKLET containing a new and exclusive essay by critic Sabrina Marques; Jean-Luc Godard's letter to Pialat after seeing the film, followed by Godard's tribute to Pialat upon the director's passing in 2003; copious newly translated interviews with Maurice Pialat; images of Pialat's canvasses; rare imagery; and more!

Here's some quotes about Van Gogh...

"Pialat is one of the finest living French filmmakers, and Van Gogh, his tenth feature, is arguably one of his best." –Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader in 1993

"An extraordinary film....We flatter ourselves that if we were around in 1890, we would have recognized Van Gogh's genius and changed his fate. But we probably wouldn't have – just as we probably don't recognize the Van Goghs among us now. In this sad, brilliant film, Pialat gives us a terrible inkling of why." –Michael Wilmington, Los Angeles Times

We will be hoping to review this closer to the release, so stay tuned. Van Gogh will be released in UK&Ireland on 23rd September on DVD and Blu-Ray.

Win Matthieu Kassovitz's Rebellion DVD Including La Haine DVD And Signed Postcard

Matthieu Kassovitz's Rebellion comes to Blu-ray and DVD on 26th August 2013 a intense true-life story and we’re giving away 2 copies of this film on DVD.

It’s April 1988 on the Ouvéa Island in the French colony of New Caledonia. 30 police are kidnapped by Kanak separatists and in response 300 special-forces operatives are sent in to restore order. To avoid unnecessary conflict, Philippe Legorjus (Kassovitz), the captain of an elite counter-terrorism police unit, is sent in to the heart of the rebel base to negotiate a peaceful solution. But against the highly pressured backdrop of presidential elections in France, the stakes are high and all bets are off.

As well as the copy of Rebellion on DVD we're also giving away a copy of Kassovitz classic film La Haine plus a signed postcard from the man himself. To be in with a chance of winning these prizes, please answer the following question:

Q.What famous French actor starred in the lead role of La Haine and was last seen in Danny Boyle's Trance?

Deadline to enter this competition is Sunday 8th September 2013 (11;59pm) and you must be 15 or older to enter
If you haven’t done already Like us and stay with us at our Facebook page (if you are already liking us just share this post)

Terms&Conditions:
1.The competition is not opened to employees, family, friends of The Peoples Movies, Cinehouse, Lionsgate Films UK  employees who have the right to alter, change or offer alternative prize without any notice.2.All The Peoples Movies entries must be done via contact form. deadline Sunday 8th September 2013 (23:59pm) 15 years or older to enter 3.Failure to include any information required to enter could result in your entry been void.  4.automated entries are not allowed and will be disqualified, which could result you been banned, DO NOT INCLUDE telephone numbers as for security reason your entry will be deleted.5.If you are friend or like us at facebook for every competition you enter you get double entry, but you must stay friend/like us all the time,or future entries maybe considered one entry if you are liking us share the post on facebook and re-tweet the post.6.The Peoples Movies, Cinehouse takes no responsibility for delayed, lost, stolen prizes 7.Prizes may take from days to a few months for delivery which is out of our control so please do not complain 8.The winning entries will be picked at random and contacted by email for postal details and will be announced via facebook, sometimes we are unable to confirm winners. Uk & Irish entries only.

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Rebellion (L'ordre et la morale) Blu-Ray Review

Rating: 15
Release Date:
26th August 2013 (UK)
Directed By:
Mathieu Kassovitz
Cast:
Mathieu Kassovitz, Labe Lapacas, Sylvie Testud, Steeve Une, Jean-Philippe Puymartin,
Buy:
[DVD] / [Blu-ray]
After several years floundering in Hollywood mediocrity actor come director Mathieu Kassovitz marks his welcome return to form with Rebellion (L'ordre et la morale). A no holds barred shameful account on a little unknown black spot on French colonial history.

Dividing his time behind and front of the camera Kassovitz plays Phillipe Legorjus a anti terrorist captain assigned by French government during the countries 1988 presidential elections. He is sent to the French colony of New Caledonia to track down separatists who killed  3 policemen as well as taking 26 more hostage too.

When Legorjus confronts the leader of the separatists Alphonse (Labe Lapacas) to defuse the situation and negotiate the hostages release. What he finds is a group of indigenous Kanak people (New Caledonian people)who want independence from France. As Legorjus slowly gains the trust of the group he finds himself frustrated by harassment from his peers who daily repress the local populous. As Legorjus gets closer to a peaceful solution, political fighting closer to home between Mitterand and Chirac (the presidential candidates) who both support different solutions to end the stand off. Legorjus now finds himself running out of time to prevent tragedy unfolding.

For many years we have always read/heard about America's so called 'crimes' against humanity but rarely do we get an account of another nation. Rebellion is that stark reminder no country is safe, if you have a black spot in your history it's a story that must be told, this film is one of those stories. Kassovitz is a man on a mission, an angry man delivering a tense harrowing story which  slowly grips you as your pulled into the chaos.

Thanks to a well written script Rebellion opens up with the film's final outcome and it's not a happy ending. For the next 2 hours you learn who the true victims are, the Kanaks who simply want independence from France, now forced to pick up arms. Subjected to violence, racism, political infighting, beaucracy leaving a bitter taste in your mouth questioning any justification of the actions of the French.

Whilst popular stories of struggle are fascinating, lesser known struggles are even more intriguing and with Rebellion Kassovitz gives the Kanaks a voice, solidifying the legality of the Kanak's struggle to be a nation of their own. I laugh at Alec Salmond's cries of 'injustice' of the Scottish people (I'm Scottish) but if he really wants to talk about real injustices as the New Caledonians, the Kanak's fight to be independent, now that's true injustice.

Rebellion is a slow burning compelling film. The pace of the film may not be to everyone's liking but if if you enjoyed the Oliver Stone films of the 1980's this one will be right up your street. This is a powerful film that's intelligently written with Kassovitz delivering his best film probably since his best directorial flick since 195, Le Haine.

★★★★☆

Paul Devine

Watch Provocative New Trailer For Francios Ozon's Jeune Et Jolie (Young & Beautiful)

Whilst Cannes might be missing eccentrics and controversies of Lars Von Trier, whilst Nymphomaniac might not be ready Francois Ozon's Jeune Et Jolie might deliver what they might be missing.  With the film focused on teenage girl and sex , a 17 year old prostitute it's obvious eyebrows are going to be raised maybe not so much Von Trier but Ozon. No matter what the story that surrounds premise underage girl, sex will raise a scandal whatever country.

Jeune Et Jolie (Young&Beautiful) tells the story of 17 year old Isabelle (Marine Vacth) who comes from a well of family goes on a sexual adventure of self discovery. A coming of age story set over four seasons with four distinctive songs. .

With French release only 11 days away a brand new trailer has been released curiosity will drive people to see how far Ozon will go. Isabelle's relationship with her parents and what made her become a prostitute ?

Jeune Et Jolie arrives in French Cinemas 21st August.

source:QuietEarth

BFI To Screen Claude Sautet's Classe Tous Risques (The Big Risk) This September

Highly rated by Jean-Pierre Melville, Robert Bresson and Bertrand Tavernier, Classe tous risques is a truly great, astonishingly neglected French crime movie, deserving of far wider renown. The dazzling directorial debut of Claude Sautet (1924 - 2000), better known for his later films Un Coeur en hiver (1992) and Nelly et Monsieur Arnaud (1995), it will be released in cinemas nationwide on 13 September.

Classe tous risques stars the great Italian-born character actor Lino Ventura as Abel Davos, a once powerful Parisian gangster, convicted of multiple crimes in France and sentenced to death in absentia, who has grown weary of his Italian exile and longs to return home with his wife and two small children. In order to finance this ambition, he decides to pull one last job  boldly executed in broad daylight on the streets of Milan  before heading in the direction of Nice. The getaway proves highly perilous, and Abel realises that he will never make it to Paris without a little help from his friends. But his old pals and partners-in-crime despite the incredible debt they all owe him  are reluctant to risk their own safety. Instead they send a complete stranger, the fresh-faced Eric Stark (the young, still unknown Jean-Paul Belmondo), to escort their former comrade from Nice to Paris.

Scored by Georges Delerue and shot in expressive black and white by Ghislain Cloquet (who was to win an Oscar for Tess), Classe tous risques is based on a novel by death-row-inmate-turned-writer José Giovanni (Le trou, Le deuxième souffle) whose intimate knowledge of the underworld helped steer him away from cliché. Brilliantly suspenseful and surprisingly moving, it is a devastating study of loyalty and betrayal, distinguished by a bleak, incisive psychological realism.

The relative obscurity of Sautet’s superb thriller is in many ways an accident of history. It was simply swept away in the frenzy of excitement generated by the Nouvelle Vague which made its classical virtues appear old-fashioned. Released in Paris in March 1960, it was almost immediately overshadowed by Godard’s Breathless (Belmondo’s international breakthrough) which opened a week later.

Now, more than half a century on, the mists which obscured Sautet’s achievement have cleared. In the words of Tavernier: “We’ve come to understand that Classe tous risques … was just as revolutionary as Breathless … Sautet was renewing the genre, profoundly, from the inside, instantly turning dozens of contemporary films into dusty relics.” The BFI’s release will enable cinema audiences to relish in full this wonderful rediscovery.



The film’s nationwide release will coincide with a month long retrospective of Claude Sautet’s work at BFI Southbank from 11 September until 7th October.Check your local independent/Arthouse cinema for listings

The Returned (They Came Back) DVD Review

Rating:15
DVD Release Date:
22nd July 2013 (UK)
Director:
Robin Campillo
Cast:
Géraldine Pailhas, Jonathan Zaccaï, Frédéric Pierrot
Buy The Returned (2004):[DVD]
A disappointing watch for anyone who’s got too caught up in the word zombie, Robin Campillo’s 2004 film The Returned is a haunting original tale of undead awakening. Now a major series with the same title, The Returned has obviously addressed a void in the zombie market and caught people’s imaginations, Campillo’s eye for political commentary is as sharp as Romero’s but undoubtedly less entertaining to watch. Here you will find no flesh eating denizens of grave, no Savini, Berger/Nicotero effects:  this is a film startling in its total lack of similarity to any other feature of the genre.

You can see why it arguably works better in serial format; thousands of the recently deceased return to life and are registered, accounted for, then let back to their families, jobs, etc. Campillo’s focus here is less inclined towards the chaotic Armageddon factor and more towards the quiet sombre realisation of what is happening, his script picks its way through a realistic portrayal of the bureaucracy involved, the systems of testing, the reactions of loved ones, and ultimately the effects these have on a small French town. A series would be better equipped to explore the effects on individual people and to build a bigger sense of the event; Campillo’s feature unfortunately lacks focus and scale. We don’t follow a single character well enough to feel pulled into the moment, and there’s no attempt to show the global scale of the incident.

It takes a while for anyone to ask the questions that seem to jump to mind first, but even when the opportunity pops up, it comes from a child who is quickly brushed aside. It is in this manner Campillo deals with most of the important events of The Returned, quickly serving moments of intrigue then whisking them off with no further development, leaving the viewer to put the message together in their own good time. Perhaps the film and its creator are to be lauded for a fearless disregard of the anticipated reactions: the how’s, why’s, and what’s.

The dream-like quality of the film, the slow heartfelt, dizzy feel of the look and pace, evolve not just through the docile meanderings of the dead, but by that very elusive manner of story-telling you could easily get frustrated with. No matter how you feel it’s the perfect aesthetic for a zombie film sans gruesome flesh.

By no means is a zombie film in the traditional manner, The Returned a far more emotional rendering of that tired old trope, an intriguing look at the reality behind an event such as this. However, it is difficult to enjoy a film so laconic in its method, so dull and heart-wrenching that- at its core-  it is intrinsically boring.

★★☆☆☆

Scott Clark

In The House (Dans La Maison) DVD Review

Rating: 15
DVD Release Date:
22nd July 2013 (UK)
Director:
François Ozon
Cast:
Fabrice Luchini, Ernst Umhauer, Kristin Scott Thomas
Buy: [Blu-ray] [DVD]
A talented pupil and a frustrated teacher. A tale as old as time and a mainstay of cinema ever since Robin Williams received a table striding declaration of support in Dead Poet’s Society. Francois Ozon’s In The House uses this well worn template to blur the lines between fantasy and reality, bringing an uneasy dynamic to the classroom drama.

Having scored his biggest UK hit to date last time out with gender role comedy Potiche, Ozon’s follow-up eschews the laughs in favour of a return to the more ambiguous tone found in his earlier works. It’s also as much a paean to the power of our imagination as it is a tale of mentor and student.

Fabrice Luchini shakes off the misogynous mindset instilled in his role of Catherine Denevue’s husband in Potiche to play literature teacher Mr Germain, returning to school for another year of uninspiring works from unenthused students. Or so it is until a routine ‘how I spent my weekend’ assignment unearths a rare nugget of promise among his apathetic class. While the majority of hand-ins recount the mundane adolescence of video games, pizza’s and wasted Sunday’s, one student, Claude (a suitably creepy Ernst Umhauer), bucks the trend by regaling a somewhat sinister account of voyeurism. Under the premise of maths tutorage, Claude talks his way into the home of fellow classmate Rapha, observing and rather disparagingly depicting the model middle-class life on show. Instantly catching the literary eye of Germain, Claude takes his attention for encouragement, returning time and again to this suburban ideal to portray the life behind those doors, in the house.

The comfortably domestic lives of Germain and wife Jeane (Kristen Scott-Thomas) are given a new distraction, evenings now spent ingesting and dissecting the latest work from the star pupil. While Germain, slightly in awe of his potential-laden student, somewhat neglects his teacher duties in overlooking the increasingly concerning tone of the passages, it is left to () to point out the glaring dangers of such obsessive voyeurism. Indeed it is she who at times understands the works on a far greater level than her book-loving husband.

Taking Claude under his wing, Germain gives Ozon the chance to go conduct a literature 101 class. Structures, rules and questions of authorship are all mulled over. This is literature with a capital L, to be discussed, debated and considered. It’s also where Ozon seems to be having most fun. Placing us within Claude’s writing as well as the world outside, Ozon toys with our (and Germain’s) perception of what is real what is fiction and what is pure teenage fantasy. It’s a theme he embellishes with a lightweight subplot for Scott-Thomas’s art curator. Her under threat gallery has it’s fate in the hands of two ill-informed and unappreciative identical twins with the varying works that pass through offering Ozon another chance to touch upon further themes of authorship and creative ownership.

It’s a film that encourages us to become the voyeurs, the ending an invitation to mimic the leads – peeking behind the curtain and imagining the lives being carried out. In these hands people watching takes on a whole new mindset, transcending into an art form from which great works can appear. It’s a notion that outshines the film itself, ultimately In The House never quite engrosses as much as one of the stories from the pen of it’s young lead.

★★★☆☆

Matthew Walsh

Jacques Rivette's Rarely Seen Le Pont Du Nord Getting A Masters Of Cinema Release

Buy :BLU-RAY / DVD
Le Pont Du Nord, the rarely seen, and long-requested key film by one of the world's greatest filmmakers Jacques Rivette, will be released as part of Eureka Entertainment’s Masters Of Cinema Series on Blu-ray and DVD on 29 July 2013.

Eureka Entertainment have announced that they will be releasing the first-ever Blu-ray and DVD editions in the world of Le Pont Du Nord, from the great French New Wave director Jacques Rivette, the creator of such sprawling and legendary works as Out 1, Céline and Julie Go Boating, La Belle noiseuse, and Va savoir. Rarely seen, and long-requested key film by one of the world's greatest filmmakers, the film stars Rivette's staple actress Bulle Ogier and her then-21-year-old daughter, Pascale Ogier. Released as part of the Masters of Cinema Series, these editions will Include a lengthy booklet containing new and vintage writing by Arthur Mas, Andy Rector, Serge Daney, and Caroline Champetier; writing from the original press-book by Jacques Rivette, and Jean Narboni; rare archival imagery; and more. Le Pont Du Nord will be released on DVD and Blu-ray as part of the Masters of Cinema series on 29 July 2013.

“It seems more obvious than ever how much Rivette has influenced a subsequent generation of filmmaker - Spike Jonze, Charlie Kaufman, Michel Gondry - and expanded our sense of the possible.” – Village Voice

The culmination of New Wave master Jacques Rivette's legendary middle period (which ranged from L'Amour fou through Out 1, Céline and Julie Go Boating, Duelle, Noroît, and Merry-Go-Round), Le Pont du Nord envisions Paris as a sprawling game-board marked off with tucked-away conspiracies, where imagination and paranoia intermingle; where the hinted-at stakes are sanity, life, and death.

Regular Rivette actress Bulle Ogier stars as Marie, a claustrophobic ex-con who, shortly after wandering into Paris, encounters the wild and potentially troubled young woman Baptiste (Pascale Ogier, Bulle's actual 22-year-old daughter). Baptiste, a knife-wielding, self-proclaimed kung-fu expert with a drive to slash the eyes from faces in adverts (including, in one instance, those on a placard for Akira Kurosawa's Kagemusha), accompanies Marie on her quest to solve the mystery behind the contents of her former lover's (Pierre Clémenti's) suitcase: an amalgam of clippings, patterns, and maps of Paris that points to a vastly unsettling labyrinth replete with signs and intimations whose menacing endgame remains all too unclear.

Gorgeously shot by the master cinematographer William Lubtchansky, Le Pont du Nord is a freewheeling, powerful experience whose hypnotic rhythm and ominous undercurrents resolve into a frightening and exhilarating portrait of post-revolutionary, early-'80s Paris – and in turn form a prime example of Rivette's uncanny, occult cinema. The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present Jacques Rivette's rare and essential feature Le Pont du Nord on Blu-ray and DVD for the first time anywhere in the world.

Here's a preview clip from Le Pont Du Nord


Special Features DVD And Blu-Ray:
• Gorgeous new 1080p presentation (on the Blu-ray) of the film in its original 1.37:1 aspect ratio
• Optional English subtitles
• A lengthy booklet with writing about the film by Arthur Mas, Andy Rector, Serge Daney, and Caroline Champetier; writing from the original press-book by Jacques Rivette, and Jean Narboni; rare archival imagery; and more
• More details to be announced soon!

The Returned Original 'Returning' To UK For July DVD Release

Were you one of the 1.5 million viewers who tuned into Channel 4's French subtitled supernatural drama The Returned last night? Did you know the French series is in fact based on a 2004 cult hit feature film called Les Revenants? Arrow Films have announced they will be releasing Robin Campillo's original feature film on UK DVD on Monday 22nd July 2013 which is also now re-titled The Returned.

The recently dead return to life and seem content merely to go back to their former lives, but their return causes a myriad of complications. Isham and Véronique have their trepidations,but they're generally happy, at first, to see their little boy Sylvain,and the town's elderly mayor welcomes home his wife, Martha . But Rachel, a government health official, cannot bring herself to visit her newly returned husband, Mathieu, at the ad-hoc shelter where the government houses the "zombies" like refugees. Eventually, she relents, and Mathieu returns home, but the living find that their loved ones are not exactly as they remember them. Studies soon reveal that the dead suffer from a form of aphasia.

They cannot create new memories, and they cannot be trusted to perform any but the most menial tasks. Perhaps sensing the discomfort they cause the living, the dead gather together at night, and seem to be formulating some kind of secret plan.

So if you where hooked on last night's new series, you can buy the film that started it all off The Returned (Les Revenants), which  is out on DVD Monday 22nd July 2013.

Pre-order/ Buy: The Returned (Les Revenants): The Returned On DVD

Chronicle Of A Summer Blu-Ray Review

Made during the summer of 1960 by anthropologist filmmaker Jean Rouch and sociologist Edgar Morin, Chronicle of a Summer set out to record the everyday lives of a diverse array of Parisians through an highly influential approach to documentary filmmaking that made use of an original mixture of intimate interviews, debates, and observation.

The idea for the film arose when Rouch and Morin served as members of the jury for the first International Festival of Ethnographic Film in Florence, 1959. Rouch remembers Morin approaching him with the following question: “You have made all your films abroad; do you know anything about contemporary France?” Morin then proposed that Rouch should move away from his devotion to African rituals and customs and instead turn his gaze onto the Parisians “and do anthropological research about my own tribe.”

The film hinged on a simple theme: ‘How do you live?’ For Morin, this was a question that “should encompass not only the way of life (housing, work) but also ‘How do you manage in life?’ and
'What do you do with your life?’” These questions were tackled through the film’s redefined approach to the documentary form which was, as the opening voice-over announces, “made without actors but lived by men and women who devoted some of their time to a novel experiment of film-truth’,” or, as it is more commonly known, cinéma vérité.

The film’s interviews, debates, and observations reveal many fascinating insights into Parisian society at the onset of the 1960s. We witness factory workers and mechanics who talk about the oppressive nature of daily work and life; with one interviewee evoking the words of Albert Camus as read in his The Myth of Sisyphus. Then there are the debates surrounding the independence wars in Algeria and Congo which situate the film within discussions of racism and decolonisation.

More recently, Chronicle of a Summer has been read by Richard Brody as “one of the greatest, and perhaps the primordial, Holocaust film.” This interpretation of Rouch and Morin’s documentary as a ‘Holocaust film’ can be seen in the story of Marceline. We are first introduced to Marceline at the beginning of the film; first as an interviewee for the filmmakers’ as they make a first attempt at their experimental documentary technique, and then as an interviewer asking random passers-by: “Are you happy?” It isn’t until much later in the film that the numbered tattoo on her arm is revealed.

Immediately after the revelation that Marceline was a Holocaust survivor, the film presents us with its most intense, haunting, beautiful, and powerful scene. Marceline walks along an almost deserted Place de la Concorde, reminiscing about her experience of the Occupation. Far from making this film one about the Holocaust, what this scene demonstrates is a direct link between the legacy of the Second World War and France’s position as a colonial power clinging onto its territories during a time of decolonisation.

As this review as shown, it is often the filmmakers themselves who can provide the best analysis of their film. So I will end this piece on the excellent Chronicle of a Summer with two quotes by Morin. The first quote relates to the films questioning of how much reality and truth is presented in documentary filmmaking: “I thought we would start from a basis of truth and that an even greater truth would develop. Now I realise that if we achieved anything, it was to present the problem of truth.”

The final quote is taken from the films end in which Rouch and Morin pace up and down the Musée de l’Homme before Morin states: “We wanted to make a film about love, but it turns out to be about indifference.”

★★★★½

Shane James

Rating: 12
DVD/BD Release Date: 27th May 2013 (UK)
Director: Edgar Morin, Jean Rouch
Cast: Marceline Loridan Ivens, Landry, Régis Debray

Buy: Chronicle of a Summer (DVD + Blu-ray)

The Murderer Lives at 21 (L'assassin habite... au 21) Blu-Ray Review

The Murderer Lives at 21 is the debut feature film by legendary French director Henri-Georges Clouzot. He would later make such masterpieces as The Wages of Fear and Les Diabloiques. He was the envy of Alfred Hitchcock who wished he made Les Diabloiques, so much so he commissioned the writers of the source novel to write Vertigo for him.

The basic story of The Murderer Lives at 21 is that murder/thief is stalking the streets of Paris. He leaves a calling card with “Monsieur Durand” at the scene of each crime. The inspector on the case gets a hot tip that he is living at the boarding house at 21 Avenue Junot. He decides to go under cover as a priest to trying to solve the crime and end this terror.

The film is a solid whodunit. It’s no masterpiece but for fans of Clouzot and French crime cinema of the 40s and 50s it’s a welcome re-release. It does however has a great sense of paranoia which certainly reflects the Nazi occupation of France. It does jump from a comedy to noir quite freely which doesn’t quite work but it’s a fascinating film that bridges the gap between French poetic realism and later film noir.

The film has been widely unavailable in Britain or the United States for a long time while most of Clouzot’s other work is widely available. It’s a breath of fresh air that the always reliable Masters of Cinema has released on both blu-ray and dvd with a strong transfer taken from Gaumont’s restoration and some supplementary features.

★★★★1/2

Ian Schultz

Rating: PG
BD/DVD Release Date: 20th May 2013 (UK)
Director: Henri-Georges Clouzot
Cast: Pierre Fresnay,
Buy: Blu-ray / DVD

Clouzot's The Murderer Lives At Number 21 (L'assassin habite... au 21) To Get Masters Of Cinema Treatment

Eureka Entertainment have announced that they will be releasing the long-awaited release of Henri-Georges Clouzot's (Les diaboliques, The Wages of Fear) debut film THE MURDERER LIVES AT 21 [L'ASSASSIN HABITE AU 21]. The film is a brilliant hybrid of crime thriller and comedy, and will be released in a breathtaking high-definition restoration by Gaumont in a Blu-ray & DVD edition on 20 May 2013.

One of the most revered names in world cinema, Henri-Georges Clouzot, made a remarkably self-assured debut in 1942 with the deliciously droll thriller The Murderer Lives at 21 [L'Assassin habite au 21].

A thief and killer stalks the streets of Paris, leaving a calling card from "Monsieur Durand" at the scene of each crime. But after a cache of these macabre identifications is discovered by a burglar in the boarding house at 21 Avenue Junot, Inspector Wenceslas Vorobechik (Pierre Fresnay) takes lodging at the infamous address in an undercover bid to solve the crime, with help from his struggling-actress girlfriend Mila (Suzy Delair).

Featuring audacious directorial touches, brilliant performances, and a daring tone that runs the gamut from light comedy to sinister noir, as well as a subtle portrait of tensions under Nazi occupation, this overlooked gem from the golden age of French cinema is presented in a beautiful new high-definition restoration.

“good fun for whodunit fans” – The New York Times

“clever cocktail of humour and drama” - Le Miroir de l'Ecran

SPECIAL BLU-RAY AND DVD EDITIONS:

• Gorgeous new Gaumont restoration of the film in its original aspect ratio, presented in 1080p HD on the Blu-ray
• New and improved English subtitles
• A fully-illustrated booklet, including the words of Henri-Georges Clouzot and rare imagery

Pre-Order/Buy The Murder Lives At Number 21 (L'assassin habite... au 21): DVD / Blu-ray

Le Beau Serge Blu-Ray Review (Masters Of Cinema Release)

The first film of the nouvelle vague, or at the very least the first feature directed by a Cahiers du Cinéma critic, Claude Chabrol’s beautifully observed film preceded François Truffaut’s highly acclaimed The Four Hundred Blows by a year. Winning the 1958 Le Prix Jean Vigo award, and receiving praise from friend and colleague Truffaut for being “as masterly as if Chabrol had been directing for ten years,” Le Beau Serge defined the nouvelle vague’s aesthetic with its use of non-professional actors, location shooting, natural black and white photography, and its personal vision.

Opening with the words “this film was shot entirely in the village of Sardent (Creuse). Our warmest thanks to the residents and local authorities there,” Chabrol’s film introduces the audience to François (Jean-Claude Brialy), a Parisian student returning to his home village to recover from a serious illness.

Upon arrival, François seeks out his childhood friend Serge (Gérard Blain), now an unhappily married alcoholic with a baby on the way, and the pair reminisce in an attempt to reconnect. But it isn’t long before the pair become disconnected due to the differences in their circumstances: the superior François is content with his life and his education, whereas Serge has become bitter and discontented at the prospect of a life stuck in a provincial village.

The film ends when François, suffering from some kind of, as the village Doctor jokingly attests, “martyr complex,” tries to ‘save’ his debilitated friend on a snowy night after Serge’s wife goes into a premature labour. A scene wonderfully shot by cinematographer Henri Decaë, chosen because of his expertise in capturing natural light in films such as Jean-Pierre Melville’s Bob le Flambeur.

The film takes a bleak look at the judgements and assumptions held between social classes with a story that could be deemed as being simplistic and somewhat conventional. But what sets it apart, what turns it into something new, is the radical way in which it moves away from that style of filmmaking, much despised by the Cahiers critics, called the Tradition of Quality. With its aforementioned use of natural photography, location shooting, and a personal vision, Le Beau Serge became the standard-bearer for a new generation of filmmakers.

★★★★☆

Shane James

Rating: 12
DVD/BD Release Date: 25th March 2013 (UK)
Director: Claude Chabrol
Cast: Gérard Blain, Jean-Claude Brialy, Michèle Méritz 
Buy: LE BEAU SERGE [HANDSOME SERGE] (Masters of Cinema) (Blu-ray)

Rust And Bone DVD Review

Jacques Audiard has fast become one of Europe’s most prominent filmmakers with his previous two features: The Beat That My Heart Skipped and A Prophet. His latest film, Rust and Bone, will surely further boost his reputation and gain the director a wider audience with its crowd pleasing love story starring Academy Award winning actress Marion Cotillard.

The film opens in a style reminiscent of a Dardenne social drama when we’re introduced to Ali, an unemployed ex-boxer, with his five-year-old son in tow, fleeing Belgium for the French Riviera, where he moves in with a sister he hasn’t seen for years. After finding employment as a bouncer at a local nightclub, he has a chance encounter with Stephanie, a whale trainer. After this brief encounter Stephanie loses her legs in a horrific accident at work and the film turns away from its gritty social drama beginnings and becomes a fey and ridiculous love story hinged on the relationship between the two leading characters.

After the accident Ali and Stephanie strike up an unlikely relationship. This is where my problem with the film lies. Rust and Bone becomes forced and overly sentimental in its depiction of the opposing nature of the characters sensibilities. Ali is predictably brutish and Stephanie is predictably frail and it is these characteristics that bring them together. The film is about damaged humans and the animalistic nature of human behaviour but is too predictable and simplistic in its execution to be convincing.

Besides the gimmicky and rather conventional telling of its story, Rust and Bone boasts some beautiful cinematography and outstanding special effects. The scene where Cotillard’s Stephanie swims for the first time after becoming an amputee is a breathtaking example of both the beauty of the films cinematography and its seamless use of special effects. Unfortunately, the visual beauty of the film isn’t enough to elevate the film above its conventional and predictable storyline. By the end the film just feels too fey and insubstantial.

Shane James

★★1/2☆☆

Rating:15
BD/DVD Release Date:25th February 2013 (UK)
Director:  Jacques Audiard
Cast:  Marion Cotillard, Matthias Schoenaerts, Armand Verdure
Buy Rust&Bone: Blu-ray / DVD

Watch Trailer For The Scapegoat Starring Berenice Bojo

There is life after The Artist for Berenice Bejo at least as she returns to the land of speaking with The Scapegoat (Au Bonheur Des Ogres). The film based on a Daniel Pennac novel of the same name is due out this April in France and we have a new trailer to test your French speaking skills.

The Scapegoat tells the story of Benjamin (Raphaël Personnaz)a quality controller for a Parisian Department who becomes the prime suspect responsible for a series of bombings that have claimed shoppers lives.Bejo plays Tante an investigative journalist who becomes involved with Benjamin with Emir Kusturica (Farewell) plays Benjamin's Serb-Croat petty thief uncle.If you enjoy Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s films you will enjoy The Scapegoat which blends the tone and visual elements combining reality as well fantasy with some nice results. The world is going CGI crazy and it looks like director Nicholas Bary has borrowed one of Ang Lee's Giraffes!

No word on a English language release just yet, but with the success of The Artist we do expect to hear Peppy Miller  sometime, The Scapegoat will be released in France on 10th April.


source:ThePlaylist

Holy Motors Blu-Ray Review

Holy Motors is the first full length film by Leos Carax since his previous film Pola X which came out all the way back in 1999! Holy Motors was the sensation of last year at Cannes and at it's initial screening it was widely tipped at the prime contender of the Palme d'Or. It eventually lost out to the most more predictable pick of let another Haneke film (who just has to show up at Cannes and his wins it) but it did win the “award of the youth” award at the festival.

Holy Motors in a nutshell about Mr. Oscar (played by always wonderful Denis Lavant) during the time frame of one day who is has appointments to do and he driven in a limo by Celine (played by Edith Scob). These appointments get increasingly more and more surreal and the first one has him dress up as an old lady and beg.  The film is part about cinema it's littered with references to such great French directors such as Franju and Cocteau but the other hand is certainly can be interrupted as a film about what it means to be performer.

Denis Lavant was Leos Carax's one and only choice was the main character he said “If Denis had said no, I would have offered the part to Lon Chaney or to Chaplin. Or to Peter Lorre or Michel Simon, all of whom are dead.” He is obviously perfect he is like a fucked up French Fred Astaire cause is known for dancing abilities from Leos' previous film The Night is Young and Beau Travail but he is also just a great actor. The film also has bit roles by Kylie Minogue and Eva Mendes, which just add to the surreal quality of the film especially Kylie's cameo especially since they played one of her songs in a scene earlier in the film.

The film is truly unique it's utterly bonkers and makes no logical sense but it's truly a masterpiece that should be seen over and over and interrupted in any which way you like.

Ian Schultz

★★★★★

Rating:18
DVD/BD Release Date: 28 January 2013 (UK)
Director: Leos Carax
Cast: Denis Lavant, Edith Scob, Jeanne Disson, Elise Lhomeau, Eva Mendes, Kylie Minogue
Buy Holy Motors:Blu-ray / DVD

Studiocanal announce Rust And Bone UK February Home Release

StudioCanal have informed us the award winning and 2 time BAFTA nominated film, Rust And Bone the follow up film to Jacques Audiard's arthouse classic A Prophet. Rust And Bone stars Marion Cotillard, Matthias Schoenaerts and will be yours to own this February.

Following a theatrical opening to tremendous national and international acclaim, and a Best Film Award at the London Film Festival in October, Jacques Audiard, acclaimed director of A Prophet and The Beat That My Heart Skipped, returns with this powerful drama about two people from very different worlds, seeking redemption in each other.
Ali (Matthias Schoenaerts - Bullhead) dreams of becoming a professional boxer. When he is suddenly put in charge of his five year old son, he moves in with his sister for support. While at his new job as a nightclub bouncer, he meets the beautiful and confident orca trainer, Stephanie (Academy Award® winner Marion Cotillard - The Dark Knight Rises, La Vie en Rose). He gives her his number, not expecting that she will ever call. However, after becoming the victim of a tragic and life changing accident, Stephanie surprisingly turns to Ali for support. These lost souls discover new meaning in life together when Ali enters the dangerous world of underground boxing.

Winner of several international awards, Rust And Bone is one of the best and most talked about films of 2012. you can read our cinema review here. With 2 BAFTA nominations, Rust And Bone is up for Best Leading Actress (Marion Cotillard) and Best Film not in the English Language.

DVD & Blu-ray Extras:

- Audio Commentary with Jacques Audiard, Thomas Bidegain and Arnaud Calistri

- Making of Rust and Bone

- The Special Effects of Rust and Bone

- Deleted Scenes

- Trailer

DVD & Blu-ray HMV Exclusive Extras:

- Audio Commentary with Jacques Audiard, Thomas Bidegain and Arnaud Calistri

- Making of Rust and Bone

- The Special Effects of Rust and Bone

- Deleted Scenes

- Trailer

- Exclusive UK Interviews with Marion Cotillard, Matthias Schoenaerts, Jacques Audiard and Thomas Bidegain

- Exclusive BAFTA Q&A with Marion Cotillard, Matthias Schoenaerts and Jacques Audiard

Pre-order Rust And Bone: DVD / Blu-ray