Le Choc Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.0

Le Choc Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov August 14, 2026

Robin Davis' "Le Choc" a.k.a. "Contract in Blood" (1982) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include exclusive new audio commentary by critics Bryan Reesman and Talia Soghomonian, and vintage trailer. In French, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

The last job

Professional hitman Christian Morelli (Alain Delon) has decided to call it quits. After years of taking out targets for The Organization, at home and abroad, Morelli has saved enough to spend the rest of his days at a place that would perpetually keep him relaxed and happy. His trusted friend and financial advisor, Jeanne Faulques (Stephane Audran), has chosen it for him -- a small, well-managed farm, famous for raising turkeys, located in a quiet, picturesque area of the French countryside. A substantial sum of Morelli’s savings has already been used to acquire the farm at an unbelievably low price. The top man at The Organization, Cox (Francois Perrot), has attempted to change Morelli’s mind, promising to pay him significantly more because there is no one else in France who is as good as him. However, Morelli has refused to consider his lucrative offer.

Despite being warned by Cox that he is too valuable and The Organization cannot simply allow him to walk away, Morelli quietly leaves Paris and arrives at the farm, where he immediately steals the heart of its unhappily married manager, Claire (Catherine Deneuve). Just days later, members of a terrorist group, whose leader was a target for The Organization, track down Morelli and, during a tense hostage situation, kill Claire’s husband. After Lady Luck intervenes, Morelli and Claire, already lovers, decide to abandon the farm and start a new life somewhere else with the rest of his savings.

But after rushing back to Paris and instructing Claire to wait for him in a hotel, Morelli discovers that his trusted friend and financial advisor has been killed and the rest of his savings are missing. Broke and already sought by the police for the drama at the farm, Morelli agrees to do one more very risky job for Cox, killing a foreign dignitary on a short diplomatic trip to France, that will earn him enough to disappear with Claire.

Directed by Robin Davis, Le Choc (Contract in Blood) is a very loose cinematic adaptation of Jean-Patrick Manchette’s bestselling novel La position du tireur couché (The Prone Gunman), published in 1981. In fact, Le Choc alters so much from the original material and changes its tone in such dramatic fashion that it would not be unfair to describe it as an original project.

Most of what makes Le Choc such a different film can easily be traced back to Delon. For example, the original material from Manchette’s novel has a distinct neo-noirish quality, but various edits made by Delon and his performance effectively erase it. Additionally, the original hitman is deeply cynical and disillusioned, ultimately finding himself manipulated and hunted by the DGSE (the French intelligence service). Delon’s hitman very much looks and behaves like a 1980s relative of the cool lone wolf from Jean-Pierre Melville’s neo-noirish masterpiece Le Samouraï.

In the past, these massive discrepancies have been cited by critics as major issues in Le Choc. However, they are actually among the crucial reasons Le Choc is a very good genre film. Indeed, in the 1980s, Delon, despite his enormous popularity, was already an aging superstar whose presence before the camera had dramatically evolved. He could not have played another character with the personality of a classic gangster. More importantly, the 1970s and especially the 1980s were dominated by the new French crime films -- like La Balance, Black List, and Death Squad -- which, while emphasizing gritty realism, were attuned to various pop trends and frequently imitated the flashy appearance of their bigger Hollywood counterparts. Unsurprisingly, Le Choc shares many of the qualities that defined the new French crime films. not the classic French gangster films that the likes of Melville and Henri Verneuil directed several decades earlier.

Le Choc Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.67:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Le Choc arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

Toward the end of the DVD era, Le Choc was fully remastered on behalf of StudioCanal and then reintroduced on DVD in multiple markets. In America, the remastered Le Choc was made available in the Catherine Deneuve Collection, produced by Lionsgate. I like this remaster a lot.

On this Blu-ray release, Le Choc retains all of the strengths exhibited by the remaster mentioned above. It looks really, really good in high-definition. In fact, I cannot see any areas where major improvements can be made. The visuals can look slightly fresher, and ideally, in select darker areas grain exposure should be a little tighter. However, delineation, clarity, and depth range from very good to excellent, and the dynamic range of the visuals remains very strong. Also, color reproduction and a balance are wonderful. (A lot of the early remasters that were done for various Alain Delon and Catherine Deneuve films in France are properly graded, while the newer restorations of these films are quite problematic). Darker area with subtle shadow nuances also great. There is not flattening or crushing of any sort. Image stability is excellent. Finally, there are no distracting large cuts, debris, marks, warped or torn frames to report. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Le Choc Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: French DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The lossless audio is very healthy. The different action material, which is quite diverse, sounds terrific. Also, Le Choc is complemented by a predictably great soundtrack composed by Philippe Sarde that sounds lovely as well. I did not notice any age-related anomalies. The English translation is great, but I would have preferred bigger English subtitles.

Le Choc Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by critics Bryan Reesman and Talia Soghomonian.

• Trailer - presented here is a vintage trailer for Le Choc. (3 min).

Le Choc Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The post-war French gangster films are remembered for their unique characters and special environment. Virtually all of the actors who played these characters -- like Jean Gabin, Lino Ventura, Yves Montand, Jean-Paul Belmondo, and Alain Delon -- became huge superstars, at home and abroad. However, a trend that began in the 1970s and peaked in the 1980s traded the undisputed dominance of the superstars for gritty realism and later dazzling pop aesthetics. It was when the post-war French gangster films officially died, and the new French crime films and Cinema du Look films took over. Le Choc (Contract in Blood) is from this transitional period, when a few of the aging superstars, like Delon and Belmondo, appeared in some of the trendy new French crime films. I like most of them, and Le Choc is one of my favorites. Kino Lorber's release brings a wonderful organic presentation of it. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.