The Vultures Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.0

The Vultures Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov February 14, 2026

Henri Verneuil's "The Vultures" (1984) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include exclusive new audio commentary by critics Steve Mitchell and Howard S. Berger, and vintage trailer. In French, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Six billion reasons to die for.

Sometime toward the end of WWII. Three dozen French legionnaires enter the Tunisian desert city of El Ksour, almost fully destroyed by the Germans, whose bank holds in its vault French gold bars worth six billion American dollars. The legionnaires are supposed to load the gold bars on a truck and then transport them to the nearest French Army base before the Germans claim and transport them to the nearest German Army base. Moments after the legionnaires locate the bank, however, a small platoon of Germans, barricaded in a nearby ancient fortress, unleashes hell on them. Only four legionnaires survive: Mahuzard (Michel Constantin), Augagneur (Jean-Paul Belmondo), Boissier (Michel Creton), and Borzik (Maurice Auzel). The four hide in a building adjacent to the bank, where they discover Brigadier Beral (Jacques Villeret), battling severe diarrhea.

In the hours after the massacre, Mahuzard, who holds the most senior rank, and Borzik attempt to steal a few crates of ammunition from one of the undamaged French trucks. However, the Germans spot them and immediately blow up the truck, with Borzik in it. Mahuzard is barely able to retreat to another building. Assuming their leader has been taken out, Augagneur then launches a different operation to destroy the area of the ancient fortress where the Germans have barricaded themselves, while using the last French howitzer, which Beral can operate. Wearing German uniforms, Augagneur and Beral reach the howitzer, and the latter successfully hits the crucial target.

At the bank, the heroes reunite, but with Mahuzard present, Augagneur launches yet another operation, just in time for Francois La Roche Freon (Francois Perrot), the pompous bank director who has miraculously emerged from the ruins, to observe its initial phase as well. After Mahuzard is beaten up and locked in an empty room, Augagneur reveals that he and his comrades plan to empty the bank’s vault and drive off with the gold bars. Freon immediately refuses to cooperate, but his sexy wife (Marie Laforet), who has been waiting the entire time in their car parked outside the bank, chooses to join Augagneur’s operation. Soon after, the thieves also welcome Brenner (Matthias Habich), a German lieutenant who has traveled hundreds of miles with his tank to reunite with Madame Freon, his secret mistress, who has had her eye on the gold for months before the legionaries’ arrival.

Directed by Henri Verneuil, The Vultures, which reunites several outstanding French actors, is frequently described as a misfire, or at least among the many great action films that display Belmondo’s name. It is unfortunate. However, it is not surprising because the massacre in El Ksour promises exactly the type of fireworks one would expect from a proper action film starring Belmondo, which The Vultures is not.

The Vultures is a comedy, which should have been painfully obvious, considering that Villeret has a major part in it. (Villeret, the star of The Dinner Game, undoubtedly one of the greatest French comedies of the last decade, has numerous terrific scenes in The Vultures as well). There is plenty of action that effectively counters and occasionally dominates the comedy, but this is largely an unavoidable development because the period setting demands more of it.

What does not work particularly well is the final act. It is underwritten and rushed. Once Belmondo heads toward the prearranged spot in the desert where he plans to exchange the gold bars for American dollars, there should have been more surprises, most featuring more hilarious action. After the resolution, Michel Beaune is completely wasted as well.

Verneuil teamed up with cinematographer Edmond Sechan, who just months later lensed Georges Lautner’s brilliant comedy Happy Easter, featuring some of Belmondo’s best stunt work and funniest gags.

The Vultures Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.66:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, The Vultures arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

It is very easy to tell that The Vultures has been restored because its visuals have a very healthy and attractive organic appearance. It has been restored with care, too. While there are a few areas where additional meaningful tweaks could have been performed, color reproduction and balance are convincing. Indeed, virtually all primaries and supporting nuances are properly set, with primary blue being the only exception during a couple of outdoor sequences. I did not see any distracting anomalies of the kind that have plagued recent 4K restorations of older films starring Jean-Paul Belmondo, released on Blu-ray by Kino Lorber. Also, there are no traces of degraining or sharpening adjustments. Image stability is excellent. My score is 4.25/5.00. (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).

The Vultures 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 track is solid. The massacre at the desert city of El Ksour and all action footage after that sound great. I would describe some of the dynamic contrasts as impressive. A predictably beautiful score composed by Georges Delerue adds plenty of charm as well. The dialogue is clear, sharp, and stable, always easy to follow. The English translation is excellent. However, the English subtitles were too small for my taste. I would have preferred to see them as big as the ones that are included on Criterion and Eureka Entertainment's releases.

The Vultures Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by critics Steve Mitchell and Howard S. Berger.

• Trailer - presented here is a vintage trailer for The Vultures. In French, with English subtitles. (2 min).

The Vultures Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The folks who dislike The Vultures usually compare it to Greed in the Sun, which is also set in the scorching desert. Both films are directed by Henri Verneuil and treat Jean-Paul Belmondo as a star, but they choose to impress in different ways, and this should be very obvious. Apparently, it is not. They do have flaws, as many have argued, but both are still very, very entertaining films. Kino Lorber's release of The Vultures is sourced from a solid, properly restored master. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.