3 Men to Kill Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

3 Men to Kill Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov December 26, 2015

Jacques Deray's "3 Men to Kill" a.k.a. "3 hommes à abattre" (1980) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of French label Pathe. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film and newly produced featurette with new and archival interviews with Jacques Deray, Alain Delon, and producer Alain Terzian, amongst other. In French, with optional English and French SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

The gambler

Alain Delon plays a professional gambler who decides to help a middle-aged man who has seriously injured himself in what appears to be a car accident. He drives him to a nearby hospital but the man dies while the doctors attempt to treat his wounds. Soon after, the gambler’s life spins out of control – strangers with guns repeatedly try to kill him and force him and his beautiful girlfriend (Dalila Di Lazzaro, The Pyjama Girl Case) to run for their lives.

The plot is fairly straightforward. Unlike the gambler the viewer knows exactly who are the strangers that are chasing him and why they want him dead. The opening act also reveals who are the men that control the strangers and what are their goals. There are a few minor details that are added during the finale, but the big picture is never complicated.

The simplicity is one of a few key qualities that give Jacques Deray’s 3 Men to Kill its identity. It imitates the transparency that is typically present in many of the classic American noir films from the 1950s, though the relationships between the main characters evolve in ways that give the film a distinctive modern edge.

The manner in which the gambler struggles to understand the predicament he is in is also familiar. When playing cards he easily reads his opponents and always walks away a winner, but in the game of life he is something of an amateur who has relied mostly on his luck and a few trusted friends. So while the environment is obviously very different, the grim and dangerous reality in which the gambler is placed after he rescues the injured man also appears to have originated from the classic noir films.

Di Lazzaro’s character isn’t a femme fatale that forces the gambler to make a crucial mistake, but she does look very elegant and from time to time becomes a distraction for him. These segments where the two lovers play silly games or attempt to convince each other that their love will somehow keep them out of harm’s way are clearly the film’s Achilles heel. The noir vibe is temporarily replaced with a casual atmosphere that seems much more appropriate for the sort of films the French typically describe as comédie dramatique.

Despite the inconsistencies 3 Men to Kill isn’t difficult to enjoy. Admittedly, the viewers that will be most pleased with it will be those who have a soft spot for Delon as he is clearly treated as a star in it, but there is a good chance that viewers who enjoy lighter French crime thrillers will also find it attractive. To avoid disappointment, the important thing to remember is that the majority of Deray’s films like to blend elements from different genres and keep a low profile. Sometimes this makes them look a bit exotic, but they do have interesting and believable characters that are worth spending time with.

3 Men to Kill was lensed by cinemaotgrapher Jean Tournier. His credits also include such classic films as John Frankenheimer’s The Train, Lewis Gilbert’s Moonraker, and Fred Zinnemann’s The Day of the Jackal.

3 Men to Kill Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.66:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Jacques Deray's 3 Men to Kill arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of French label Pathe.

Pathe restored 3 Men to Kill in 2K in 2013. The label entrusted the work to Eclair Group for the image and L.E. Diapason for the sound. Pathe's Blu-ray release of 3 Men to Kill is sourced from the new 2K restoration.

In terms of detail and clarity the presentation could not be any more impressive. Indeed, well-lit and darker close-ups look beautiful while the larger panoramic shots boast excellent depth. Contrast levels are also managed very well and as a result the visuals are typically very well balanced. There are no traces of problematic degraining adjustments. Grain is appears solid, evenly distributed and very well resolved. There are no traces of sharpening adjustments either. Colors are stable and there is a nice range of nuances. However, there is a shift toward a slightly warmer range of color tonalities, which I do not find convincing. Finally, the film looks exceptionally healthy. My score is 3.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location. For the record, there is no PAL or 1080/50i content preceding the disc's main menu).

3 Men to Kill Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

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

L.E. Diapason have been remastering and restoring audio tracks for a number of different projects that have come out of France in recent years and I have nothing but great things to say about their work. They consistently deliver quality work and it is always easy to tell. The lossless track on this release is simply outstanding. Depth and clarity are excellent and fluidity is as good as one can expect it to be. Claude Bolling's soundtrack does not have a prominent role in the film, but there are sequences where the music certainly adds to the tense atmosphere. Needless to say, balance and separation are excellent. There are no pops. audio dropouts, or digital distortions to report in our review.

3 Men to Kill Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original trailer for 3 Men to Kill. In French, not subtitled. (3 min).

• Retrouvailles avc le polar et le succes - presented here is a brand new featurette which focuses on the production history of 3 Men to Kill. Included in it are clips from new interviews with journalist Olivier Rajchman, producer Alain Terzian, and Agnes Vincent-Deray (Jacques Deray's widow), and clips from archival interviews with Alain Delon and director Jacques Deray. The featurette was produced by Jerome Wybon for Pathe. In French, not subtitled. (23 min).

3 Men to Kill Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

A handsome gambler is forced to run for his life in 3 Men to Kill, a casual neo-noir thriller from director Jacques Deray. This film should appeal primarily to fans of Alain Delon's work and possibly the elegant Italian actress Dalila Di Lazzaro. As far as I know, it was never released on DVD in North America, so Pathe's new Blu-ray release is certainly most welcome. RECOMMENDED.