Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.5

Back to the Wall Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov December 24, 2022

Edouard Molinaro's "Back to the Wall" a.k.a. "Le dos au mur" (1958) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy if Kino Lorber. The only bonus feature on the release is a vintage French trailer for the film. In French, with optional English subtitles. Region-A "locked".

The hardest part was over. Initially, it sure looks this way. For approximately seventeen minutes, Jacques Decrey (Gerard Oury) is seen working very hard. During a pitch-black night, he quietly breaks into a small but classy apartment, places some clothes in a suitcase, and collects a large sum of money from a drawer. He looks at the dead man on the floor, wraps him in a dirty rug, and carries him to his car. Then he drives to what appears to be a construction site and places the dead man into a half-finished concrete wall that becomes his grave. A tough job done right? According to Decrey, it is exactly what it was.

While driving home and appearing satisfied with his work, Decrey now begins to explain in greater detail why he had to do the job.

It all started a little over three months ago when Decrey discovered that his wife, Gloria (Jeanne Moreau), was cheating on him. He had been hunting but decided to come back home a day earlier to spend the entire Sunday with his wife. Moments after he parked his car in the garage, Decrey saw her in the arms of her secret lover (Philipe Nicaud). She came out of his car, kissed him right in front of their home, and then went inside. Decrey immediately jumped back in his car and followed her lover through the sleeping city, determined to find out who he was and where he lived. That night, in a lousy bar, Decrey vowed to teach his cheating wife a lesson. He would turn her lies against her, humiliate her as much as possible, and make her confess her infidelity. After he had permanently scarred her, he was going to get rid of her lover.

For a while, Decrey’s plan worked perfectly. While using an alias, Decrey sent his wife an anonymous letter revealing that he knew about her infidelity and demanding that she pays him a large sum of money to remain silent. As she started borrowing money from him to pay the blackmailer that had threatened to expose her infidelity, he began humiliating her. He sent her additional letters demanding that she pays more, so she had to come right back to him begging that he lets her have more of his money. She was not a great actor, but each time she had to lie to have him give her another check, it looked like she was giving everything to win the worst acting part in town. It was bad, very bad, but it felt great to see her struggling and constantly living in fear that she could make a crucial error that would instantly ruin her entire life.

The best part of his plan, however, was when he tricked her lover to break her heart. It was such a brilliant move that he genuinely surprised himself. Initially, he had not thought of it, but an opportunity presented itself and he made the best of it. Good things happen to those who wait. Whoever came up with this line was telling the truth. He used that shady guy (Jean Levebvre) from the Mauvin agency to try to convince her lover that he could make big money working as a gigolo in Brussels and once he took the bait it was glorious to watch. When she found out about his “new job” that would help them become a real couple, her lover hurt her better than he could have imagined.

It was the final phase of his plan that did not turn out as well as he had hoped it would. There were a few things, like her emotional reaction before her lover, that he could not predict. He should have taken better care of that fake passport he used at the post office as well. You win some, you lose some. Whoever came up with this line was telling the truth, too.

French helmer Edouard Molinaro’s thriller Back to the Wall just as easily could have been directed in America. It is a legit film noir that gets everything right -- the look, the atmosphere, the great twists and turns a legit film noir always delivers. The only thing it lacks is one of those sultry jazz scores that Miles Davis and Barney Wilen did for Elevator to the Gallows and Witness in the City, respectively. A few tracks by Chet Baker, for instance, would have made it impossible not to draw direct comparisons between Elevator to the Gallows and Back to the Wall.

Back to the Wall Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.37:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Back to the Wall arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

Back to the Wall was fully restored a while ago by French label Gaumont and looks healthy. The master that was prepared is better than the one that was created for Wittiness in the City too, but it is far from immaculate. For example, the gamma levels are managed better and as a result the overall quality of the visuals is more pleasing. However, the gamma levels are again not set right, which is why in certain areas the dynamic range of the visuals is off. This is unfortunate because when the effect becomes obvious it looks as if a filter has been applied and native detail removed. You can see an example highlighting the improper gamma levels in screencapture #15 (bottom right). Still, throughout most of the film, delineation, clarity, and depth remain pleasing. The grayscale is fine, but the issue with the gamma levels clearly impacts it. Image stability is very good. Lastly, in a couple of darker areas macroblocking is on the verge of sneaking in. I was able to make small adjustments on my system that were very effective, but there will be trained eyes that spot this issue as well. See screencaptures #9, 16, and 18. (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).

Back to the Wall 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 very healthy. All exchanges are very clear, sharp, and easy to follow. There are no stability issues either. Some small clarity and dynamic fluctuations are present, but they are not introduced by remastering/encoding anomalies. All fluctuations are part of the film's original soundtrack.

Back to the Wall Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - a vintage trailer for Back to the Wall. In French, with English subtitles. (2 min).

Back to the Wall Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

In Edouard Molinaro's Back to the Wall another perfect plan falls apart and produces all sorts of different surprises for its creator, a very jealous husband determined to teach his cheating wife a lesson but keep her in his life. I think that it is a lovely French film noir that quite easily could have been made in America. While I was viewing it the other night, I could not stop thinking how much more stylish it could have been with a couple of sultry jazz tracks composed and recorded for it by the great Chet Baker. Back to the Wall is included in Kino Lorber's French Noir Collection, a two-disc set. RECOMMENDED.