Choice of Arms Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Choice of Arms Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman April 6, 2025

Note: This film is available on Blu-ray as part of the Hardboiled: Three Pulp Thrillers by Alain Corneau set from Radiance Films.

Alain Courneau is a perhaps curiously underrecognized name on this side of the pond in at least some film circles, and in fact it's arguable that he is remembered over here these days chiefly for Tous les Matins du Monde. The three earlier Corneau efforts Radiance Films has aggregated for this collection are a good deal more, well, hardboiled than Corneau's historical epic, but they offer visceral viewing experiences, and at least two of the three films boast considerable star power, with Corneau semi-regular Yves Montand starring in both Police Python 357 and Choice of Arms, and with Montand's then wife Simone Signoret co-starring in the former and Catherine Deneuve and Tous les Matins du Monde's own Gérard Depardieu co-starring in Choice of Arms. Those two look like they're getting their Region A Blu-ray debuts, whereas Série Noire had a Film Movement release on Blu-ray around five years ago.

Maybe it's just the glut of Shaw Brothers material that has been a regular part of my review queue now for quite some time, or perhaps somewhat hilariously a subliminal connection forged by a shared use of a certain term in their titles, but parts of Choice of Arms reminded me of efforts like Return of the One-Armed Swordsman, where a guy with a "past" suddenly has the past confront him in his new life of domestic bliss. In this case, former criminal Noel Durieux (Yves Montand) has use of both of his upper appendages (which also comically makes the title meaningful in a new way when thinking about the old Shaw Brothers effort). Noel is happily ensconced as a horse breeder and gentleman farmer, far away from his former nefarious existence, and further blessed by his marriage to the gorgeous Nicole (Catherine Deneuve).

If Noel seems almost inherently like he would have been a rather patrician criminal, two bit thief Mickey (Gérard Depardieu) is his polar opposite, and when almost by chance Mickey more or less invades Noel's estate, all hell breaks loose, though it takes a while for the full extent of cascading events to really take its toll. There's a kind of feral through line from Série Noire's Franck Poupar to this film's Mickey, but rather interestingly in this formulation Mickey has more of a dialectic situation vis a vis Noel than anything that really confronts Franck in the earlier effort. There are some pacing problems here, and you can kind of feel Corneau aiming for some kind of blockbuster outing with his star trio, even if Deneuve doesn't have much to do other than look incredible and ultimately become a damsel in distress.

Choice of Arms Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Choice of Arms is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Radiance Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. Radiance tends not to provide a ton of technical information with their releases, and that's once again the case here, with only a simple mention of all three films in this set being "supplied to Radiance as high resolution digital files" in the insert booklet. This is the only true "widescreen" outing in the set (the other two films are in 1.67:1), and Corneau and cinematographer Pierre-William Glenn smartly utilize framings in and around the huge estate of Noel and Nicole in particular. Even in midrange and frankly some relatively wide framings detail levels remain intact, and fine detail on everything from costume fabrics to bristly horse hair is typically great looking. The palette can once again just be a bit on the cool side, as per some of the "blue" moments in Police Python 357 in particular, but densities and suffusion are healthy, and the presentation has a nice organic quality throughout.

Choice of Arms Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Choice of Arms features LPCM 2.0 Mono audio in the original French. The estate setting and some of the material with horses traipsing to and fro offer good opportunities for realistic ambient environmental effects. Philippe Sarde provides an enjoyable score which also sounds vibrant. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

Choice of Arms Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Shooting Choice of Arms (HD*; 21:48) is an archival French television documentary. Subtitled in English.


• On Set Interviews (HD*; 18:12) feature Alain Corneau, Catherine Deneuve, Yves Montand and Gérard Depardieu. Subtitled in English.


• Manuela Lazic (HD; 23:57) is a nicely done biography of Yves Montand.


• Theatrical Trailer (HD; 2:42)


• Introduction by Jérôme Wybon (HD; 3:14) is accessible under the Play Menu and is authored to lead directly into the main feature. Subtitled in English.

*Note: 720

Choice of Arms Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It's kind of funny in a way to hear Jérôme Wybon talk about how 1981 saw Corneau and others "reinvent" the French thriller, as some may find Choice of Arms the least innovative film in the set. There's tons of star power here, and Depardieu in particular is a visceral fright as Mickey. Plotting can be a little rote, and the film probably could have been judiciously trimmed by quite a bit without any major detriment. Technical merits are solid and the supplements appealing. Recommended.