Deadly Circuit Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.0

Deadly Circuit Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman August 19, 2025

Note: This version of this film is available as part of either The Inquisitor + Deadly Circuit or The Inquisitor 4K + Deadly Circuit from Radiance Films.

If Michel Serraut was the perceived "mouse" in the cat and mouse game at the center of The Inquisitor, it might be jokingly stated that he's a bit more of the "cat" in this outing, which finds him in the role of a private investigator on the trail of a suspected female serial killer. There's a kind of globe trotting aspect to the film which puts it immediately in a totally different league than the claustrophobic The Inquisitor (which takes place almost entirely in a cloistered police office), but somewhat like that earlier film there are layers of subtext here that become increasingly Freudian, with Serraut's private eye developing the same kind of obsession with his supposed target that Scotty experiences in Hitchcock's Vertigo.

Deadly Circuit had a 1080 release in Region A last fall courtesy of Kino Lorber, and Svet Atanasov's Deadly Circuit Blu-ray review provides a plot summary, a list of supplements on that release, and Svet's assessment of the technical presentation. As I so often state, "different reviewers means different opinions" and that difference is reflected in my overall score for the film.

Deadly Circuit Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Deadly Circuit is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Radiance Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.67:1. Based solely on the always risky technique of screenshot comparison, it looks like this release is very similar to Kino Lorber's release for Region A, though it looks to me that this release may be just ever so slightly brighter, something that may help to support the perception of suffusion as well as to help illuminate some of the detail in the most shadowy scenes. The grading looks exceptional for the most part, but there are a few isolated moments where color temperature can shift slightly, and some of the opticals like dissolves understandably don't offer the same image quality as the bulk of the presentation. Grain resolves very tightly for the most part, spiking (again understandably) during things like dissolves, but also in some of the darkest material.

Deadly Circuit Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Deadly Circuit features LPCM Mono audio in the original French. The film has an invigorating score by Carla Bley (who with her ex-husband Paul rented from a late uncle of mine in New York, and, yes, I have stories) which sounds great throughout. The outdoor material also frequently offers good background ambient environmental sounds. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

Deadly Circuit Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary by Rachael Nisbet


• Sacred Circuit (HD; 34:29) is an archival documentary made for TF1 Video in 2016. Subtitled in English.


• Hypnotic Fascination (HD; 7:32) is an archival interview with Philippe Le Guay, also made for TF1 Video in 2016. Subtitled in English.


• Trailer (HD; 3:10)

Deadly Circuit Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There are parts of Deadly Circuit that I actually found more intriguing than anything in The Inquisitor, but the film may strike some as something of a slog despite a decent (if derivative) premise and some especially good performances from Serraut and Isabelle Adjani as the femme fatale (maybe in more than one way). While it's a bit strange that Radiance is only offering this in 1080 while offering The Inquisitor in either 4K UHD or 1080, this certainly makes for an enjoyable "second feature" on a double bill. Technical merits are solid and the supplements very appealing. Recommended.