Don't Change Hands Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.0

Don't Change Hands Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 30, 2024

Considering this film's English language title, there's some fascinating sleight of hand briefly (as in very briefly) displayed in the opening credits of Don't Change Hands, where the film's original French title Change pas de main quickly and only momentarily morphs into Change pas demain, which changes the meaning to Don't Change Tomorrow. For you etymology geeks out there, there's some interesting history to bone (and/or phalanx, depending on appendage) up on, with the French word main (hand) deriving from Latin manus, though kind of hilariously if you go all the way back to Proto-Indo-European you arrive at (s)meh, which meant to beckon. That probably comical to modern day eyes meh turns up again when tracing demain (tomorrow) back to its literal roots, where in Proto-Indo-European meh evidently meant to ripen. That ultimately morphed into Latin's dē māne, which translates more or less to "in the morning". All of this is to say that there are probably hidden meanings abounding in Don't Change Hands, even if the basic story here is a somewhat tawdry tale of pornography and blackmail, which may therefore kind of ironically engender a "meh" response, at least from those who are jaded enough to not be shocked by some of what goes on in the film. That porn element made Don't Change Hands into something of a hard to find and/or see rarity, and Severin in fact states on the back cover of this release that this is the film's North American Blu-ray debut.

The story begins first with a shooting (there will be lots of those as things progress and/or devolve, depending on your point of view), a full color vignette that then gives way to some grainy 16mm footage of some actual hard core porn. The actual plot is soon divulged as a female private eye (nonetheless clad in a trenchcoat and fedora) named Mélinda (Myriam Mézières) is hired by the aptly named Françoise Bourgeois (Hélène Surgère) to find out who might be attempting to blackmail Bourgeois with that very porn footage, which evidently features Bourgeois' son. That provides enough of a foundation for agent provocateur writer-director Paul Vecchiali to go full gonzo with any number of stylistic quirks and meta references, all within an almost lunatic ambience where, for example, any number of corpses may be left in various nooks and crannies of a focal cabaret for janitors to find and dispose of.

This is a film that almost defies description, weaving in liberal doses of camp, melodrama and even some song and dance moments to weave a patently bizarre story that probably never really attempts to delve into anything too deeply, but which still at least alludes to the general zeitgeist of a late seventies France awash in both political and what might be termed sociosexual upheavals. The result is often rough, disjunctive and maybe more than a bit incomprehensible, but it's certainly unforgettable.

Don't Change Hands Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Don't Change Hands is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Severin Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.66:1. The back cover of this release states this transfer was "scanned in 2K from the original camera negative". Considering the rarity of this title, and maybe even without considering the rarity of this title, this is often a pretty stunning looking transfer, one with a really beautifully suffused palette, some appealingly deep blacks and generally really nice looking detail levels. There are just a few interstitial moments where the image can suddenly degrade (aside and apart from the intentionally distressed 16mm porn material), and in fact I'm wondering if some of the (color) hardcore material may have been excised at some point, necessitating it being reintegrated into things. There are some minor signs of age related wear and tear, but nothing very debilitating. Grain resolves naturally for the bulk of the presentation, with just a few slightly noisy looking moments in some of the darkest material.

Don't Change Hands Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Don't Change Hands features a surprisingly spry sounding DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono track in the original French. The film is rife with some almost Cirque du Soleil-esque music, all of which sounds nicely full bodied. There aren't a ton of ambient environmental effects, though in the sound effects category, there are repeated gunshots which sound appropriately vibrant. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

Don't Change Hands Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Le Cinéphile (HD; 18:33) is an appreciation of the film by Knife + Heart director Yann Gonzalez. Subtitled in English.


• Elsewhere Man (HD; 27:42) features author and filmmaker Matthieu Orléan discussing Paul Vecchiali. Subtitled in English.


• Noir D'Amour (HD; 24:00) offers co-writer Noël Simsolo offering his memories of Vecchiali and the film. Subtitled in English.


• A Remedy for Chaos (HD; 18:45) is an interview with actress Myriam Mézières. Subtitled in English.


• The Prodigal Song (HD; 11:31) is an interview with actor Jean-Christophe Bouvet. Subtitled in English.


• Re-Release Trailer by Nathan Boone (HD; 1:30)

Additionally, packaging features a slipcover.

Don't Change Hands Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Some of the supplements on this disc get into the rather curious history of Paul Vecchiali, though Vecchiali's actual motives for making this unabashedly strange mélange (if I may be permitted to incorporate a French term) may be as evanescent as some of the external referents and even plot points Don't Change Hands offers. The film itself is pretty obviously not going to be everyone's cup of tea (and/or THC, considering how drugged out much of the proceedings tend to be), and those with an aversion to full frontal male nudity, transvestites and porn adjacent material (and in fact just good, old fashioned porn material) should probably stay far, far away from this feature. Otherwise, for the braver viewer, while the film is probably too decidedly weird to be anything other than a curiosity, this release offers surprisingly secure technical merits and some outstanding supplements, for anyone who may be considering making a purchase.