L' Assassin habite... au 21 Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

L' Assassin habite... au 21 Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov September 15, 2013

Henri-Georges Clouzot's directorial debut "L'assassin habite... au 21" a.k.a. "The Murderer Lives at 21" (1942) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of French label Gaumont. The supplemental features on the disc include a new documentary produced by Pierre-Henri Gibert and video interview with Ronald Boullet from Laboratoires Eclair and Andre Labbouz from representing Gaumont. In French, with optional English and French SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

I am listening...

A large part of Henri-Georges Clouzot’s directorial debut has the atmosphere of classic noir films – there are long shadows and specific camera moves that create the impression that the film would be notably dark. For a while, the direction seems quite clear. The second half, however, is infused with plenty of light humor that gradually changes the tone of the film. There are some drastic changes in the manner in which the main characters are treated as well. The resulting imbalance makes the film look rather strange.

The plot follows a serial killer who leaves small white cards next to each of his victims. The cards always have only a simple name on them: Monsieur Durand. The ambitious Inspector Wenceslas Wens (Pierre Fresnay, La Grande Illusion, The Man Who Knew Too Much) begins studying the victims and eventually discovers that the serial killer either frequently visits or lives in a boarding house at 21 Avenue Junot. Disguised as a Protestant pastor, Wens takes a room in the boarding house and begins observing its occupants.

But Wens’ work is soon jeopardized by his mistress, Mila Malou (Suzy Delair, Quai des Orfèvres, Copie conforme), an ambitious singer who desperately needs some positive publicity to redirect her career. When she arrives in the boarding house, Wens' investigation takes a rather unusual turn and the observed begin observing him and his mistress.

The suspects are all colorful characters, each possibly with something important to hide: Theodore Linz (Noel Roquevert, Antoine et Antoinette) is a respected physician and passionate hunter who has traveled the world; Monsieur Colin ( Pierre Larquey, Si Paris nous était conté) is a quiet man who spends most of his time creating dolls meant to resemble the mysterious Monsieur Durand; Mademoiselle Cuq (Maximilienne, Pardon My French) is a retired social butterfly who has never been properly loved; Kid Robert (Jean Despeaux) is a retired blind boxer; and Professor Lalah-Poor (Jean Tissier, ...And God Created Woman) is an extravagant magician with an endless bag of tricks who loves to wear a large turban.

After spending some time with the suspects and carefully studying them, Wens identifies the serial killer. But after the killer is arrested, another murder occurs.

Clouzot was a true master of misdirection. In the brilliant Les diaboliques, for example, he repeatedly forces the viewer to guess incorrectly where the film is heading and how it would end. The manner in which he observes the main protagonists is also absolutely brilliant – because they have been followed so closely after a certain point the viewer feels that he already knows them and their intentions, but they undergo shocking yet credible characters transformations that essentially rearrange the entire plot of the film. While glimpses of this brilliance are also evident in The Murderer Lives at 21, structurally and thematically the film is indeed notably uneven. Unsurprisingly, the connection the viewer feels with the characters in Les diaboliques never happens in The Murderer Lives at 21. Like Inspector Wens, the viewer simply observes the suspects in the boarding house until eventually the masks fall off and the mystery is solved.

The Murderer Lives at 21, which was produced for the Nazi run company Continental Films, is based on the novel by Stanislas-André Steeman. The Belgian director’s Legitime Defense also inspired Clouzot to film his brilliant Quai des Orfèvres in 1947.

L' Assassin habite... au 21 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Henri-Georges Clouzot's The Murderer Lives at 21 arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of French label Gaumont.

Unsurprisingly, the high-definition transfer has been sourced from the same master Eureka Entertainment had access to when they prepared their Blu-ray release of The Murder Lives at 21 for the UK market. Excluding a few very small discrepancies in the brightness levels, the two releases look virtually identical.

The same light denoising corrections that are present on the UK release are also visible here. Detail and image depth are not seriously compromised, but the side effects that are typically introduced with such corrections can be spotted during darker sequences (see screencapture #15 and the phone on the bottom left). On this release, however, in motion the denoising corrections are never overly distracting. Also, no attempts have been made to re-sharpen the image. Overall image stability is very good. Large debris, scratches stains, and warps have been removed as best as possible. All in all, considering the fact that Gaumont own the new restoration of The Murderer Lives at 21, as well as the master that is available for licensing, I have to speculate that this will be the best this film will look in high-definition. If you are interested in it, you should consider adding it to your collections. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location. For the record, there is no problematic PAL or 1080/50i content preceding the disc's main menu).

L' Assassin habite... au 21 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: French DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0. For the record, Gaumont have provided optional English and French SDH subtitles for the main feature.

The lossless audio track allows the film to shine in all the right places, though you should not expect a wide range of nuance dynamics. The best dynamic activity is during sequences where Maurice Yvain's score has an important role (the clarinet solos make the biggest impression). The dialog is free of problematic background hiss, crackle, and pops. Also, there are no audio dropouts or distortions to report in this review.

L' Assassin habite... au 21 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Signe Clousot - a new documentary focusing on Henri-Georges Clouzot's body of work and directing style, as well as the production history of The Murderer Lives at 21. The documentary features interviews with author Claude Gauteur (Clouzot entre pincale et pilori), filmmaker and author Serge Bromberg (Henri-Georges Clouzot's Inferno), scenarist Jean Cosmos (Bertrand Tavernier's Safe Conduct, Frédéric Schoendoerffer's Agents Secrets), film critics Pascal Thomas and Bernard Stora, Nicole Trabaud, friend of actress Suzy Delair (Mila Malou), and Jean-Laurent Cochet, also a close friend of Suzy Delair. amongst others. The documentary was produced by Pierre-Henri Gibert. In French, not subtitled. (40 min, 1080p).

• L'assassin Restaure - in this featurette, Ronald Boullet (representing Laboratoires Eclair) and Andre Labbouz (representing Gaumont) discuss the new restoration of Henri-Georges Clouzot's The Murderer Lives at 21. Also included are various comparisons between the unrestored and final restored version of the film. In French, not subtitled. (9 min, 1080p).

L' Assassin habite... au 21 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Gaumont's Blu-ray release of Henri-Georges Clouzot's directorial debut, The Murderer Lives at 21, is sourced from the same recent restoration Eureka Entertainment used as a foundation for their Blu-ray release of the film in the United Kingdom. Considering the fact that the restoration was done by Gaumont in France, I think it is fair to say that it will most likely remain the definitive presentation of the film on the home video market. If you reside in North America, you should consider importing Gaumont's release because it is Region-Free and English-friendly. RECOMMENDED.