Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

La Chèvre Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov December 17, 2014

Francis Veber's "La chevre" a.k.a. "The Goat" (1981) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of French label Gaumont. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for film and documentary film with archival interviews. In French, with optional English and French SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

The loser

The daughter of a prominent French businessman (Michel Robin, Farewell, My Queen) heads to sunny Mexico looking for an extra dose of excitement. But shortly after she arrives in her hotel, she has an odd accident and then disappears without a trace.

After a number of unsuccessful attempts to find out what has happened to his daughter, the businessman is convinced by one of his advisers to hire François Perrin (Pierre Richard, The Toy), a middle-aged office worker with a terrible luck, and detective Campana (Gérard Depardieu, Welcome to New York), a seasoned professional with an impressive resume, and send them to Mexico. Why these two seemingly incompatible characters? Because just like Perrin the businessman’s daughter is known for having a terrible luck, which means that there is a good chance that once in Mexico Perrin will follow her steps and help Campana discover her whereabouts.

The loser and the detective are quickly given a large amount of money to cover their future expenses and dispatched to Mexico.

Even before the couple leaves France, however, Perrin seriously frustrates Campana -- he walks into glass doors, gets his bag destroyed and badly hurts himself with a straw. Campana can’t believe that his ‘partner’ is such a loser, but vows to finish the mission and earn the bonus which the businessman has promised to them.

In Mexico, Perrin decides to prove to Campana that women find him irresistible, especially when he buys them expensive drinks, but gets mugged by a gang of local thugs. Then, because of Perrin’s bad luck, the two Frenchmen are arrested and thrown in a provincial prison where the guards love to beat up the inmates. Eventually, the two are released, but before they head back to Paris Campana makes a desperate move to earn the hefty bonus.

If you have seen Francis Veber’s The Dinner Game, you should have a pretty good idea what to expect from his sophomore effort The Goat. Admittedly, The Goat isn’t as well polished and Richard isn’t as entertaining as Jacques Villeret -- the truth, however, is that no one really can play an idiot quite as convincingly as the late French comedian did -- but some of the sequences in which he frustrates Depardieu are quite good. (The funniest sequences actually rival the good ones from Yves Robert’s The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe).

Cinematographer Alex Phillips Jr.’s beautiful lensing and Vladimir Cosma’s wonderful score, however, make this film very easy to enjoy. The various panoramic shots from rural Mexico, in particular, look gorgeous.

The film moves briskly at all times because of Albert Jurgenson’s excellent editing. This isn’t surprising as prior to The Goat Jurgensen worked on a number of classic French comedies with the legendary Louis de Funès, including Don't Look Now, We're Being Shot At, The Sucker, and The Mad Adventures of Rabbi Jacob.

La Chèvre Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.66:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Francis Veber's The Goat arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of French label Gaumont.

My one and only concern here is exactly the same concern I've had with other recent releases from the French label -- the overall range of colors is a bit too warm and black levels appear slightly elevated, most likely because they are not set correctly. Admittedly this is something that can be easily addressed at home, but considering the fact that everything else looks wonderful a few minor adjustments could make these budget releases look quite spectacular. Indeed, detail and clarity are excellent while contrast levels remain stable. Also, there are no traces of problematic degraining or sharpening adjustments. In fact, because grain is so evenly distributed, depth is frequently outstanding. There are no debris, cuts, damage marks, stains, or warps. (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).

La Chèvre Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: French DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (Mono). For the record, there are optional English and French SDH subtitles for the main feature.

The lossless track is outstanding. During the action sequences depth and clarity are excellent, making it extremely easy to identify various random sounds and noises, and there is a very good range of nuanced dynamics. Vladimir Cosma's score is also wonderfully well balanced. The dialog is exceptionally crisp, stable, free of background hiss, and very easy to follow. Finally, there are no pops, audio dropouts, or digital distortions to report in this review.

La Chèvre Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Bande-annonce - original restored French trailer for The Goat. In French, not subtitled. (3 min, 1080p).

• La mecanique du rire - this documentary film takes a closer look at the production history and success of The Goat. Included in it are clips from interviews with directors Francis Veber, Jean-Jacques Annaud (Coup de Tête, L'amant), Pierre Granier-Deferre (The Last Train), Edouard Molinaro (La Cage aux Folles), and composer Vladimir Cosma, amongst others. In French, without optional subtitles. (52 min).

La Chèvre Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If you have seen and enjoyed Gaumont's releases of Francis Veber's comedies The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe and The Return of the Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe, you should take a look at Francis Veber's The Goat. Though the film isn't without flaws, Pierre Richard and Gerard Depardieu are quite entertaining together. The Blu-ray release is English-friendly and Region-Free. RECOMMENDED.