La Haine 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		0.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		5.0

La Haine 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov March 8, 2024

Mathieu Kassovitz's "La Haine" a.k.a. "Hate" (1995) arrives on 4K Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the release include audio commentary by director Mathieu Kassovitz; archival introduction by Jodie Foster; deleted and extended scenes; stills gallery; documentary film; and more. In French, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

An Arab boy is brutally beaten by the French police immediately after a massive riot on the outskirts of Paris. He is then taken into intensive care, where his condition is evaluated as critical. Outside, on the streets of the banlieues, the boy’s friends begin following closely the news reports.

Vinz (Vincent Cassel, L'appartement, Our Day Will Come), a working-class Jewish boy, Said (Said Taghmaoui, Room to Rent), a bitter but indecisive Arab, and Hubert (Hubert Kounde, Café au lait, TV's Braquo), a North African amateur boxer, are shocked. They wander around pondering what would happen if the Arab boy dies. They also meet with other ethnic youngsters who are visibly disturbed by the news reports.

While taking a break, Vinz reveals to his friends a secret -- he has found a gun and has decided to use it. Said is impressed. But Hubert is enraged and, after a short discussion with Vinz, walks away. Said remains with Vinz.

A couple of hours later, the three meet again. They head to downtown Paris to visit a former friend who has started dealing (drugs) with the big boys. The meeting isn’t much fun, and the trio is soon back on the streets, looking for excitement. On the way home, they beat up a group of young skinheads. Eventually, a gut-wrenching act puts an end to their journey.

La Haine is a raw and gritty film, appropriately shot in black and white. Archival footage recalling the Parisian riots from the early '90s is also incorporated into the film. The dialog is razor-sharp and colorful, imitating the slang used in many of the poorest banlieues.

With La Haine director Kassovitz delivered an uncompromising critique of a socio-political reality many Frenchmen were unaware of during the early '90s. (His film premiered at a time when Jean-Marie Le Pen and his xenophobic National Front gained unprecedented popularity in France). Unsurprisingly, the tidal wave of anger and consequently fear the film unleashed in France was unprecedented.

The only other film to hit such a nerve in France after La Haine premiered was Jean-François Richet’s violent and slightly more disturbing Ma 6-T va crack-er. However, while its tone was similarly dismissive, its message was disappointingly populist. (The film was essentially an examination of the mechanics of violence rather than a sobering analysis of what leads to it). As a result, Ma 6-T va crack-er (1997) was not as far-reaching and climate-shifting as La Haine.

Today, La Haine is regarded by many European critics as a hugely influential film, one that changed the landscape of contemporary French cinema forever. Its unprecedented success at the Cannes Film Festival encouraged a number of young ethnic French directors to follow up the steps of director Kassovitz. As a result, a sea of similarly themed films (La squale, Petits frères) eventually gave birth to the socially aware banlieue genre.

*In 1995, La Haine won Best Director Award at the Cannes Film Festival. In 1996, the film won three Cesar Awards, including Best Film and Best Editing (Mathieu Kassovitz, Scott Stevenson).

La Haine 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Criterion's release of La Haine is a 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack. The 4K Blu-ray is Region-Free. However, the Blu-ray is Region-A "locked".

At the moment, I only have a 4K Blu-ray screener, so when the market version of this release arrives later this month, I will update our review. Also, please note that all screencaptures that are included with our review are taken from the 4K Blu-ray and downscaled to 1080p. Therefore, they do not accurately reflect the quality of the 4K content on the 4K Blu-ray.

The release introduces a recent 4K restoration of La Haine, which can be viewed with Dolby Vision and HDR grades. I viewed it in its entirety with Dolby Vision. I did not test the HDR presentation.

Four years ago, we reviewed this Region-B Blu-ray release from the British Film Institute, which introduced the 4K makeover of La Haine in the United Kingdom. At the time, I thought that the 4K makeover was very good, and I still do. It was the most convincing and healthiest presentation of La Haine that I had seen. Criterion's original Blu-ray release from 2012 is sourced from a very good but older master. So, how does the 4K makeover look in native 4K? Very, very good. Earlier tonight, I spent some time comparing the Region-B release and the 4K Blu-ray, and at least on my system the brighter daylight/indoor footage and darker/nighttime footage look noticeably better balanced. Density levels, especially when compared to those observed on Criterion's original release, are vastly superior, too. What about very dark areas? La Haine has a lot of visuals with a very particular appearance, which is defined by their treatment of light. Crushing, sometimes very light, sometimes more pronounced, is frequently present in this appearance, and in native 4K it is again very easy to observe. I do not think that the Dolby Vision grade exacerbates it, but on different systems it will be displayed differently. Also, in several areas, the same softness that is present on previous presentations of La Haine is retained. A very good example can be seen in screencapture #16. There are no traces of problematic digital corrections. Image stability is excellent. All in all, in native 4K La Haine has a very nicely balanced, very convincing organic appearance.

La Haine 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this release: French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and French DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.

Test both tracks to see which one you like. I have viewed La Haine with both and tend to prefer the 2.0 track because of how the film is shot, but I do not think that one of these tracks is unquestionably superior. You may find that some of the brawls, for instance, sound a little bit better on the 5.1 track. Last night, while I was revisiting La Haine in native 4K, I again used the 2.0 track. I did not encounter any anomalies to report in our review.

La Haine 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

4K BLU-RAY DISC

• Commentary - this is the same English-language audio commentary by director Mathieu Kassovitz that initially appeared on Criterion's 2007 DVD release of La Haine.

BLU-RAY DISC

• Commentary - this is the same English-language audio commentary by director Mathieu Kassovitz that initially appeared on Criterion's 2007 DVD release of La Haine.

• Introduction - a wonderful introduction to La Haine by actress and filmmaker Jodie Foster, who helped popularize the film in the United States. The introduction was recorded in 2006. In English, not subtitled. (15 min, 1080i).

• Trailer 1 - original French theatrical trailer for La Haine. In French, with optional English subtitles. (1 min, 1080i).

• Trailer 2 - original French theatrical trailer for La Haine. In French, with optional English subtitles. (1 min, 1080i).

• Stills Gallery - a collection of stills from the shooting of La Haine. (1080p).

• Deleted and Extended Scenes - a gallery of deleted and extended scenes. Because La Haine was shot on color stock and printed in black and white, these time-coded rough cuts are in color. Each scene features an afterword by director Mathieu Kassovitz.
  
  Deleted Scenes
  
  -- Rooftop Party (1 min, 1080i)
  -- Rooftop Adterword (1 min, 1080i)
  -- Homeless Man (1 min, 1080i)
  -- Homeless Man Afterword (1 min, 1080i)
  
  Extended Scenes
  
  -- OCB (3 min, 1080i)
  -- OCB Afterword (1 min, 1080i)
  -- Eiffel Tower (2 min, 1080i)
  -- Eiffel Tower Afterword (2 min, 1080i)
  

• The Making of a Scene - raw footage from the shooting of an important scene from the film (the one in which Vinz fantasizes about shooting a cop). Also included is a short interview with director Mathieu Kassovitz. In French, with optional English subtitles. (7 min, 1080i).

• Preparation for the Shoot - before shooting of La Haine started, director Mathieu Kassovitz, Vincent Cassel, Hubert Koundé, and Saïd Taghmaoui moved to the projects. Here they discuss life in the projects and their expectations for La Haine. In French, with optional English subtitles. (6 min, 1080i).

• Social Dynamite - sociologists Sophie Body-Gendrot, William Kornblum, and Jeffrey Fagan discuss life in the banlieues and the film's message, as well as some of the similarities between the banlieues and the projects in America. In English, not subtitled. (34 min, 1080i).

• Ten Years of "La Haine" - this documentary film, produced by Studio Canal, traces the history of La Haine from the real-life shooting that inspired the screenplay to the film's success at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival. It includes interviews with director Mathieu Kassovitz, actors Vincent Cassel and Hubert Kounde, and producers Christophe Rossignon and Alain Rocca. In French, with optional English subtitles. (84 min, 1080i).

• Commentary - this is the same English-language audio commentary by director Mathieu Kassovitz that appeared on Criterion's 2007 DVD release of La Haine.

• Booklet - an illustrated booklet featuring an essay by film scholar Ginette Vincendeau and a 2006 appreciation by acclaimed filmmaker Costa-Gavras.

La Haine 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It is a little surreal to see how mainstream Mathieu Kassovitz's film has become and that it will be available on 4K Blu-ray. In the late 1990s, I recall looking for it and visiting a few vendors that eventually became quite popular for selling bootleg copies of films that had not received official DVD or VHS releases, and even they did not have it. Criterion's upcoming 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack introduces the excellent recent 4K restoration of La Haine that was supervised by director of photography Pierre Aïm. It will be the film's definitive home video release. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.