Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		4.5

La Haine Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov September 29, 2008

Mathieu Kassovitz’s "La Haine" (1995) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of StudioCanal. There are no special features on the release. In French, with optional English, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Japanese, German, Catalan, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian, and Swedish subtitles for the main feature. Region A/B "locked".

Hate

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 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with VC-1 and granted a 1080p transfer, La Haine arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of French distributors Studio Canal.

Shot in black and white, this is a film with a distinctively rough look that will impress a lot of people whose only exposure to it has been through previous DVD releases. Detail is pleasing, while the separation between the documentary footage from the opening scenes and the actual film footage is quite nice. I liked how this new HD transfer does not necessarily aim for the popping look a very small fraction of people worships, but instead supports a natural, film-like, look that fits the mood of La Haine. I happen to own four different DVD releases of Mr. Kassovitz's film and this new transfer by Studio Canal is hands down the most impressive treatment I have seen. Elsewhere I've commented on the fact that black and white releases, especially classic black and white films transferred in HD, could look astounding on Blu-ray, and Studio Canal's release of La Haine certainly comes very close to being a great example why. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location).

La Haine Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Before I comment on the audio presentation, I would like to point out that La Haine is a 'Pan-European' release. What this means is that the menu system can be set in a number of different languages: Spanish, Portuguese (Brazilian), English (UK), and English (Australian).

There are three audio tracks on this this disc: French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, German DTS-HD High Resolution 5.1, and Spanish/Catalán DTS 2.0. I opted for the French DTS-HD Master mix. Strong and punchy bass, crisp and clear dialog, and some quite strong surround effects (though La Haine will not test the limits of your home set-ups it will definitely please you) is what what the loseless track dleivers. I ran a quick test with the Optimum Releasing disc that I had handy and there is simply no basis for comparison between the loseless track and lossy track. Without giving up the plot, I only wish to point that you should focus on the chase scene in the first half of the film, where the cops raid the abandoned building and Vinz and his friends are forced to run away, and then listen to the gunshots during the second half of the film –- the sound is a lot clearer and with a lot more depth on the Blu-ray. Finally, I did not detect any hissings, cracks, or pops to report in this review.

La Haine Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Unfortunately, Studio Canal have not provided any supplemental materials.

La Haine Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

One of the most influential French films from the mid-90s, La Haine arrives on Blu-ray with a sizzling transfer that easily overshadows previous DVD releases in both the audio and video departments. This is also a Region-Free and with one of the friendliest menu systems I have seen on Blu-ray thus far. Needless to say, this release comes HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.