Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		5.0

La Haine Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov December 2, 2020

Mathieu Kassovitz's "La Haine" (1995) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of the British Film Institute. The supplemental features on the release include vintage promotional materials; short films; documentaries; archival audio commentary by the director; and more. Also included with the release is an 80-page book featuring new essays by Kaleem Aftab and Ginette Vincendeau, an interview with Mathieu Kassovitz, archival essays and reviews, technical credits, and more. In French, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Heavy head

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 MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, La Haine arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of the BFI.

The release is sourced from a new 4K master that was supervised by director of photography Pierre Aïm. It offers the healthiest presentation of La Haine that I have seen to date. (We have reviewed three different Blu-ray releases on the site, and I actually still have two even older DVD releases in my library). The most notable improvements are in the following areas: clarity, sharpness, and grayscale. However, before I address the improvements, I would like to clarify a few things so that you know exactly what to expect when you put the Blu-ray disc in your player. First, there is plenty of inherited softness plus some slightly out-of-focus visuals and they are integral parts of the film's 'raw' appearance. (You can see an obvious example in screencapture #20). Additionally, in some areas there are light crushing effects, but they are introduced by the manner in which light is captured by the camera. You will be able to spot them primarily in darker/nighttime footage (see screencapture #27). In some areas the grain can be slightly overexposed and/or appear a tad noisy as well. My guess is that in native 4K these particular fluctuations will be extremely difficult to spot because of the superior density levels that typically ensure a 'tighter' overall appearance, but I have not seen the new 4K Blu-ray release of La Haine.

I did direct comparisons with the North American release from Criterion and the discrepancy in the density levels between the two is immediately recognizable. This isn't surprising because these releases were sourced from masters that were struck from different elements -- the OCN for the BFI release, and a fine-grain master positive for the Criterion release. Also, now there are more fine nuances that are easy to recognize, but as I pointed out above the native fluctuations that introduce softness and crushing -- or at least what is easy to perceive as crushing -- remain. (See screencapture #5). Depth is better, but do not expect a dramatic difference because organic light routinely enters the visuals completely unobstructed. The grayscale is more convincing, which is another improvement I expected to see in a new 4K master, and it is one of the main reasons why all visuals have stronger organic appearance. There are no traces of age-related imperfections. So, as far as Blu-ray is concerned, I think that this is pretty much the optimal presentation of La Haine that you can get. My score is 4.75/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

La Haine Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

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

With this particular film, I think that the LPCM 2.0 track might be the one to use, but some viewers may disagree. To be perfectly clear, I think that the 5.1 track serves the film just as well, but given the organic nature of the production, I have always felt that maybe the 2.0 was the slightly better option. Clarity, sharpness, and stability are outstanding. There are no encoding anomalies to report.

La Haine Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

BLU-RAY DISC ONE

• Trailer - new trailer for the recent 4K restoration of La Haine. In French, with imposed English subtitles. (2 min).

• Screen Epiphany: Riz Ahmed Introduces La Haine - actor Riz Ahmed speaks about the impact La Haine has had on his career. In English. (14 min).

• Mathieu Kassovitz - in this exclusive new video interview, Mathieu Kassovitz remembers how La Haine came to exist and discusses the identities of its main protagonists as well as the environment from which they emerge. In English. (36 min).

• Redefining Rebellion - a short video piece with critic Kaleem Aftab. In English. (5 min).

• Commentary - this archival audio commentary was recorded by director Mathieu Kassovitz in 2004. It is not the same commentary that is included on the North American Blu-ray release of La Haine. In English.

BLU-RAY DISC TWO

• Trailers - two vintage trailers for La Haine. In French, with optional English subtitles.
  
  1. Trailer One. (1 min).
  2. Trailer Two. (1 min).

• 10 Years of La Haine - this documentary film, produced by StudioCanal, 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 imposed English subtitles. (84 min).

• Casting and Rehearsals - raw footage from rehearsals and casting sessions with Karim Belkladra, Frederic Diefenthal, Gad El Maleh, Benoit Magimel, Edouard Montoute, and Sebastien Tavel. In French, with imposed English subtitles. (19 min).

• Anatomy 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).

• Behind the Scenes - 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).

• 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. Some scenes feature an afterword by director Mathieu Kassovitz. In French, with imposed English subtitles. (18 min).

• Short Films - three short films directed by Mathieu Kassovitz.
  
  1. Fierrot le Pou (1990) - a young man shoots hoops in a gym, in an effort to impress a young woman. In French, with optional English subtitles. (8 min).
  
  2. Cauchemar Blanc/White Nightmare (1991) - three goofy wannabe robbers get in trouble while looking for the perfect target in the banlieues. In French, with optional English subtitles. (11 min).
  
  3. Assassins (1992) - this short film was developed into the thriller Assassin(s) in 1997. In French, with optional English subtitles. (13 min).

• Book - 80-page book featuring new essays by Kaleem Aftab and Ginette Vincendeau, an interview with Mathieu Kassovitz, archival essays and reviews, technical credits, and more.

La Haine Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This two-disc set of La Haine from the BFI could have been better only if it had a 4K Blu-ray disc so that we can see the new 4K restoration that was prepared to celebrate the film's 25th anniversary in its native resolution. I still think that it is fantastic because it offers the healthiest technical presentation of the film to date, plus it has all of the interesting archival bonus features that did not make it on the first release from Optimum Home Entertainment. If you decide to pick it up for you library, please keep it in mind that it is Region-B "locked". VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.