6.9 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
A motley group of professional robbers plan a gem heist from the home of an emerald collector. However, a corrupt Greek police inspector is on their trail.
Starring: Jean-Paul Belmondo, Omar Sharif, Dyan Cannon, Robert Hossein, Nicole CalfanForeign | 100% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Crime | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080/50i
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
French: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
Mono
French, French SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Three-disc set (2 BDs, 1 DVD)
DVD copy
Region B (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Henri Verneuil's "The Burglars" a.k.a. "Le Casse" (1971) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of French label L'atelier d'images. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; exclusive new video interview with stunt performer Remy Julienne; new featurette on the recent restoration of the film; vintage promotional materials; and more. In English or French, with optional French and French SDH subtitles for the different versions of the film. Region-B "locked".
The expert
Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080/50i transfer, Henri Verneuil's The Burglars arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of L'atelier d'images.
I found the technical presentation rather frustrating. Here's why:
The release is sourced from a wonderful 2K remaster of the film, but for some strange reason the disc is encoded in 1080/50i. Everything that I have seen tells me that the actual remaster is progressive, but the encoder flagged it in 1080/50i. The film still looks quite striking on my system, without a shadow of a doubt the best I have ever seen it look, but I can't think of a single reason why the disc was not encoded in 1080p. For reference, when L'Atelier d'images released the 4K remaster of Walter Hill's The Driver in France, the local release was again encoded in 1080/50i, while in the United Kingdom StudioCanal's release was properly flagged in 1080p. So my current impressions are that the new remaster is very healthy, but I also think that if a different label offers a 1080p presentation, there will be a meaningful difference. On my system I see good depth, nice fluidity, and wonderfully balanced color scheme, and these are characteristics that point to a successful restoration project. Lastly, the release is Region-Free, but because it is flagged in 1080/50i standard North American Region-A players will not be able to access its content.
*The release contains two versions of the film: the French version, which is approximately 120 minutes long (02:00:36) and the American/English version, which is approximately 109 minutes long (01:49:12).
The French and American/English versions of the film are placed on separate Blu-ray discs. The first has a standard French DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track and comes with optional French SDH subtitles for the main feature. The second has a standard English DTS-HD Master Audio track and comes with optional French subtitles for the main feature.
I viewed the American/English version of the film, which is the one that I had previously seen. The quality of the audio is excellent. Clearly, it has been remastered and as a result balance, depth, and sharpness are very good. Also, Ennio Morricone's soundtrack very easily breathes throughout the entire film -- see the erotic club's footage -- but I would love to hear it on a proper 1080p presentation.
BLU-RAY DISC ONE - AMERICAN/ENGLISH VERSION
This really wild and very entertaining gangster film from Henri Verneuil (The Sicilian Clan) had quite the reputation back in the days because of that iconic car chase that was shot on the streets of Athens. The film has been recently restored, but I think that French label L'atelier d'images missed an opportunity to have a real stunner in its catalog. I still think that its release is worth picking up because this is the best presentation of the film that I have ever seen, but if what appears to be a very beautiful restored master ended up with another label like Criterion, the end result would be even better. RECOMMENDED.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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