Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Le Casse Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov April 15, 2018

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

Henri Verneuil’s La Casse a.k.a. The Burglars came out the same year Richard Sarafian’s cult film Vanishing Point was released and became famous for the exact same reason -- it featured some really wild car racing that instantly sent action junkies to Heaven. Until the The Driver arrived a few years later, there were a lot of places in Europe where The Burglars was the gold standard for these types of genre films.

A small crew of professional thieves led by the charismatic Azad (Jean-Paul Belmondo) is in Athens, Greece to do a big job that will allow them to retire and enjoy the rest of their lives without ever worrying about finances. On the night when they go to work, however, they nearly get caught in the act by the veteran detective Abel Zacharia (Omar Sharif). It is only after Azad does a brilliant improvisation that the thieves manage to get away with a case full of green emeralds worth one million dollars.

Before the crew can disappear without a trace, however, Zacharia tracks down Azad and demands that he cuts a deal with him -- exchange the emeralds and leave Athens free, or get busted, lose the loot and go to prison. At first, Azad assumes that he can trick Zacharia and organize a safe exit for the crew, but when the detective mobilizes the city’s entire police force and makes it clear that Azad and his partners are bound to fail if they attempt to leave, he agrees to discuss the deal again. Then, at the right time, Azad decides to do another brilliant improvisation.

Very large parts of The Burglars look like the type of material that would have been enthusiastically endorsed by the prolific producer Harry Alan Towers (Code 7, Victim 5, Bang! Bang! You're Dead!). Indeed, the content has that heavy exotic flavor that Towers liked and made sure was present in the many action and adventure B-films that he co-wrote and produced during the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. However, the actual quality of the content here is quite different, and the main reason for this is the fact that Verneuil was a very talented director who also had a great international cast to work with. So even though The Burglars aims to thrill with a familiar type of genre entertainment, the end result is far more convincing.

The script blends equal parts action and comedy that allow Belmondo to be at his very best. Also, it is worth pointing out that he did many of the dangerous action sequences without the help of doubles. (For the legendary car chase across the city, Verneuil did use professionals, and it is easy to understand why. Even by contemporary standards, there are a few segments that are genuinely scary).

Verneuil shot virtually the entire film on location in Athens and the Port city of Piraeus with Claude-Renoir, who had already done some great work on the much darker crime thrillers Symphony for a Massacre and The Unvanquished. The lush and now instantly recognizable orchestral score was composed by the great maestro Ennio Morricone.

*Two different versions of The Burglars were available to local and international distributors, French and American/English. They were shot simultaneously, but in addition to being dubbed differently, they contain unique footage. The French version also has a slightly different ending. Some of the discrepancies are highlighted in a new featurette that is included on this Blu-ray release.

Le Casse Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

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).

Le Casse Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

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.

Le Casse Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

BLU-RAY DISC ONE - AMERICAN/ENGLISH VERSION

• Versions - a French restoration specialist highlights and discusses some of the key differences between the two versions of the film. In French, not subtitled. (9 min).

• Le tournage du casse - an excellent archival featurette with plenty of raw footage from the shooting of the film in Athens, Greece, and cast and crew interviews. In French, not subtitled. (49 min).

• Interview de Remy Julienne - in this brand new interview, stunt performer Remy Julienne recalls his work during the filming of the dangerous car chase. The interview was conducted exclusively for this release in 2017. Also included is raw footage from the shooting process. In French, not subtitled. (12 min).

• Photo Gallery - a collection of vintage stills. (4 min).

• Promotional Materials - a collection of vintage promotional materials from around the world. (1 min).

BLU-RAY DISC TWO - FRENCH VERSION

• Trailer - original French trailer for The Burglars. (4 min).

• Booklet - 16-page reprinted comic adaptation that initially appeared in the Argentine magazine D'Artagnan Extraordinario. In French. (Please see screencaptures).

Le Casse Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

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.