7.1 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Two factions of the French Secret Service involve a seemingly normal orchestra player, François Perrin, into their battle as one side uses him as a decoy. Soon, agents are all over the place, and one of them, Christine, is sent to seduce François. Meanwhile, François has his own problems, tangled up in an affair with his best friend's wife.
Starring: Pierre Richard, Jean Rochefort, Mireille Darc, Colette Castel, Jean CarmetForeign | 100% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Mystery | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.66:1
French: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
French SDH, English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Yves Robert's "The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe" a.k.a. "Le grand blond avec une chaussure noire" (1972) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of French label Gaumont. The supplemental features on the disc include original theatrical trailers and a documentary film produced by Jeremie Lambert and Yann Marchet. In French, with optional English and French SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.
The tall blond man with one black shoe
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.66:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Yves Robert's The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Gaumont.
I did some direct comparisons with my R2 DVD release of the film and can confirm that there are dramatic improvements in every single area we typically address in our reviews. Image depth, in particular, is far better -- many of the darker sequences that look noisy and blocky on the DVD release now boast very pleasing depth and clarity (see screencapture #3). The majority of the close-ups also look far better detailed (see screencapture #5). Contrast levels remain stable throughout the entire film. Colors are lusher, better saturated and better balanced. In fact, there is a different range of warmer colors on the Blu-ray release that are simply missing on the DVD release. Furthermore, some gentle denoising corrections have been applied, but grain is retained and detail isn't compromised. There are no traces of problematic sharpening corrections. Lastly, there are no serious stability issues. Indeed, when projected the film remains tight around the edges and flicker never affects overall image stability. There are no large debris, cuts, stains, or scratches to report in this review. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location. For the record, there is no problematic PAL or 1080/50i content preceding the disc's main menu).
There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: French DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (Mono). For the record, Gaumont has provided optional English and French SDH subtitles for the main feature.
Depth and clarity are very good. Dynamic intensity is quite modest, but aside from a couple of action sequences the film's original sound design is far from impressive. The music and the dialog are well balanced -- there are no sudden spikes or drops in dynamic activity. Lastly, there are no pops, cracks, hiss, or distortions to report in this review. The English translation is very good.
Yves Robert's The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe is one of the very best French comedies from the early '70s. It is wonderfully scripted and the cast is exceptional. The film was remade in America as The Man with One Red Shoe, but Tom Hanks, who played the 'secret agent', was not as impressive as the great Pierre Richard. French label Gaumont's technical presentation of The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe is very good. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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