Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.0

Le Grand blond avec une chaussure noire Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov July 2, 2014

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

A French secret agent is seriously compromised in New York City. In Paris, the Head of the French Intelligence, Louis Toulouse (Jean Rochefort, Pardon Mon Affaire, The Artist and the Model), and his trusted assistant, Perrache (Paul Le Person, The Phantom Of Liberty), quickly discover that the ambitious bureaucrat Bernard Milan (Bernard Blier, Monsieur Gangster, Buffet Froid) is responsible for the fiasco. They also learn that Milan wants Toulouse’s job.

Toulouse and Perrache come up with a brilliant plan to compromise Milan and expose the other agents that have assisted him with the American job. In Toulouse’s office, which has been bugged by Milan’s men, they discuss the arrival of a top-secret agent who has to be protected because he is bringing enough information to discredit Milan. Later on, Toulouse tells Perrache to go to Orly and pick “a face in the crowd”, an ordinary man that would become the top-secret agent and drive Milan’s men crazy.

At Orly, Perrache chooses François Perrin (Pierre Richard, The Goat, The Toy), a seemingly perpetually distracted violinist with an extensive collection of period musical instruments. Perrache greets the clueless Perrin and Milan’s men immediately begin following him. Shortly after, they bug his place.

Perrin’s life changes dramatically -- an elegant woman (the beautiful Mireille Darc, Weekend) rings his doorbell and the two begin a torrid affair, his best friend (Jean Carmet, Any Number Can Win) loses his mind, and somehow his favorite toothpaste turns into shampoo.

Meanwhile, Milan and his men continue following Perrin, convinced that he is an exceptional agent leading a double life. But the more they observe him, the more confused they become -- the majority of the time Perrin really does look like a genuine idiot.

Yves Robert’s The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe is undoubtedly one of the best French comedies from the early ‘70s. It is wonderfully scripted, beautifully acted, and complimented by a terrific soundtrack courtesy of the great Romanian composer Vladimir Cosma (Jean-Jacques Beineix's Diva).

Richard is brilliant. He has an endless arsenal of facial expressions and his body movement is quite simply outstanding. Seemingly ordinary sequences where he opens a door or moves through an airport terminal are amongst the best in the film because his awkward positioning or rhythm would suddenly confuse everyone and create some incredibly funny situations.

The rest of the cast is equally impressive. Carmet, who plays Perrin’s best friend, seems genuinely confused after he encounters Milan’s men and realizes that his wife is having an affair. Darc is sexy and very funny as the seductress who has to convince the ‘secret agent’ that she is genuinely interested in him. In one of the funniest sequences she greets him dressed in a long black dress that nearly gives the clueless violinist a heart attack. Rochefort and Blier’s are the old foes who are determined to destroy each other’s careers but constantly have to adjust their perfect plans because the unpredictable Perrin keeps surprising everyone, including himself. Colette Castel is also very good as the insatiable wife who loves to experiment in the bedroom when her husband isn’t around.

The film never slows down. Once Perrin emerges at Orly -- with two different shoes -- the film gets an extra dose of energy and maintains a steady tempo literally until the final credits roll.

In 1985, The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe was remade by director Stan Dragoti as The Man with One Red Shoe. In the remake, Tom Hanks plays the 'secret agent'.

Le Grand blond avec une chaussure noire Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

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).

Le Grand blond avec une chaussure noire Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

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.

Le Grand blond avec une chaussure noire Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• La naissance du grand blond - this documentary film, produced by Jeremie Lambert and Yann Marchet, features archival interviews with director Yves Robert, award winning composer Vladimir Cosma, scenarist Francis Veber, Pierre Richard, and Mireille Darc, amongst others. In French, not subtitled. (43 min).

• Bande-annonces - original trailers. In French, not subtitled.
  
  1. The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe (4 min).
  2. The Return of the Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe (3 min).

Le Grand blond avec une chaussure noire Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

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.