8.2 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
After carrying out a hit on a nightclub owner, hitman Jef Costello discovers a witness to the killing. Before he can act, he is arrested in a sweep of suspects. Released after the witness fails to come forward, Costello goes from being the hunter to the hunted.
Starring: Alain Delon, François Périer, Nathalie Delon, Cathy Rosier, Jacques Leroy (I)Drama | 100% |
Foreign | 95% |
Film-Noir | 23% |
Crime | 16% |
Mystery | 10% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
French: LPCM Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 5.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Jean-Pierre Melville's "Le Samourai" (1967) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; archival interviews with critic Rui Nogueira and film historian Ginette Vincendeau; Olivier Bohler's documentary "Of Honor and Of Night"; archival interviews with Jean-Pierre Melville, Alain Delon, Nathalie Delon, Francois Perier, and Catrhy Rosier; and more. The release also arrives with a 30-page illustrated booklet featuring an essay by film scholar David Thomson, an appreciation by filmmaker John Woo, and excerpts from Melville on Melville. In French, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
The lone wolf
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Jean-Pierre Melville's Le Samourai arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.
The following text appears inside the booklet provided with this Blu-ray release:
"This high-definition digital transfer was created on a Spirit DataCine from the 35mm original camera negative and a 35mm interpositive. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, and warps were manually removed using MTI Film's DRS, while Digital Vision's Phoenix was used for jitter, flicker, small dirt, grain, and noise management. The soundtrack was mastered at 24-bit from the 35mm magnetic audio track. Clicks, thumps, hiss, hum, and crackle were manually removed using Pro Tools HD and iZotope RX.
Telecine supervisor and colorist: Jean-Marc Moreau/VDM, Paris."
It is pretty clear now that the folks at Criterion stayed away from Pathe's restoration of Le Samourai -- and it was the right thing to do. Indeed, having tested the French release I can confirm that the French master is very problematic and even on mid-size screens there is a range of digital anomalies that make the film virtually unwatchable. (For reference, Pathe's release of the 4K restoration of Valerio Zurlini's The Desert of the Tartars has many of the same issues).
What I see tells me that an older master was accessed and then specific digital work was done to optimize it as best as possible to make this upcoming release possible. The end result is very good, and when compared to Pathe's release vastly superior. A lot of the daylight and well-lit footage, for instance, boasts pleasing clarity and a type of delineation that was basically lost on the French release despite the fact that it was sourced from a higher quality master. It is during the darker/nighttime footage where it becomes clear that the density levels should be better -- basically, the image looks a tad more 'loose' -- but clarity is never compromised. Depth is consistently pleasing, but again, there are areas of the film where edge definition does not have that clean and sharp appearance a proper 4K master would ensure. On the other hand, there isn't even a whiff of digital tinkering of the type that catalog releases from Universal's vaults typically exhibit, so overall the film has a very solid organic appearance. Colors are nicely saturated and balanced, with plenty of good and healthy nuances. I probably would have preferred a slightly colder primaries, but I still like the current balance a lot. A bit of black crush sneaks in, but it won't impact negatively your viewing experience (see screencapture #5). Image stability is excellent. Lastly, there are no large distracting debris, cuts, damage marks, stains, or warped or torn frames to report in our review. All in all, given the circumstances I think that Criterion made all the right calls, and as a result delivered a huge gift to fans of Le Samourai that were patiently waiting and hoping for a proper organic release to emerge in the United States. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).
There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: French LPCM 1.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.
The lossless track is stable and very clean. Dynamic balance is also excellent, and even though Le Samourai is a film in which silence actually has a very prominent role, there are various sections where small sounds and noises emerge in ways that a good lossless track must handle with precision. The lossless track does precisely that. The dialog and the music from the nightclub also sound great.
Jean-Pierre Melville's Le Samourai is the second major classic French film with Alain Delon to be saved by the folks at Criterion. A couple of years ago StudioCanal delivered an unwatchable 4K restoration of Rene Clement's Purple Noon, and had it not been for Criterion's decision to go in a different direction, right now we would not have a proper release of this very beautiful film. The situation with Le Samourai is essentially the same because the restoration that emerged via Pathe in France is yet another major misfire. The ideal scenario for Le Samourai would have been to have a proper 4K restoration and use it for a gorgeous presentation, but all things considered, this upcoming release actually feels like a gift for fans of the film. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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