Panique Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Panique Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov December 23, 2018

Julien Duvivier's "Panique" (1946) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include Rialto Pictures' new trailer for the film's re-release; new video program with Bruce Goldstein; new video interview with Pierre Simenon; and more. The release also arrives with an illustrated leaflet featuring essays by James Quandt and Lenny Borger, as well as technical credits. In French, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

The eccentric

In this quiet Parisian suburb people know each other by name. Most also routinely update each other about the drama in their lives as they visit the butcher’s shop or have a quick drink at the main square’s popular bistro.

When the cold body of a middle-aged woman is uncovered in a dumpster, however, overnight a lot of them become suspicious of their friends and neighbors and then begin searching for the perfect motive that could have forced them to commit the crime. Initially even the most popular ones are promptly dismissed, but after the ongoing investigation comes to a halt the suburb is flooded with outlandish theories that successfully identify a long list of ‘legit’ suspects.

While the suburb is buzzing the middle-aged eccentric Monsieur Hire (a fabulous Michel Simon) falls madly in love with his attractive neighbor, Alice (Viviane Romance), a newcomer who has recently been released from jail and is now trying to figure out what to do with her freedom. But he hasn’t gathered the courage to approach her, so at night he only quietly observes her from his tiny apartment as she undresses and then prepares to go to bed. Occasionally he also follows her around the neighborhood, but always from afar so that she does not notice his presence.

Despite Monsieur Hire’s efforts, however, Alice eventually spots her admirer and then mentions him to her lover, Alfred (Max Dalban). Much to her surprise, at exactly the same time Monsieur Hire approaches her and then calmly urges her to test Alfred’s sincerity, implying that he might be the man that everyone in the neighborhood has been trying to identify. And she does, but in a way that actually puts the spotlight on Monsieur Hire and inspires the neighborhood’s most prominent citizens to conclude that they have all the facts that they need to remove the cancer that has corrupted their community.

Panique is an accurate adaptation of the popular novel by Georges Simenon, but the original screenplay by director Julien Duvivier and Charles Spaak actually transform the film in a way that make it quite easy to view as an original project. The main reason for this is the manner in which Duvivier and the lead actors build a unique atmosphere that somewhat diminishes the significance of the evolution of key conflicts from Simenon’s novel.

The legitimization of the witch hunt that is chronicled in the film, however, remains critical because the social environment in which it emerges isn’t manufactured. Basically, it is a mirror image of an ‘open-minded community’ that, under very simple conditions, instantly becomes tolerant of external manipulation and intolerant of its own definition of justice. Quite predictably, the individuals leading the witch hunt -- in this case a pack of delusional simpletons and conspiracy theorists -- declare that they are the only ones that can identify the killer and all hell breaks loose.

Simon is at his usual best and shines without ever overplaying his character. In this film, however, he has a formidable partner, Romance, and her confident and nuanced performance makes viewing it a real treat.

*Criterion’s new release of Panique is sourced from a 2K restoration of the film that was completed by French label TF1 in 2015.

Panique Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.37:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Julien Duvivier's Panique arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

The following text appears inside the leaflet that is provided with this Blu-ray release:

"This 2K restoration was undertaken by TF1 in 2015. A digital transfer was created on a Scanity film scanner from a 35mm nitrate fine-grain at Digimage in Paris. The original monaural soundtrack was restored from a 35mm duplicate soundtrack positive, with a 35mm duplicate soundtrack negative used for sections where the positive was damaged.

Transfer supervisor: Celine Charrenton/Digimage, Paris.
Colorist: Jerome Bigueur/Hiventi, Malakoff, France."

The makeover that the film has received is rather impressive. Despite some minor inherited limitations the visuals boast very nice delineation and clarity, with some quite wonderful nuances that further strengthen other organic qualities. One such quality is shadow definition, which has a important role in the intended visual style. Also, highlights are managed very well and as a result fluidity appears consistent. The one places where the age of the film shows is reel transitions as occasionally density is affected, but it is easy to tell that stabilization were made to ensure optimal results. Surface damage has been minimized as best as possible, though there is one segment where a vertical line in the middle of the frame remains. All in all, this is a very strong restoration and Panique now has a lovely organic appearance. (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).

Panique Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

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 audio is clear and stable. The are a few spots where it is easy to tell that the surviving elements must have had some inconsistencies that digital tools had to address -- most notably unevenness when the music makes its presence felt -- but there are no distracting anomalies to report. In fact, if prior the restoration there were any serious distortions and background hiss, it is virtually impossible to tell now because they are all gone. The 'thinness' of the audio is perhaps the most obvious source limitation that remains.

Panique Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - presented here is a new trailer for Panique that was used by Rialto Pictures for the recent re-release of the film in the United States. In French, with imposed English subtitles. (3 min, 1080p).

• The Art of Subtitling - in this new program, Bruce Goldstein, director of repertory programming at New York's Film Forum and founder of Rialto Pictures, discusses some of the challenges that translators are presented with when translating big literary works and creating subtitles for films. Some specific examples are provided from Panique. Also, the work of translator Julien Duvivier expert Lenny Borger is highlighted. The program was created exclusively for Criterion in 2018. In English, not subtitled. (21 min, 1080p).

• Pierre Simenon - in this new video interview, Pierre Simenon, author and son of novelist Georges Simenon, discusses the enormous literary legacy of his father, the atmosphere of his writings and the difficulty of recreating it in a film, and some of the key similarities and differences between the original novel and the film that Julien Duvivier directed. The interview was conducted exclusively for Criterion in New York in August 2018. In English, not subtitled. (16 min, 1080p).

• Guillemette Odicino and Eric Libiot - presented here is a filmed conversation in which critics Guillemette Odicino and Eric Libiot discuss the production history of Panique and the socio-cultural environment in which it emerged, the film's visual appearance and tone, and Julien Duvivier's style and legacy. The program was created for the first high-definition release of Panique that TF1 produced in France in 2015. In French, with optional English subtitles. (21 min, 1080p).

• Leaflet/Poster - an illustrated leaflet featuring critic James Quandt's essay "Panic Attack" and Lenny Borger's essay "The Universe of the Stone: Duvivier and Panique".

Panique Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The most unsettling thing about Julien Duvivier's cinematic adaptation of Georges Simenon's popular novel is that the witch hunt that is chronicled in it is just as easy to stage now. Obviously the mechanics behind its initiation would be slightly different, but anyone that might be under the assumption that Western societies have done all that is necessary to prevent it from happening in a contemporary setting simply isn't paying attention to the news cycles. In fact, the very people that create these news cycles now have the unchecked power to create far greater paranoia than the one that is seen in Panique and then manage it in a way that can essentially produce an endless list of 'legitimate' monsters. The law is simply irrelevant when there are people and institutions that can produce their own facts and then manipulate the masses to believe them. Criterion's new release of Panique is sourced from a very strong 2K remaster that was produced by TF1 in France. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.