Philippe De Broca Double Feature Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Philippe De Broca Double Feature Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman August 24, 2016

In a way it’s a testament to the versatility of Philippe de Broca that the two films collected in a new release from the Cohen Film Collection really have very little in common other than the fact that they’re both directed by de Broca. Despite a long and varied career, de Broca may still be best remembered on this side of the pond for either That Man from Rio (available in its own double feature from Cohen, That Man from Rio / Up to His Ears) and/or King of Hearts, two films (or perhaps more accurately, two more films) which simply further prove de Broca’s ability to segue fairly effortlessly between genres and even styles. This particular two-fer offers 1961’s Five Day Lover, a kind of sex comedy with hints of farce, along with the much later On Guard from 1997, a surprisingly ebullient swashbuckler. While de Broca contributed to the writing of both films, and (obviously) directed both of them, the two are manifestly different in about every other imaginable way, including the fact that Five Day Lover is in black and white while On Guard is in color. While a kind of odd pairing, therefore, this Cohen double feature is nonetheless rather instructive in highlighting the versatility of de Broca, a director who is still kind of oddly underappreciated outside of his native France.

For reviews of each of the films included in this set, please click on the following links:

On Guard Blu-ray review

Five Day Lover Blu-ray review

Philippe De Broca Double Feature Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Video quality of each release is assessed in the above referenced reviews.

Philippe De Broca Double Feature Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Audio quality of each release is assessed in the above referenced reviews.

Philippe De Broca Double Feature Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Supplementary material included with each release is detailed in the above referenced reviews.

Philippe De Broca Double Feature Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

While patently odd as a perceived "double feature", each of these films taken individually is quite enjoyable, with an understanding that they are about as different as night and day. Technical merits are strong, and while Five Day Lover doesn't offer much in the way of supplementary material, this set as a whole comes Highly recommended.