6.9 | / 10 |
Users | 5.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Mangin, a cop whose brutal method of investigation finds its obsessive outlet in an attempt to crack a Tunisian narcotics ring. It is when Mangin enters into close acquaintance with the defiant Noria that the film proceeds to chart an unexpected, emotionally ambiguous course — and the lines between ‘right’ and ‘wrong’, and ‘power’ and ‘freedom’, terminally blur.
Starring: Gérard Depardieu, Sophie Marceau, Richard Anconina, Pascale Rocard, Sandrine BonnaireForeign | 100% |
Drama | 65% |
Romance | 15% |
Crime | Insignificant |
Thriller | 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
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Winner of Best Actor Award at the Venice Film Festival, Maurice Pialat's "Police" (1985) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of independent distributors Olive Films. There are no supplemental features on this Blu-ray release. In French, with imposed English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
The cop
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.66:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Maurice Pialat's Police arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Olive Films.
The release is sourced from the same restored master that French label Gaumont used for the 2013 release of Police. I like it quite a lot because there are substantial improvements in all major areas that we address in our reviews. My one minor concern is the shift toward slightly colder color nuances which tend to affect the dynamic range in a few darker sequences (see screencapture #14). However, I still find the overall balance to be quite good and in fact very close to that of the R2 DVD release. There are no traces of problematic degraining or sharpening corrections. Image stability is outstanding. (Note This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free Blu-ray player in order to access its content).
There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: French DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Imposed English subtitles are provided for the main feature.
Maurice Pialat's films do not have elaborate music scores. In Police, only at the end there is beautiful ambient music theme that comes up for a couple of minutes. The dialog is stable, clean, and very easy to follow. There are no mastering errors to report.
Unfortunately, there are no bonus features to be found on this Blu-ray release.
I think that Police is one of the easiest to like films in Maurice Pialat's oeuvre. Gerard Depradieu and Sophie Marceau are in top form here and the film's energy and intensity never become overwhelming. (Pialat's films are known for their rawness and intensity and are frequently compared to John Cassavetes' films). Olive Films' upcoming Blu-ray release is sourced from the same restored master that was prepared by Gaumont in France and used for the first European Blu-ray release of the film. RECOMMENDED.
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