6.9 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
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 | 63% |
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 Mono
French SDH, English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Maurice Pialat's "Police" (1985) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of French label Gaumont. The supplemental features on the this release include the film's original French theatrical trailer; new and exclusive video interview with cinematographer Luciano Tovoli; new and exclusive video interview with actress Pascale Rocard; archival video interview with writer/director Catherine Breillat; documentary film by Virginie Apiou; extract from the French television program Cinema cinemas; collection of deleted scenes discussed by editor Yann Dedet; and more. In French, with optional English and French SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.
The cop and his girl
Presented in its original 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 French label Gaumont.
I could not be any more pleased with the high-definition transfer. Aside from some light compression artifacts the presentation is indeed very good - there are no traces of excessive denoising and sharpening corrections, while color reproduction is dramatically improved. Where light is restricted shadow definition is also very good. I did some direct comparisons with my R2 DVD release, which also revealed superior image depth - the softness and burliness from the DVD release are eliminated and all sorts of different fine details are now exposed (take a look at the man's jacket in screencapture #6). Finally, there are absolutely no serious stability issues to report in this review. To sum it all up, Gaumont's Blu-ray release of Police represents a very strong upgrade in quality over previous releases of the film that is guaranteed to please folks that appreciate beautiful organic presentations of older films. (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 PAL or 1080/50i content preceding the disc's main menu).
There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray disc: French DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0. For the record, Gaumont have provided optional English and French SDH subtitles for the main feature.
Police does not have a prominent music score. Only at the end of the film there is beautiful ambient music theme that comes up for a couple of minutes. Nevertheless, the lossless track has a surprisingly good dynamic amplitude. The dialog is exceptionally crisp, stable, and very easy to follow. There are no serious anomalies, such as high-frequency distortions or audio dropouts, to report in this review. The English translation is very good.
Blu-ray
I could not be any happier with Gaumont's treatment of Maurice Pialat's films. Police, which is part of the French label's second batch of Pialat films, looks wonderful on Blu-ray. It has been recently restored and it now looks healthier than ever before. Also included on this release are two brand new and exclusive video interviews, one with Italian cinematographer Luciano Tovoli and another with actress Pascale Rocard. A DVD with additional bonus content is also included. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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