Police Python 357 Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.0

Police Python 357 Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman April 6, 2025

Note: This film is available on Blu-ray as part of the Hardboiled: Three Pulp Thrillers by Alain Corneau set from Radiance Films.

Alain Courneau is a perhaps curiously underrecognized name on this side of the pond in at least some film circles, and in fact it's arguable that he is remembered over here these days chiefly for Tous les Matins du Monde. The three earlier Corneau efforts Radiance Films has aggregated for this collection are a good deal more, well, hardboiled than Corneau's historical epic, but they offer visceral viewing experiences, and at least two of the three films boast considerable star power, with Corneau semi-regular Yves Montand starring in both Police Python 357 and Choice of Arms, and with Montand's then wife Simone Signoret co-starring in the former and Catherine Deneuve and Tous les Matins du Monde's own Gérard Depardieu co-starring in Choice of Arms. Those two look like they're getting their Region A Blu-ray debuts, whereas Série Noire had a Film Movement release on Blu-ray around five years ago.

There may be a certain irony attending the fact that film fans generally unaware of the name Alain Corneau might still have enough "trivial pursuit" knowledge floating around their brains to remember 1948's The Big Clock, a film which I kind of jokingly called "screwball noir" in the deck (the little subtitle under the review heading) years ago in my The Big Clock Blu-ray review. There are clocks a-plenty in Police Python 357, a probably subliminal reference to the fact that the story is ostensibly based on the same Kenneth Fearing source novel that provided the spark for the John Farrow film, but otherwise you might be hard pressed to find too many tethers shared between the properties. (Some trivia experts may also know The Big Clock was remade stateside as No Way Out.)

What does remain the same is a central conceit based on both certain subterfuge(s) and the fact that Detective Ferrot (Yves Montand) is closer to both the victim and the victim's murderer than anyone may realize. This film has some interesting subtext vis a vis Ferrot's relationship with the invalid wife (Thérèse Ganay) of his boss, Police Commissioner Ganay (François Périer). This adaptation may frankly not have the visceral acerbity of The Big Clock in particular, and at times it may be unintentionally funny (Montand's stance with a pistol at a firing range is kind of hilarious), but the film's examination of moral shades of gray can be quite compelling.

Police Python 357 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Police Python 357 is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Radiance Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.67:1. Radiance tends not to provide a ton of technical information with their releases, and that's once again the case here, with only a simple mention of all three films in this set being "supplied to Radiance as high resolution digital files" in the insert booklet. This is very nice looking presentation for the most part, with some appealing fine detail levels (look that nice accounting of the fabric on Signoret's shawl in screenshot 2). I was a little less pleased with some of the color timing, which can kind of segue from blue undertones to yellow at times, both of which may be discernable in some of the screenshots I've uploaded to accompany this review. That said, suffusion is generally excellent and outdoor material in particular pops well. The presentation has a nice organic appearance, and there's really no age related wear and tear of any import.

Police Python 357 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Police Python 357 features LPCM 2.0 Mono audio in the original French. This is a great sounding track despite being inherently narrow. The kind of almost creepy score by Georges Delerue can combine Ligeti-esque vocals with harpsichord and sounds fine throughout. Occasional sound effects like gunfire reverberate decently. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

Police Python 357 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary by Mike White


• Maxim Jakubowski (HD; 15:11) is an interesting interview with the writer and publisher, covering a number of interrelated subjects including Corneau, the three films in the set, and the Série Noire book imprint.


• TV Interviews (HD; 5:31) is an archival piece from 1976 with Alain Corneau and Francois Perier. Subtitled in English.

Police Python 357 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Police Python 357 obviously owes a tip of its, um, Magnum Force to Dirty Harry at times, but it may be more salient to compare the film to its two American counterparts based on the same source novel. Police Python357 may not in fact offer the same level, or at least the same kinds, of suspense that both The Big Clock and No Way Out do, but it has some interesting interrelationships between the three main characters that are actually differently formulated in this version than in either of the American productions. Technical merits are solid and the supplements appealing (though some curmudgeons might suggest Mike White could have benefitted from a lesson in French pronunciation). Recommended.