7.1 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
International drug baron Henri Ferré, nicknamed ’Le Nantais’, is tasked with restructuring a narcotics ring operating in Paris. The gangster head Paul Liski provides him with a cover, a bar named Le Troquet, not realising that Ferré is in fact working for the police. Far from supporting the drugs racket, Ferré’s mission is to break it once and for all…
Starring: Jean Gabin, Marcel Dalio, Lino Ventura, Albert Rémy, Lila KedrovaForeign | 100% |
Drama | 45% |
Crime | 33% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.37:1
French: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Henri Decoin's "Razzia sur la chnouf" a.k.a. "Raid on Drugs" (1955) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the disc include a recently remastered original trailer for the film as well as exclusive new audio commentary by critic Nick Pinkerton. In French, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
Here's some cash to get you started. We want you to take over the entire business.
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p, Henri Decoin's Razzia sur la chnouf arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.
The release is sourced from the restored master that Gaumont prepared a while ago and used to produce this release of Razzia sur la chnouf in France. Press materials from Kino Lorber described it as a '4K restoration', but as far as I know the film was redone in 2K. (It is quite possible that it was scanned in 4K). Regardless, the master is superb and the film looks magnificent on Blu-ray. Delineation, clarity, and depth are outstanding, plus the grading job is as convincing as it should be. Needless to say, on a larger screen the film boasts some quite remarkable ranges of fine details and nuances. (I took screencaptures #3 and 19 specifically to demonstrate this particular strength of the master). There are no traces of problematic digital tinkering. The grain is ultra-fine and very nicely exposed and balanced. Image stability is great. Lastly, there are no distracting debris, cuts, damage marks, stains, or other conventional age-related imperfections to report. (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).
There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: French DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.
There are no technical or encoding anomalies to report. The audio is very clean, stable, and properly balanced. There are a few intense shootouts, but do not expected to be impressed with a great range dynamic contrasts. The English translation is fine, but on a lot of these recent releases of classic French gangster films I find the subtitles way too small. (Ironically, the remastered trailer for Razzia sur la chnouf has a proper/big enough English subtitles.
While now it may look like a typical French crime drama, Henri Decoin's Razzia sur la chnouf (Raid on Drugs) was actually quite the eye-opener when it was released theatrically in the early 1950s. There are a couple of specific reasons why, but I think that the most significant one was the film's very effective revelation that drug addiction did not discriminate and easily destroyed lives in all echelons of the French society. Jean Gabin is the star of the film, but the list of great European actors that contributed to it is quite long (Lino Ventura, Marcel Dalio, Albert Rémy, and Magali Noël are just a few of them). Kino Lorber's new release is sourced from an outstanding remaster of the film that was prepared for Gaumont in France. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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