Shock Treatment Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Shock Treatment Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 13, 2025

Alain Jessua's "Shock Treatment" (1973) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Severin Films. The supplemental features on the release include new program with composer Rene Koering; archival program with Alain Jessua; vintage trailer; and more. In French or English, with optional English and English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

The oblivious

It is a piece of paradise and, according to Doctor Devilers (Alain Delon), most likely the place where, many thousands of years ago, civilization started. But Helene Masson (Annie Girardot), a wealthy middle-aged businesswoman from Paris, has not arrived in the area to marvel at its striking natural beauty and ponder its possible historical significance. She has enrolled in a unique, very pricey rejuvenation program that Devilers and several of his highly trained assistants are running at a local sanatorium that has become incredibly popular amongst European elites.

Shortly after signing all of the necessary paperwork that authorizes Devilers to initiate her treatment, Masson is escorted to her room and quickly briefed on what will be expected of her in the coming days. The sanatorium has strict rules for incoming patients, and Masson is required to participate in various group activities. Then Masson’s treatment starts, and in a matter of days, she begins to feel significantly better.

However, while befriending and socializing with other patients, Masson notices that the maintenance staff, who are almost exclusively foreign men, appear unnaturally detached from virtually everything that makes the sanatorium special. A seemingly random argument between one of the foreign men and members of Devilers’ team then convinces her that there is a great tension between the two sides that could be on the verge of producing a tragedy. When the tragedy does materialize, Masson begins exploring the sanatorium and examining Devilers’ treatment methods, and, while facing unexpected resistance, including from other patients, accidentally makes a shocking discovery.

French director Alain Jessua left an unusual legacy of films, virtually all of which are chameleons. Regardless of whether they are thrillers or comedies, they all work with material that, at some point, becomes a social commentary.

In Shock Treatment, a psychological horror thriller, Masson’s experiences at the sanatorium are used to produce a social commentary, too. Jessua suggests that European elites are so detached from the real world and oblivious to the crime and horrors that ordinary people endure there that their grasp on the very nature of existence is irreversibly compromised. Jessua also argues that when their bubble is threatened, they become violent, and no one, including ‘compromised’ members of their privileged tribe, is safe.

The horror material is only a tiny extension of the psychological material, creating a few necessary contrasts, so horror fans are extremely unlikely to be impressed by Shock Treatment. However, they are not the target audience for it. Jessua is trying to engage a mainstream audience that is already partially aware of how the European elites have separated themselves from reality and become comfortable, philosophically and physically, in their bubble.

Girardot and Delon are both predictably good. However, the latter’s character is somewhat mismanaged. In the grand scheme of things, Devilers should have emerged as a dramatically superior intellectualist with a shockingly perverted philosophy of humanity. As played by Delon, Devilers is only a pragmatic criminal with a medical license.

Shock Treatment was lensed by Jacques Robin, who worked as a camera operator on Henri-Georges Clouzot’s classic thriller Diabolique.

Shock Treatment Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.68:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Shock Treatment arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Severin Films.

The release is sourced from an older but very solid master supplied by StudioCanal. This master gives Shock Treatment a very attractive organic appearance that is virtually identical to the one that Armageddon, another Alain Jessua film, has on Blu-ray. (Kino Lorber's release of Armageddon is also sourced from an older but very solid master supplied by StudioCanal).

Delineation, clarity, and depth range from good to very good and occasionally excellent. The limitations of the master are most obvious during a couple of panoramic shots, where sharpness and depth can be slightly better, but even there, you will see plenty of detail. There are no traces of problematic digital corrections. Still, grain exposure could be a bit more convincing. The density levels of the visuals are very good, so on a large screen all tend to look lovely. Color reproduction and balance are convincing. (This is one of the greatest strengths of these older masters that StudioCanal has in its vaults. Many of the films with Alain Delon have now been 'restored' and badly regraded, so they no longer look as they should). Saturation levels could be better, and a few nuances strengthened, but all primaries and supporting nuances are properly set. The surface of the visuals is healthy. My score is 4.25/5.00.

Shock Treatment Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: French DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. (Both tracks retain several original exchanges in Portuguese). Optional English (for the French track) and English SDH (for the English track) subtitles are provided.

Both tracks were created by the producers of Shock Treatment. However, the French track is preferable because the stars communicate in French. The French track is healthy and produces pretty good dynamic contrasts without any conventional action material. The English track is healthy, too. However, the dubbing is pretty easy to describe as mechanical and, ultimately, ineffective.

Shock Treatment Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Alain Jessua: The Lone Ranger - in this recent program, Bernard Payen, curator at the Cinematheque francaise, provides an overview of Alain Jessua's career and legacy, and addresses the unique qualities of Shock Treatment. In French, with English subtitles. (21 min).

• Koering's Scoring - in this recent program, composer Rene Koering discusses his approach to scoring Alain Jessua's Shock Treatment and what he attempted to convey with various harmonies. In French, with English subtitles. (21 min).

• Doctor's Disorders - in this archival program, Alain Jessua points out that A Clockwork Orange and Shock Treatment were completed during the same period and both channel similar, unique for their time, ideas. Jessua also comments on the dual nature of his work. In French, with English subtitles. (10 min).

• Drumrunning - composer Rene Koering comments on three sequences from Shock Treatment and how music is used there to convey particular ideas. In French, with English subtitles. (9 min).

• Trailer - presented here is a vintage trailer for Shock Treatment. In French, with English subtitles. (2 min).

Shock Treatment Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Only a few small adjustments -- for example, replacing the sanatorium's wealthy French patients with prominent Hollywood residents -- can instantly transform Shock Treatment into an effective deconstruction of the insulated bubble where some of America's most outspoken elitists have resided for many decades. The major dynamics in the film do not even have to be touched, and the main protagonist that disrupts the status quo inside the bubble will, of course, remain a 'crazy person'. I quite like Shock Treatment and think that it is one of Alain Jessua's better films. Severin's Blu-ray release is sourced from an older but very solid master and features several excellent bonus features. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.