7.2 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Its title notwithstanding, Le Rouge est Mis (The Red Light is On) is not a drama about prostitution. Instead, the story concentrates on the humdrum, workaday world of the professional criminal. Jean Gabin plays garage-owner Louis, whose establishment is a front for a robbery gang. Louis and his confederates are careful to keep up a normal, bourgeois veneer by day, indulging in crooked activities only when "the red light is on" at night. This status quo is upset when one of the gang members becomes convinced that Louis' younger brother is a squealer. Le Rouge est Mis was adapted from a novel by Auguste Le Breton, of Rififi fame. .
Starring: Jean Gabin, Paul Frankeur, Marcel Bozzuffi, Lino Ventura, Annie GirardotDrama | 100% |
Foreign | 93% |
Crime | 59% |
Film-Noir | 46% |
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 Mono
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 0.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Gilles Grangier's "Speaking of Murder" (1957) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The only supplemental features on the release is a restored original French trailer for the film. In French, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
The crew
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Speaking of Murder arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.
This film was fully restored more than a decade ago by French label Gaumont and made its high-definition debut via this release. From the three films that are included in the French Noir Collection, it is the best looking one. However, there are still some areas that could have been handled better. For example, while you will not encounter the same serious gamma issues that are present on Witness in the City, there are still inconsistencies that could have been avoided (see example in screencapture #1). These inconsistencies become easier to recognize in darker areas where the blacks are simply not always proper, but the distracting flat gray does not create serious issues. Also, there are a few spots where stability isn't optimal, though I am quite certain that the overwhelming majority of viewers will never notice that there is room for improvement. Ideally, grain should be better exposed as well, but I think that the surface of the visuals still looks good. Delineation, clarity, and depth range from good to very good. The entire film looks clean, too. My score is 4.25/5.00. (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.
The lossless audio track is excellent. The dialog is very clear, sharp, and clean. Also, stability is outstanding. Dynamic activity is very limited, even during the action footage that has a few gunshots, but this is to be expected in a film that was completed in the late 1950s. The music sound good, perhaps a bit thin, but it is how it was recorded.
The last classic big bad character Jean Gabin played was in this film directed by Gilles Grangier in 1957. While not as stylish as Jacques Becker's Touchez Pas au Grisbi, Speaking of Murder has a lot in common with it, so if you keep this in mind, you will approach it with the right expectations. More than a decade ago, French label Gaumont restored Speaking of Murder and this release introduces the same presentation of the film that was initially made available in France. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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