Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.0

The Flower of Evil Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman April 23, 2022

Note: This film is available on Blu-ray as part of Twisting the Knife: Four Films by Claude Chabrol.

Arrow Video has been revisiting a number of films by Claude Chabrol that have had previous releases on Blu-ray courtesy of Cohen Media Group. Arrow's recent compendium Lies and Deceit: Five Films by Claude Chabrol contained Cop au Vin and Inspector Lavardin, released by Cohen in a "double feature" called The Inspector Lavardin Collection; and Betty and Torment, which Cohen released as part of 3 Classic Films by Claude Chabrol. And in fact the third film in Cohen trifecta of "classic films", The Swindle (the link points to the Cohen release), is included here, along with The Color of Lies (the link points to the Cohen release) and Nightcap (the link once again points to the Cohen release). That means that much like Lies and Deceit's Madame Bovary, this compendium also features one film that Cohen didn't put out in years past, The Flower of Evil (La Fleur du Mal).

The Flower of Evil is the sole film in this new collection from Arrow which has not had a previous release from Cohen. The film begins with what commentator Farran Smith Nehme mentions is an uncharacteristically "flashy" sequence for Chabrol, where a camera snakes through foliage and then into a somewhat Gothic looking manor where the lens' exploration of various spaces ultimately discloses a dead body in a bedroom or library. This being a Chabrol film, that brief view of apparent violence and murder then tends to fade in a really remarkable story that rather incredibly blends elements from the Lizzie Borden case with some of France's fractious political history, notably Vichy collaborators during World War II. Oh, and just for good measure, there are two generations of incestuous relatives whose, um, problematic relationships figure into the tale.

This is yet another Chabrol effort which would seem to be a so-called "murder mystery", but which is really a rather penetrating dissection of family dysfunctions and assumed (and perhaps self appointed) privileges of the bourgeoisie. With one family's political ambitions riding on whether or not their own family peccadilloes are revealed, Chabrol has a field day depicting both a certain kind of moral turpitude and the kind of almost required hypocrisy that anyone following domestic politics may easily recognize.

The Flower of Evil Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Flower of Evil is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.67:1. Considering the fact that Arrow's website touts a new 4K restoration of this film, the insert booklet is surprisingly succinct and frankly lacking any real information, offering only a generic statement that "the films in this collection were restored and supplied by MK2". Without any previous releases to compare this to, this looked beautifully detailed and lushly vivid a lot of the time. Interesting, almost pastel hued, colors fill the frame at various points and look natural, and textures like fabrics on outfits are typically rendered with very nice precision. The grain field is tightly resolved throughout the presentation and I saw no signs of any aggressive digital manipulation of the source element.

The Flower of Evil Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Flower of Evil features DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and LPCM 2.0 tracks. As with many Chabrol films, this can be a talk heavy enterprise where surround activity can typically be limited to ambient environmental effects and Matthieu Chabrol's score. All elements including dialogue are rendered cleanly and clearly, though my hunch is many will find the 2.0 track suffices perfectly well and the 5.1 track is only intermittently more noticeably immersive. Unlike the Cohen release, which featured forced subtitles, the English subtitles on this release are optional.

The Flower of Evil Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary by Farran Smith Nehme


• Behind the Masks (HD; 14:30) is a visual essay by Agnes C. Poirier, who talks about her personal memories of Chabrol and his place in French cinema.


• Introduction by film scholar Joël Magny (HD; 3:31) feature Magny narrating as scenes from the movie play, and is in French with English subtitles.


• Scene Commentaries by Claude Chabrol (HD; 49:29) include scenes of Chabrol actually recording the commentaries. In French with English subtitles.


• Behind the Scenes (HD; 25:36)


• Interview with screenwriter Catherine Eliacheff (HD; 24:47) is in French with English subtitles.


• Theatrical Trailer (HD; 2:14)


• Image Gallery (HD)

The Flower of Evil Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Flower of Evil evidently split critics when it was originally released, but some of the supplements on this disc make a cogent case that it deserves reassessment. It's almost shocking how quietly scabrous Chabrol can be, and this film is an excellent example. Technical merits are solid, and the supplements are very enjoyable. Recommended.