The French Conspiracy Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.5

The French Conspiracy Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 17, 2024

Yves Boisset's "The French Conspiracy" (1972) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Code Red. The only bonus feature on the release is a collection of trailers. In French or English, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

The French Conspiracy (also known as The Assassination) has always existed in the shadow of The Conformist. However, even folks who have seen the latter, know a lot about it and consider it a masterpiece, plus many of the other great films Jean-Louis Trintignant made, rarely acknowledge the connection between them. Is there a legitimate connection between the The French Conspiracy and The Conformist? Yes, there is. In fact, it is because of this connection that many years ago I discovered The French Conspiracy during a retrospective where it was discussed with The Conformist.

At this retrospective, it was said that The French Conspiracy restored balance in Tritignant’s body of work, which was a rather witty way to reveal that the great French actor had played another fascinating character. A quick reminder: In The Conformist, Trintignant plays a self-hating fascist who betrays several people that explicitly trust him, including his lover, and then self-destructs. The French Conspiracy was made only two years after The Conformist and in it Trintignant plays a self-hating communist who betrays people that trust him too. The communist’s transformation is slightly different, but his self-destruction is again entirely predictable and unavoidable.

In Paris, during a mass protest organized by radical leftist groups that quickly turns violent, the police arrest Francois Darien (Trintignant) and moments later surrender him to secret service agents. In a different part of town, Darien is then made to realize that he can stay out of serious trouble only if he becomes involved in a complicated plan to bring Sadiel (Gian Maria Volonte), a vocal North African communist living in Switzerland, to Paris. Darien, who has previously passed information about his comrades to the authorities, reluctantly agrees.

Soon after, Pierre Garcin (Philippe Noiret) and Lempereur (Michel Bouquet) explain to Darien that once Sadiel arrives in Paris, he will meet Colonel Kassar (Michel Piccoli), the head of the secret service, so that they can discuss various issues that have driven the former to become one of the fiercest critics of the French government. In Switzerland, Darien meets Sadiel and lures him with a no-filters TV interview whose legitimacy is authenticated by prominent leftist American journalist Michael Howard (Roy Scheider).

While trusting Darien, Sadiel and members of the communist cell he runs arrange an unofficial trip to Paris, but shortly after landing there Garcin’s associates confiscate his passport and transport him to a villa somewhere on the outskirts of the city. Colonel Kassar meets Sadiel and sometime after that the latter permanently disappears. Realizing that he has not only cheated Sadiel but likely killed him, Darien, now an active target for Garcin and Lempereur, isolates his girlfriend (Jean Seberg), tapes a confession meant to bring down the entire French government, and begins improvising to stay alive.

Directed by Yves Boisset, The French Conspiracy works with old theories about Mehdi Ben Barka, a famous Moroccan political dissident, and his disappearance in 1965. In the past, and certainly at the time when The French Conspiracy was made, it was believed that Ben Barka, after being abducted in Paris, was neutralized by Charles de Gaulle’s government. However, it was also speculated that Ben Barka was a spy for the Soviets and their partners in Eastern Europe who, after attempting to cut ties with them, was taken out by his employers. For years, many, including Boisset, who was a communist sympathizer, believed the first theory. However, after the fall of the Iron Curtain, Soviet archives revealed that Ben Barka had in fact been working closely with the Státní Bezpečnost (StB), the Czechoslovak Communist Secret Service, which was an extension of the KGB. (See report here)

Interestingly, while a crucial character in The French Conspiracy, Sadiel, who is supposed to be modeled after Ben Barka, is not the main character. Darien is, which is why The French Conspiracy remains an interesting and effective film. Indeed, instead of struggling to prove the legitimacy of the then-popular theory about Ben Barka’s disappearance, The French Conspiracy documents the self-destruction of a compromised communist who is only a slightly different replica of the fascist in The Conformist.

Though attractively lensed by Ricardo Aronovich, The French Conspiracy is as atmospheric as it is because of the tremendous soundtrack Ennio Morricone composed for it. Indeed, it is one of the late maestro’s masterpieces.

Code Red's Blu-ray release presents two versions of The French Conspiracy: the original French version, which is approximately 124 minutes long, and a reconstructed International English-language version, which is approximately 99 minutes long.

The French Conspiracy Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.67:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, The French Conspiracy arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Code Red.

The technical presentation is quite uneven. The back cover of this release states that the film was restored in 4K on behalf of StudioCanal, but what I saw on my system is difficult to compare to what we have come to expect from good 4K makeovers. I do not wish to speculate why, so I am going to describe what I saw.

Delineation and clarity are almost always pleasing, though in darker areas the former can be more convincing because there is plenty of light crushing that is not introduced by unique stylization. However, there is stylization that gives the film a period appearance. (I discovered the film many years ago during a retrospective. Unfortunately, I do not recall the exact type of period appearance it had). Also, depth ranges between decent to good, and I think that it is not difficult to conclude that some of these fluctuations are not intended. The good news is that there are no traces of problematic digital corrections, so close-ups and many wider shots look good. Color reproduction is difficult to critique because of the stylization. Blues, browns, and grays tend to be quite nice. However, in several areas, the reds. some of which are acceptable, swing toward dark orange. Saturation levels could be better. Lastly, there are quite a few areas where the overall dynamic range of the visuals is not optimal, especially considering that the release is sourced from a recent 4K makeover. Image stability is excellent. The entire film looks very healthy, too. So, what is the final verdict on the technical presentation? It is easy to enjoy the film. However, in an ideal world certain areas of it, or rather the 4K makeover, should have been fine-tuned better. My score is 3.25/5.00. (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).

The French Conspiracy 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. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The release presents two versions of the film, French and International. The French version is the original version, so it is presented with the French DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. This track is fully restored, and it is very easy to tell. There are absolutely no traces of age-related imperfections. Also, Ennio Morricone's score sounds terrific, which is great because the music does a lot to establish a phenomenal atmosphere. The English translation is good, but the optional English subtitles are a bit too small for my taste.

The French Conspiracy Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailers - trailers for other Code Red and Kino Lorber releases.

• International Version - presented here is a reconstructed, shorter English language version of The French Conspiracy. (99 min).

The French Conspiracy Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If you see The French Conspiracy and The Conformist, you will discover that there are many interesting similarities between the characters Jean-Louis Trintignant plays and their inevitable self-destruction. While the latter is of course a gorgeous masterpiece whose stunning beauty cannot be matched, the two are similarly atmospheric films with equally great soundtracks. I think that The French Conspiracy can look better, but Code Red's release will almost certainly remain the last to present the film in America. RECOMMENDED.