The Maurizius Affair Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		4.0

The Maurizius Affair Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov August 23, 2015

Winner of Best Actor Award at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, Julien Duvivier's "L'affaire Maurizius" a.k.a. "The Maurizius Affair" (1954) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of French label Gaumont. The only supplemental feature on the disc is Dominique Maillet's documentary "L'Affaire Duvivier: Instruction et Debats". In French, with optional English and French SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

"My name is Maurizius"

On the streets of Berne, Etzel Andergast (Jacques Chabassol, Before the Deluge), the son of Chief Prosecutor Wolf Andergast (the great Charles Vanel, Les Misérables, Diabolique), is approached by an old man with a sailor’s cap (Denis d'Inès). He looks straight into his eyes and then walks away. On the next day, the two meet again and this time the old man follows Etzel back to his home and hands his father a sealed envelope.

It turns out that the envelope contains important information about the old man’s son, Leonard Maurizius (Daniel Gélin, Murmur of the Heart), who has been imprisoned for the murder of his wife. Some of the information suggests that he isn’t the killer, but the Chief Prosecutor is reluctant to reopen the case because it was him that sent Leonard to jail -- nearly 18 years ago.

Meanwhile, intrigued by the mysterious old man and his letter, Etzel decides to find out why Leonard killed his wife. Despite the protests of his father, he leaves home and begins researching the case. Soon after, he begins suspecting that his father might have made a serious mistake that has sent an innocent man behind bars.

Julien Duvivier‘s film is based on Jakob Wassermann’s famous novel, The Maurizius Case, and follows closely the events chronicled in it. The novel was published in 1928, while the film was completed in 1954.

After Etzel begins researching the case, the events that lead to the murder of Leonard’s wife are revealed in flashbacks. Initially, Duvivier shows how he met Elisabeth Maurizius (Madeleine Robinson), then the arrival of her sister, Anna Jahn (Eleonora Rossi Drago, Violent Summer, Le Amiche), and eventually the crucial testimony of Grégoire Waremme (Anton Walbrook, La Ronde). The murder is also shown but from different angles, which allow Duvivier to expand the film with even more crucial information.

However, what makes Duvivier’s film worth seeing isn’t the structure of the story and the manner in which the murder case is solved. It is its condemnation of the French legal system and the reluctance of those who serve it restore the dignity of a man who has been wrongfully imprisoned. The final twenty or so minutes of the film are especially powerful and truly leave a lasting impression.

The cast is excellent. Chabassol is very impressive as the angry young man who vows to prove that a terrible mistake was made and that his father is responsible for it. When he goes berserk at the end, the energy on display is simply incredible. Vanel plays the proud and very snobbish aristocrat to perfection. Walbrook is equally mesmerizing to watch as the jealous admirer of a woman he cannot possible have. Rossi-Drago, one of the greatest Italian actresses of her generation, is also outstanding as the seemingly calm young beauty who finds herself in love with the wrong man.

The film is very stylishly lensed by cinematographer Robert Lefebvre (Raymond Bernard’s Seventh Heaven, Jacques Becker’s Casque d'Or). The bulk of it has the elegant appearance of the classic late 1940s and early 1950s French films, but there are also noirish qualities that emerge during the darker sequences.

The Maurizius Affair Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.37:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Julien Duvivier's The Maurizius Affair arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of French label Gaumont.

Recently restored, this little-seen French film looks wonderful in high-definition. Detail and clarity are excellent, even when light is clearly restricted, while fluidity is probably as good as it can be. Contrast levels are stable. The color grading is also very good and as a result close-ups can reveal wonderful textures (see screencaptures #5 and 17). There are no traces of problematic degraining adjustments, though some careful rebalancing has been done. Also, there are no traces of sharpening corrections. Overall image stability is outstanding. Finally, during the restoration debris, cuts, damage marks, and other age-related imperfections have been removed and the film looks virtually spotless. (Note: This is a Region Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location. For the record, there is no problematic PAL or 1080/50i content preceding the disc's main menu).

The Maurizius Affair Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: French DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0. Optional English and French SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

It should not be surprising that the range of nuanced dynamics is modest because the film was completed during the early 1950s and there are obvious production limitations. Depth and clarity, however, are very good, and there are no distortions or annoying background hiss to report. The dialog is stable, crisp, and very easy to follow.

The Maurizius Affair Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• L'Affaire Duvivier: Instruction et Debats - this documentary film takes a closer look at the work and style of Julien Duvivier. Included in it are interviews with film historian and Julien Duvivier specialist Eric Bonnefille, writer/director Jean-Charles Tacchella (Cousin cousine), and actor Jacques Chabassol (Etzel Andergast). The documentary was produced by Dominique Maillet for Gaumont. In French, not subtitled. (35 min).

The Maurizius Affair Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This very good film from Julien Duvivier (Pépé Le Moko) is based on Jakob Wassermann's famous novel The Maurizius Case. I have never seen it released on DVD in North America, but now there is an English-friendly Region-Free Blu-ray release which has been sourced from a very good recent restoration. If you enjoy classic 1950's French cinema, consider importing the Blu-ray. The film is wonderfully directed and acted, and I am sure that it will leave a lasting impression on you. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.