The Night Affair Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.5

The Night Affair Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov July 22, 2015

Gilles Grangier'S "The Night Affair" a.k.a. "Le Désordre et la Nuit" (1958) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of French label Pathe. The supplemental features on the disc include a newly restored trailer for the film; footage from the presentation of the new 2K restoration of the film at the Lumière Film Festival; and new featurette. In French, with optional English and French SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

"You are a good lover, but a dirty cop."

When the owner (Roger Hanin, Breathless) of a popular nightclub is killed, Georges Vallois (Jean Gabin, La Grande Illusion), an aging detective who is planning to retire, begins asking questions. In the club, Vallois is told that the owner was last seen with Lucky Fridel (Nadja Tiller, No Orchids for Lulu), a young beauty with a German accent who loves the nightlife.

The two meet on a rainy night and Lucky seduces Vallois in a cheap hotel. A few hours later, she confesses to him that she is a drug addict and was spending time with the club owner only because he knew how to get her cheap drugs. Even though he realizes that he should not be getting emotionally involved with Lucky, Vallois vows to help her get off the drugs while looking for the killer.

The atmosphere is similar to that of the big classic American noir films from the late 1940s and early 1950s, but The Night Affair is a distinctively European film whose roots can be traced back to a stylistic movement that emerged earlier. In France, during the early 1930s, a number of directors created films that were incredibly stylish but had a rather cynical view of life and their protagonists almost always seemed destined to die young and beautiful. These films, many of which were later on remade, defined the so-called "poetic realism" movement.

In The Night Affair, the aging detective and the beautiful drug addict exist in a world that is very similar to the one Marcel Carne introduced in the legendary Le Jour se Lève. The city now looks busier, but the same mix of fatalism and melancholia permeates both films. The men and women also have not changed -- they are still looking for true love but are doomed to remain loners in a sea of corrupt souls.

What separates The Night Affair from the films that the likes of Carne, Julien Duvivier, and Jean Gremillon directed is its tone and use of the dialog. Here it is bolder, sharper, and a lot more unforgiving, making it a lot easier to accept that the main protagonists are as jaded as they appear to be. The end result is unusual, to say the least, because as stylish and elegant The Night Affair looks, it just does not feel as safe and harmless as French censors expected these types of films to be. (In the late 1930s and early 1940s, French censors outright banned similarly risky films. Carne’s classic Le Quai Des Brumes, for instance, won Best Director Award at the Venice Film Festival in 1938, but back home it was quickly banned, and later on recut).

The chemistry between Gabin and Tiller is terrific. The distance between them gradually disappears, and their feelings evolve in a way that makes perfect sense. It should be said that Tiller also looks impossibly beautiful in this film. The scene where she stops in front of the hotel and looks Gabin in the eyes with the rain falling on her face is simply magical. The iconic Danielle Darrieux also leaves a lasting impression as Thérèse Marken, a disillusioned housewife with plenty of secrets.

Gilles Grangier shot The Night Affair with cinematographer Louis Page (Marc Allégret’s Plucking the Daisy, Henri Verneuil’s Any Number Can Win).

The dialog was scripted by the prolific Michel Audiard (Jean-Paul Le Chanois’ Les Misérables, Henri Verneuil’s Greed in the Sun).

The Night Affair Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.66:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Gilles Grangier's The Night Affair arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of French label Pathe.

Pathe restored The Night Affair in 2K in 2014. The label entrusted the work to Eclair Group for the image and L.E. Diapason for the sound. The restoration was made possible with the support of CNC.

Detail and clarity are excellent. Despite the fact that large portions of the film take place at night, depth is also outstanding. The many close-ups with the elegant Nadja Tiller look especially beautiful (see screencapture #1). What impresses the most, however, is the color gradation. The black, whites, and the wide range of grays are wonderfully balanced and make the film look strikingly lush (see screencaptures #4 and 9). The grain is evenly distributed and resolved throughout the entire film. Also, there are no traces of sharpening adjustments. Quite predictably, the film has a very solid organic appearance. Finally, there are absolutely no debris, scratches, stains, or damage marks to report in our review. All in all, this is one of the top five 2K restorations that I have seen done for a European black-and-white film. It is absolutely gorgeous. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your Blu-ray 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 Night Affair Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: French DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Also included is a French Audio Descriptive DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track. Optional English and French SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

There are no surprises here -- L.E. Diapason's restoration work is again outstanding. The jazz tunes and the singing in the club sound fantastic while the moody soundtrack effectively enhances the noir atmosphere. The dialog is exceptionally crisp, free of imperfections, stable, and easy to follow. There are no audio dropouts or digital distortions. The English translation is excellent.

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

• Le Film Annonce - new restored trailer for The Night Affair. In French, not subtitled. (4 min).

• Presentation de Bertrand Tavernier au Festival de Lyon - in this short video piece, director Bertrand Tavernier (Death Watch, Coup de Torchon) introduces the new 2K restoration of The Night Affair at the Lumière Film Festival. In French, not subtitled. (5 min).

• "La Perle du Film Noir" - in this new featurette, director Bertrand Tavernier, editor Francois Guerif, Agnes Vincent-Deray (widow of director Jacques Deray), journalist Christophe Lemaire, and assistant director Valérie Paulin (Invitation au voyage) discuss film noir and the unique qualities of The Night Affair. Also included are clips from archival interviews with director Gilles Grangier and scenarist Michel Audiard. In French, not subtitled. (24 min).

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

A jaded detective falls in love with a beautiful drug addict while trying to find the killer of her former lover in Gilles Grangier's The Night Affair. This incredibly stylish film has been recently restored in 2K by French label Pathe and looks simply incredible on Blu-ray. In fact, I have to say that this is one of the best 2K restorations I have seen done for a European black-and-white film to date. I truly hope that we will soon see a similar restoration of Claude Autant-Lara's Love Is My Profession, another gorgeous film with Jean Gabin and Brigitte Bardot. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.