Themroc Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.5

Themroc Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman May 19, 2025

To paraphrase the venerable Winston Churchill (who was himself paraphrasing others), Themroc is a "a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma". While there are plenty of examples in various categories one might cite to support this thesis, perhaps one of the most salient clues about the absolutely sui generis nature of the film is given courtesy of the fact that there is no discernable spoken language throughout the story, only feral grunts, guttural growls, animal howls and basic "gibberish" (hilariously, the "language" listed in several online databases including the film)*. Supplements on this disc get into the film's kind of weirdly simultaneous lack of renown and notoriety, and as such this Blu-ray edition may provoke either a "what movie?" or a "that movie!" response from various folks.

*Our audio specs require a language, and since my hunch is I may never need to utilize "Gibberish" again (unless we start allowing it for Mumblecore offerings), I'm defaulting to "French" simply because this is a French film. That said, as some of the supplements kind of allude to, some of the guttural folderol does sound at least a little like French at times.

Themroc (Michel Piccoli) is a cog in a wheel, though what kind of cog and/or wheel is about as opaque as everything else in this odd enterprise. As the supplement with David Thompson in particular gets into, Themroc was the brainchild of one Claude Faraldo, a so-called multi-hyphenate about whom little is nonetheless really known. There are some other films, evidently, though Thompson suggests there are also incomplete items that have never been seen, but it probably goes without saying that Faraldo is not exactly a household name. That may mean that "contextualizing" this extremely odd piece in terms of a perceived oeuvre may be impossible, but the probably funny thing is, even trying to understand this film in terms of a director's career "vision" may be a fool's errand, since so much of the story is delivered in such an anarchic manner.

The "easy" part of the tale is simply Themroc's seeming "awakening" to what might be called his Marxist position in the socioeconomic order, leading to a rather interesting "response" that in its own way reminded me of how the Gene Hackman character responds to the vagaries of his environment in The Conversation, at least insofar as a certain amount of "deconstruction" is involved. The more "problematic" elements of Themroc might interestingly be related to what are almost throwaway moments that admittedly offer some pretty provocative content that may chafe against certain taboos, but which are at least somewhat in league with some of Buñuel's takedowns of the bourgeoisie.

Themroc Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Themroc is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Radiance Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.67:1. Radiance's insert booklet provides another brief description of the transfer:

Themroc was restored in 4K resolution from the original camera negative by Studio Canal and supplied to Radiance Films as a high definition digital file.

As is discussed in some of the supplements, Themroc was shot on a shoestring budget in Super 16, and as such the smaller format probably tends to provide the best detail in closer midrange and actual close-up material. Some wider framings can frankly not offer a wealth of detail for items further back in the frame, while more intimate framings typically have rather nice detail levels on facial features, sets and costumes (such as they are). There are a few passing variances in color temperature, and some of the outdoor material, notably the completely gonzo sequence of Themroc kind of virtually "fighting" with trains aren't quite as well suffused and at times have a somewhat gray undertone. Some of the primaries in particular pop extremely well, as in the weird red logo on the backs of the uniforms that Themroc and his work associates wear. Grain can be thick, as befits the source, but resolves without any issues.

Themroc Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Themroc features LPCM 2.0 Mono audio in a track which, as outlined above, doesn't have any discernable language, and is instead almost a montage of various sounds. There's actual montage at play in some of the editing (addressed in Thompson's supplement in particular), and that can also play into the sound design. Everything is delivered cleanly and clearly, though as one of the 1973 audience members reacting to the film seen in a supplement listed below states, "By the end, you're just annoyed at all the screaming". There is one curiously silent moment during the aforementioned train sequence that I'm assuming was intentional. Perhaps hilariously given all of the above, there are optional English SDH subtitles available.

Themroc Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• David Thompson (HD; 23:19) provides an interesting overview in the newly produced piece.


• Claude Faraldo and Michel Piccoli (HD*; 17:30) is a fun (and maybe slightly funny) French television piece from 1973 that documents audience reactions to the film and then segues to a conversation between Faraldo and Piccoli. Subtitled in English.


• Manuela Lazic (HD; 23:26) is a newly produced piece focusing on Michel Piccoli.


• Gallery (HD)

*720

Radiance also provides another nicely appointed insert booklet with a new essay by Alison Smith, cast and crew listings and the typical transfer notes and credits. The sleeve is reversible and Radiance's trademark Obi strip is also included.

Themroc Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Radiance continues to curate some completely unique items, and I kind of laughingly thought of what an "evening at the movies" a double feature of this with Radiance's release of Viva la muerte might end up doing to some viewers. As one of the 1973 audience members kind of casually understates, "This isn't a movie for everyone". Those with adventurous tastes will find a release with solid technical merits and appealing supplements. With caveats noted, Recommended.