Touchez Pas au Grisbi Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.0

Touchez Pas au Grisbi Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov September 1, 2017

Jacques Becker's "Touchez Pas au Grisbi" a.k.a. "Don't Touch the Loot" (1954) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of StudioCanal. The supplemental features on the disc include an exclusive new video interview with assistant director Jean Becker; archival interview with actress Jeanne Moreau; and video interview with professor Ginette Vincendeau. In French, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

"Is this a new game?"

Some films try really, really hard to be cool, and some, like Jacques Becker’s Touchez Pas au Grisbi, simply are. In fact, this is precisely the reason Touchez Pas au Grisbi is a great film. It is not the story, it is not the drama or the action. In Touchez Pas au Grisbi the style is everything.

The aging gangster Max (Jean Gabin, Le Jour se Lève) and his best pal Riton (Rene Dary, Les Risques du métier) have pulled off a brilliant heist and are ready to retire. All they have to do now is wait for the smoke to blow over and when the time is right trade the four cases with the stolen gold bullion bars for cash. But despite his age Riton simply cannot stop behaving like a prisoner who has not been with a woman for years -- he is constantly out and enjoying the company of beautiful prostitutes who love money even more than he does. Max has frequently urged Riton to start acting his age, but his pal hasn’t been able to break his bad habits and he has accepted that he would have to do his best to watch after him like an elder brother. Just days after the trade with the dealer is arranged another seasoned gangster, Angelo (Lino Ventura, Classe Tous Risques), discovers that Max has the stolen gold and orders his goons to kidnap Riton while he is enjoying the company of his favorite prostitute, Josy (Jeanne Morreau, Elevator to the Gallows). Then he contacts Max and tells him that he can have Riton back if he delivers the gold to him. Max and a few of his former associates agree to meet Angelo’s goons on a dusty road somewhere on the outskirts of the city, but the exchange does not go as agreed upon by the two sides.

There is a wonderful new interview on this release with Jean Becker, the son of director Becker, in which he explains how his father’s insistence to have Gabin play Max basically revived the iconic actor’s career. This is quite astonishing really because in Touchez Pas au Grisbi Gabin looks every bit as striking as Humphrey Bogart does in those famous classic noir films from the 1940s. His presence is so overpowering that it gives Touchez Pas au Grisbi its identity.

Becker worked closely with writer Albert Simonin and they adapted his famous novel together, but their script isn’t that great. (In fact, the original material from the novel is quite a bit harsher and significantly more explicit than what the two ended up with). In Touchez Pas au Grisbi the magic happens because of two things: First, the emphasis on detail is astounding and everything from the impeccable suits that Gabin and the other gangsters wear to the decoration in the clubs oozes elegance that instantly makes the film incredibly attractive. Then there is the attitude of the stars. It all starts with Gabin, who genuinely looks like an aging gangster who has had enough noise and drama in his life and is now determined to walk out of the ‘game’ with a winning hand, and then everyone else basically responds with the same type of quality acting. The atmosphere that emerges as a result of this is simply tremendous.

The soundtrack that Jean Wiener created for Touchez Pas au Grisbi is of course legendary. The main theme is instantly recognizable and has been used in different TV programs outside of France.

Touchez Pas au Grisbi Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Jacques Becker's Touchez Pas au Grisbi arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of StudioCanal.

The release is sourced from some type of a digital remaster that was definitely not prepared in recent months. It is rather good, but it has some obvious limitations. For example, during the final act there are a few sequences where some extremely light flicker can be seen on the left side of the frame. It appears that some mild denoising corrections were applied as well, quite possibly to rebalance the image in select areas, and though the overall integrity of the image is not compromised, trained eyes will quickly spot the minor fluctuations (you can see examples in screencaptures #8, 10 and 19). There are no traces of problematic sharpening adjustments. The grading is very good and the remaster actually handles the film's beautiful cinematography really well. Image stability is good. There are no distracting large debris, cuts, damage marks, stains, warped or torn frames to report in our review. My score is 3.75/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Touchez Pas au Grisbi Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: French LPCM 2.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I thought that the lossless track was surprisingly good. I did some direct comparison with my DVD release and while dynamic movement is basically the same the dialog actually sounds fuller and better rounded. On the other hand, I noticed a bit of the same unevenness -- for example outside of the night club -- which makes it rather obvious that it must be part of the original soundtrack. There are no audio dropouts, pops, distracting hiss, or digital distortions to report.

Touchez Pas au Grisbi Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Interview with Ginette Vincendeau - in this video interview, professor Ginette Vincendeau discusses Albert Simonin's novel that inspired Jacques Becker to shoot Touchez Pas au Grisbi, as well as the style, critical reception and lasting appeal of the film. In English, not subtitled. (8 min).

• Interview with Jean Becker - in this new video interview, Jean Becker, son of director Jacques Becker, discusses the production history of Touchez Pas au Grisbi, the film's style and atmosphere, Jean Gabin's incredible performance, and the significant impact his father had on his life and career. The interview was conducted exclusively for StudioCanal. In French, with optional English subtitles. (14 min).

• Interview with Jeanne Moreau - in this archival video interview, actress Jeanne Moreau recalls her initial encounter with director Jacques Becker and discusses her contribution to Touchez Pas au Grisbi. The interview was conducted in 1957. In French, with optional English subtitles. (5 min).

Touchez Pas au Grisbi Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The great Jean Gabin appeared in a lot of terrific gangster films, but I think that Jacques Becker's Touchez Pas au Grisbi is the coolest of them all. The style and atmosphere of this film are absolutely phenomenal, and believe me, I am not exaggerating. StuidioCanal's Blu-ray release of Touchez Pas au Grisbi is sourced from a pretty good digital remaster, and much like the new release of the classic Le Trou offers another very informative exclusive interview with Jean Becker. So there is certainly some room for improvement, but I think that the Blu-ray release still represents a very nice upgrade in quality. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.