Un flic Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.0

Un flic Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov December 26, 2019

Jean-Pierre Melville's "Un Flic" (1972) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; new audio commentary by critic Samm Deighan; and archival programs with vintage interviews. In French, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

It may not be immediately obvious to someone that isn’t familiar with Jean-Pierre Melville’s entire body of work, but the different episodes of Un Flic do not come together as well as they should have. Some episodes, like the bank robbery during the prologue, ooze the classic thick noir atmosphere that the Frenchman became known for, but elsewhere the balance is off. Too many characters pull the film in different directions and the stylish minimalism that is needed for the atmosphere to flourish the right way becomes very, very shaky. As a result, the drama begins to overtake the noir atmosphere, and the clearer it is that it is so, the more problematic the film’s personality becomes.

The narrative is broken into two contrasting parts. In the first, a crew of middle-aged robbers hit a seaside bank and then successfully get away with the loot. But later on they eliminate one of their own because he is bleeding heavily and is therefore a major liability. There are no melodramatic disagreements -- his murder is just business. Not too long after that the leader of the robbers (Richard Crenna) introduces to his associates a new job and convinces them that it is worth the risk because it would make them financially independent, and together they quietly begin preparing for it.

The second part is about the job and a veteran cop (Alain Delon) gradually closing in on the robbers. The cop frequently visits the night club that the leader of the robbers owns because it is supposed to be his favorite spot, but what really attracts him there is the blond beauty (Catherine Deneuve) that his nemesis is in a relationship with. The three do not play any silly games, they all know what is going on, and over time it becomes quite clear that they actually enjoy the transparent three-way engagement. Eventually, the robbers go to work again, but this time various complications change their perfect plan and they are forced to begin improvising.

Melville had already started working on another project, but Un Flic turned out to be his final film. It is unfortunate because it is a misfire with a lot of minor flaws and one really big flaw that would have been far easier to dismiss early in his career. Here are the two that bother this writer the most:

Delon is not the right man to play the cop that goes after the robbers. A nice vintage program on this release sheds some light on the power struggle between Delon and Melville that apparently took place during production and its symptoms are very, very easy to recognize. Indeed, the cop very much feels like an outsider that frequently sticks his head in dramatic cycles that appear foreign to him, which leaves the impression that he operates on a completely different wavelength. (The quality of the performance is solid, but it is not right for this particular film). Was it because Delon and Melville could not at all get on the same page? Yes. They both had huge egos and at this point in their careers they were already used to getting things done their way, which almost certainly meant that compromising for the sake of uniformity was the last option they would consider. The film has that type of rough personality -- it feels and looks like a collection of uneven episodes, and the most problematic are with Delon.

The train robbery is a genuine dud. It is so poorly done that it almost completely deflates the entire film. It was entirely envisioned by Melville and the fact that it was completed and left in the final version of the film as is speaks volumes about the nature of the production.

Un flic Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Un Flic arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The release is sourced from an old and sadly very weak master. It comes from StudioCanal and it is possible that someone did some digital tweaks on it, but to my eyes it looks like the same master that was used for the North American DVD rerelease of the film in 2008 -- and this master was actually done earlier. So, here's the bad news: It does not matter if you view your discs on a smaller or medium size TV sets, or if you project on a very large screen, because you will notice some major limitations, and the most prominent ones are actually not inherited. What does this mean? It means that the surface of the visuals routinely exhibits a digital edge, which can make them appear either uncharacteristically flat or seriously smeary. (Screencapture #4 demonstrates the issue). Needless to say, depth is often very problematic and in some areas the visuals essentially have the quality of upscaled material. (See screencapture #7). The color scheme introduces good primary values, but there are entire ranges of nuances that should be better. The black smearing that pops up throughout the film, in particular, can be very problematic. Image stability is good. There are no large distracting debris, cuts, damage marks, warped or torn frames to report. My score is 2.75/5.00. (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).

Un flic Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

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

The lossless audio is solid. It has proper depth and clarity. Overall balance is also very good. I did a few tests with my DVD release of Un Flic and can confirm that dynamic balance and intensity are superior as well. There are no audio dropouts or distortions to report.

Un flic Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - a vintage trailer for Un Flic. In French, with imposed English subtitles. (5 min, 480/60i).

• In the Mood for Melville - this vintage documentary examines the cinematic world and style of Jean-Pierre Melville. It uses clips from archival interviews wit the French director, Tsui Hark, Alex Cheung, Kim Jee-woon, and critics Mike Roberts and Arnaud Lanuque, amongst others. In French, Korean, and English, with imposed English subtitles. (58 min, 480/60i).

• Interviews with Jean-Francois Delon and Florence Gabin - in this program, Jean-Francois Delon and Florence Gabin recall their interactions with Jean-Pierre Melville and discuss his working methods and the production of Un Flic. In French, with imposed English subtitles. (26 min, 480/60i).

• Commentary - this audio commentary by critic Samm Deighan was recorded exclusively for Kino Lorber's release of Un Flic.

• Additional Trailers - additional trailers for the following titles from Kino Lorber's catalog:
  
  1. Bob le Flambeur
  2. Léon Morin, Priest
  3. Le Doulos
  4. Diabolically Yours
  5. Farewell, Friend
  6. The Sicilian Clan

Un flic Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Un Flic has always had a spot in my library, but the more I revisit it, the less I like it. Excluding the terrific prologue where Richard Crenna's crew hits the seaside bank the rest of the film is a mess, and what is really sad is that many of its flaws are so big that they are simply impossible to brush aside. It is just way too easy to tell that when the film was made Jean-Pierre Melville and Alain Delon were quite simply not on the same page. This recent release from Kino Lorber is sourced from an old and quite problematic master, so my advice to you is to find a way to rent and test it first before you consider a purchase.