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| Alain
Delon, François Périer, Nathalie Delon, Cathy Rosier, Jacques
Leroy |
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Anamorphic
widescreen |
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Dolby Digital
5.1 |
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DTS |
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Trailer(s) |
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Featurette(s) |
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Documentary |
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Audio commentary
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Deleted scenes
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Concept art
/ storyboards |
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Multi-angle
feature |
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Gunman: Nothing to say?
Jef Costello (Alain Delon): Not with a gun on me.
Gunman: Is that a principle?
Jef Costello: A habit.
Hitman Jeff Costello is a perfectionist
who always carefully plans his murders and who never gets caught.
One night however, after killing a night-club owner, he's seen
by witnesses. His efforts to provide himself with an alibi fail
and he gets driven into a corner.
 French
writer/director Jean-Pierre Melville based his career on the fusion
of American gangster cinema tropes with a uniquely French sensibility.
His work ranges from early Nouvelle Vague masterworks like Bob
le Flambeur through to later 'French cool' capers like Le
Cercle Rouge, all characterized by their stylized, tightly
framed cinematography and hard-boiled, bare-bones narratives.
Le Samouraï, starring screen legend Alain Delon in
a career-defining performance, may be the pinnacle of Melville's
career: his vision here is distilled to the character of the perfectionist,
romantic but highly archaic figure of trenchchoat and fedora sporting
hitman Jef Costello, both his name and costume clearly illustrating
the director's passion for American film noir. The film's narrative
ticks away like clockwork without ever yielding to predictability
thanks to the director's genius for framing and editing, and his
ingenious use of sound. The balance he strikes between background
music, tensely scored suspense and - especially - some memorable
sequences without any dialogue or background music confirm Melville's
special place in cinema history, and this film's enduring legacy
in the pantheon of international cinema. |
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Previously out on DVD only as
a long-out-of-print French release (with English subtitles), Le
Samouraï is now out on Region 1 DVD in a definitive
edition from the Criterion Collection, which served as the
basis for this review.
The anamorphic widescreen
image is framed at an aspect ratio of approx. 1.85:1. The
restored image is near-pristine, boasting phenomenal detail,
very little grain, and no damage to speak of. This astonishing
new transfer truly does justice to the film's clean, precise
cinematography.
The original mono sound mix is presented in Dolby Digital
1.0, and is also astonishingly clear, presenting an uncluttered
and beautifully mixed rendition of the film's soundtrack.
 While
not quite touted as an upper-tier Special Edition, the Criterion
Collection still guarantees a more than worthy selection
of added-value supplements, starting off with two extended
new interviews with Melville on Melville author
Rui Nogueira and film historian Ginette Vincendeau, both
of which shed light on the film, its reception and its technical
accomplishments. The other section of on-disc supplements
is titled 'The Line-Up', and it incorporates six clips from
French TV ranging from 1967 to 1982, featuring Delon and
Melville reflecting on the film in various contexts ranging
from talk shows to promotional interviews. Finally, the DVD
booklet has an impressive design that lives up to the company's
high standards, and that features interesting essays from
David Thomson and John Woo, along with a terrific film-specific
excerpt from the book Melville on Melville. Highly
recommended.
Dan
Hassler-Forest
Reviewed:
November 28, 2005
Click
here for IMDB info on Le
Samouraï.
Click here
to return to the front page.
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