Le Doulos [Criterion Collection]

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

Confusion and wrong assumptions are the cause of tragedy in this stylish gangster noir by director Jean-Pierre Melville. Maurice (Serge Reggiani) and Silien (Jean-Paul Belmondo) are friends going way back, and both have had a shady past. Silien wants to leave his illegal activities behind him -- but would he actually be in league with the police, as an informer? That is what Maurice suspects after he kills a fence who is responsible for the murder of one of his friends and then takes some jewels as an extra bonus. Doubts assail Maurice as well as others until it is finally decided that something has to be done about Silien. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 1
• Audio: Dolby Digital Mono
• Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 (Vistavision)
• Screen: Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV
• Subtitle: Eng
• Features:
  • New, restored high-definition digital transfer
  • Selected-scene audio commentary by film scholar Ginette Vincendeau, author of Jean-Pierre Melville: An American in Paris
  • Video interviews with directors Volker Schlondorff and Bertrand Tavernier, who served as assistant director and publicity agent, respectively, on the film
  • Archival interviews with Melville and actors Jean-Paul Belmondo and Serge Reggiani
  • Original theatrical trailer
  • New and improved English subtitle translation
  • Plus: a new essay by film critic Glenn Kenny

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Jean - Paul Belmondo - Silien
       Serge Reggiani - Maurice Faugel
       Monique Hennessy - Therese
       Michel Piccoli - Nuttheccio
       Jean Desailly - The Superintendant Clain
       Rene Lefevre - Gilbert Varnove
       Christian Lude - The Doctor
       Jack E. Leonard - A police inspector
       Fabienne Dali - Fabienne
       Marcel Cuvelier - A police inspector
       Phillippe Nahon
       Karl Studer - Kern
       Charles Bouillaud - Barman

• Director:

  Jean-Pierre Melville

• Producer:

  Carlo Ponti, Georges de Beauregard

• Screenwriter:

  Jean-Pierre Melville

• Book Author:

  Pierre Lesou

• Cinematographer:

  Nicolas Hayer

• Composer (Music Score):

  Paul Misraki, Jacques Loussier

• Editor:

  Monique Bonnot

• Production Designer:

  Daniel Gueret

• Set Designer:

  Pierre Charron

• First Assistant Director:

  Volker Schlöndorff, Charles Bitsch

• Screenplay Consultant:

  Elisabeth Rappeneau

REVIEW:

• One of the meanings of the French "le doulos" is "hat," and hats convey an abundance of meaning in this spare, stark Jean-Pierre Melville excursion into film noir, Gallic style. For example, simply offering a hat to a hat-check girl gives Melville the opportunity to linger hesitantly on the object in question, just long enough to cause a slight discomfort. Melville is similarly in love with lights and shadows, with obscuring and revealing, appropriate for a film like Doulos in which the intricate plot keeps the viewer guessing as to what is going on and who is doing what to whom. Nicolas Hayer's brooding black-and-white cinematography aids Melville enormously in creating the tense atmosphere that is all-important to this subtly exciting film of loyalty and betrayal. Special mention must be made of the centerpiece interrogation scene, an eight-and-a-half minute marvel filmed in one take in which the camera and the actors dance around each other with nary a false step. Special credit, too, must go to the marvelous cast, especially Jean-Paul Belmondo's ambiguous Silien and Serge Reggiani's determined yet thoughtful Faugel. Though some fans of American noir may find Le Doulos a trifle too existential, most will appreciate the skill with which it has been made. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi