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MovieMail's Review
Claude Chabrol has always been underrated. He was never as strident a critic at Cahiers du cinéma as Truffaut or Godard. Yet he and Eric Rohmer published a seminal study of Alfred Hitchcock. He was the first of the auteur cabal to release a feature, Le Beau Serge (1958), and he has easily been the most prolific and consistently commercial of his peers ever since. Perhaps this combination of fecundity and popularity has prompted his devaluation? But even when he's not on top form, Chabrol can still produce pictures to enthrall, unnerve and entertain. And just below the surface of them all, there's a layer of corrosive satire that's occasionally worthy of Buñuel.
The films in this second DVD selection encapsulate Chabrol's jaundiced attitude towards the French bourgeoisie. La Rupture (1970) forms part of the ‘Hélène cycle' that he made with second wife Stéphane Audran. Inspired by Charlotte Armstrong's pulp novel, The Balloon Man, it centres on the abuse suffered by a former stripper at the hands of drug-addicted husband Jean-Claude Drouot and father-in-law Michel Bouquet, as they try to discredit her divorce suit. Chabrol's regular screenwriting buddy, Paul Gégauff, plays an equally monstrous spouse (with perhaps even more relish) in Une Partie de Plaisir (1974), which disconcertingly co-stars his ex-wife Danielle as the target of his murderous rage after a demand for an open marriage backfires.
The best laid plans of a treacherous partner also go awry in Les Innocents aux Mains Sales (1975), as no sooner have Romy Schneider and St Tropez lover Paolo Giusti bumped off her rich and boorish husband (Rod Steiger) than he keeps coming back to haunt them. A hybrid of The Postman Always Rings Twice and Les Diaboliques, this nasty chiller finds echo in the policier Poulet au Vinaigre (aka Cop au Vin, 1984) and the savage exposé of middle-class morality and France's guilty past, La Fleur du Mal (2003). But there's a lighter tone to the espionage caper, La Route de Corinthe (1967), in which Jean Seberg has to find the black boxes that will prove she didn't kill spy husband, Christian Marquand.
Box set collection of six classic films from the French New Wave director: Who's Got the Black Box (1967), The Break Up (1970), Innocents with Dirty Hands (1975), Pleasure Party (1975), Cop Au Vin (1985) and The Flower Of Evil (2003).
In 'Innocents With Dirty Hands' (1975), looking for distraction from her passionless marriage, Julie Wormser turns to the arms of family friend, Jeff Marie. Julie's ailing husband Louis is 18-years her senior and becoming increasingly less attentive, and Jeff's feelings for her are barely concealed. However, when distraction is no longer sufficient, she turns to Jeff again - this time lookling for a permanent solution.
In 'Who's Got the Black Box' (1967) the wife of an undercover NATO officer comes under suspicion when he is murdered. Determined to clear her name, Shanny (Jean Seberg), sets out to uncover the truth and clear her name.
In 'Pleasure Party' (1975), swinger Philippe (Paul Gegauff) gets more than he bargained for when he suggests that he and his wife Esther (Daniel Gegauff) try having a few affairs. When his wife takes him at his word, becoming less and less dependent on him, Philippe's jealosy and possessiveness rears its head.
In 'Cop Au Vin' (1985) a small French town suffers a string of murders, Inspecteur Lavardin (Jean Poiret) is despatched to find the culprit. Discovering that the local postman, Louis Cuno (Lucas Belvaux) has been using his position to gather information on potential rivals, Lavardin starts to dig deeper, using any tactics necessary to get his man.
Family tensions rise in 'The Flower Of Evil' (2003) as local mother Anne decides to run for mayor. Her decision brings old wounds to the surface, prompting a slanderous letter in the local newspaper accusing the family of, among other things, incest. Although the family maintains a united front, there are hints of even greater secrets to emerge.
In 'The Break Up' (1970) Stephane Audran plays Helene Regnier, who has just left her mentally-ill husband Charles (Jean-Claude Drouot) after he assaulted their son. When Charles's parents hire family friend Paul Thomas (Jean-Pierre Cassel) to get some dirt on Helene before the custody battle, he eagerly takes to his new assignment.
