Choice of Arms (Choix des armes, Les) (1981)

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General		Extras
Category	Crime	None
Rating
Year Of Production	1981
Running Time	130:15
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Alain Corneau
Studio Distributor	Canal+ Madman Entertainment	Starring	Yves Montand Gérard Depardieu Catherine Deneuve Michel Galabru Gérard Lanvin Jean-Claude Dauphin Jean Rougerie Christian Marquand Etienne Chicot Richard Anconina
Case	Amaray-Transparent
RPI	?	Music	Philippe Sarde

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	French Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	2.35:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	2.35:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    Director Alain Corneau is well known for his policier collaborations with Yves Montand in the 1970s - Python Police 375 and Le Menace.

    In Le choix des armes, Corneau casts Montand as Noël Durieux, an elder bourgeois criminal who now lives a quiet life with his wife Nicole (Catherine Deneuve) against a young Gerard Depardieu as Mickey, a hardened criminal who wishes to live a normal life with his young daughter.

    The two men meet fatefully after Mickey breaks out his prison and a rival gang ambush him and a police shootout ensues. Mickey’s accomplice in the jail break Serge, is wounded as they make their escape and Mickey is advised by Serge to seek refuge at the country home of former gangland boss and now legitimate businessman - Noël Durieux.

    Mickey decides to leave for Paris, while Serge recovers from his injuries at the estate.

    However on his return Mickey finds the estate being searched by the police; careless Chief Inspector Bonnardot (Michel Galabru) and young sharp-shooter Sarlat (Gerard Lanvin). Believing Durieux has betrayed him, Durieux returns to Paris, with Bonnardot and Sarlat intent on bringing Mickey to justice by any means necessary – placing Durieux and his wife also in the line of fire.

Video

    Presented in 2:35:1 16x9 enhanced widescreen, the transfer is satisfactory considering the age of the film. The colour scheme is natural and the transfer at most times is sharp and defined.

     While shadow detail is equally adequate, mild film grain and assorted artefacts appear throughout the feature film. The optional English subtitles appear in a clear yellow font.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

     The 2.0 French stereo soundtrack remains clear and does not exhibit any problems. There are many action sequences in the film and it is unfortunate a 5.1 Dolby Digital soundtrack is not available.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Main Menu

    A still derived from the DVD artwork of the ‘Best French Flicks’ boxset, with options for 12 scene selections.

    This title is currently available in R4 as part of the ‘Best French Flicks’ boxset from Madman. This is the Original French Version of the film (135 mins – NTSC/ 130 mins PAL) not the edited US version (114 mins-NTSC ). In R2 France this title contains the same technical specifications as the local release and in addition a Making-Of , Gallery, Various Filmographies. However there are no English subtitles on this release.

    Le choix des armes is an elegant crime thriller, reminiscent of the crime films of Jean-Pierre Melville. The DVD has been produced well with decent sound and picture.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall