French Screen Icons-Alain Delon-Volume 2 (1974) |
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The second ‘Alain Delon Collection’ features a selection of films from the 1970s and a more recent title from 1993. The films included are the crime thrillers Icy Flesh (Les seins de glace) (1974) , The Gypsy (Le Gitan) (1975) , Boomerang (Comme un boomerang) (1976) and A Crime (Un crime) (1993).
In comparison with other Alain Delon boxsets which include the same film titles, there is a 10 Disc R2 (France) Studio Canal release which includes the films:
The Red Circle,
The Gypsy (available in Alain Delon Vol 2 from Madman),
The Burned Barns (available in Alain Delon Vol 1 from Madman),
Un Flic
Red Sun,
Plein Soleil (available as a sole title via Madman),
Icy Flesh (available in Alain Delon Vol 2 from Madman),
Honor Among Thieves,
The Widow Couderc (available in Alain Delon Vol 1 from Madman),
Armaguedon
The Local release is English friendly – with the inclusion of dubbed soundtracks and optional subtitles.
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Audio | |
Extras | |
Plot | |
Overall |
Icy Flesh (Les seins de glace) (1974) |
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General | Extras | ||
Category | Thriller | None | |
Rating | |||
Year Of Production | 1974 | ||
Running Time | 101:48 | ||
RSDL / Flipper | Dual Layered | Cast & Crew | |
Start Up | Menu | ||
Region Coding | 4 | Directed By | Georges Lautner |
Studio
Distributor |
Canal+ Madman Entertainment |
Starring |
Alain Delon Mireille Darc Claude Brasseur Fiore Altoviti Emilio Messina André Falcon Michel Peyrelon Philippe Castelli Jean-Pierre Lorrain Jean Luisi Mario Darsac Nicoletta Machiavelli |
Case | ? | ||
RPI | ? | Music | Philippe Sarde |
Video | Audio | ||
Pan & Scan/Full Frame | None | English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s) | |
Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 1.66:1 | ||
16x9 Enhancement |
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Video Format | 576i (PAL) | ||
Original Aspect Ratio | 1.66:1 | Miscellaneous | |
Jacket Pictures | No | ||
Subtitles | None | Smoking | Yes |
Annoying Product Placement | No | ||
Action In or After Credits | No |
Alain Delon and Mireille Darc, who were romantically involved at the time, star together in Les Seins de glace, a mystery which is reminiscent of a Hitchcock thriller.
The film opens with a distraught Peggy (Darc), wandering the beach in the winter mist. François (Claude Brasseur), who is a scriptwriter sees the blonde Peggy and is immediately smitten. François follows her around town trying to get her attention - initially Peggy, ignores the harmless François but eventually she allows him to come with her to her secluded home.
Upon arrival François meets Peggy’s shady lawyer Marc Rilson (Delon), who warns François Peggy is mentally ill and has murdered her husband. François refuses to believe Marc and instead goes on the run with Peggy ... however François’ plans swiftly come undone.
Madman have done a decent job of encoding the feature film on a Dual Layer DVD, however the print of the film is somewhat damaged.
The grain, scratches and assorted artefacts resulting from the print damage are more apparent during the scenes set at night.
There are no apparent MPEG Compression artefacts.
The colour is satisfactory, but may seem overly bright for some viewers; again this is a fault of the print.
Overall considering this film is thirty five years old and is not restored, this transfer is acceptable.
There are no subtitle options on this DVD.
Sharpness | |
Shadow Detail | |
Colour | |
Grain/Pixelization | |
Film-To-Video Artefacts | |
Film Artefacts | |
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The 2.0 English Dolby Digital stereo dubbed soundtrack remains clear and does not exhibit any errors.
As this film is mostly dialogue orientated, the stereo soundtrack is suitable.
Dialogue | |
Audio Sync | |
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts | |
Surround Channel Use | |
Subwoofer | |
Overall |
The Main Menu is composed of a still image derived from the feature film. There are 12 Scene Selections.
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
This film is currently only available locally as part of the ‘French Screen Icons- Alain Delon 2’ boxset. At the time of writing, the 2005 R2 (France) release is out of print.
Les Seins de glace is a mystery which is reminiscent of a Hitchcock thriller.
The DVD is adequately produced, with satisfactory picture considering the age of the film, however the only soundtrack option is a Dubbed English soundtrack, not the original French soundtrack.
Video | |
Audio | |
Extras | |
Plot | |
Overall |
Review Equipment | |
DVD | OPPO DV-980H, using HDMI output |
Display | Panasonic PT-AE 700. Calibrated with THX Optimizer. This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 1080p. |
Audio Decoder | Built in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with THX Optimizer. |
Amplification | Yamaha DSP-A595a - 5.1 DTS |
Speakers | (Front) DB Dynamics Polaris AC688F loudspeakers,(Centre) DB Dynamics Polaris Mk3 Model CC030,(Rear) Polaris Mk3 Model SSD425,(Subwoofer) Jensen JPS12 |
The Gypsy (Gitan, Le) (1975) |
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General | Extras | ||
Category | Crime | None | |
Rating | |||
Year Of Production | 1975 | ||
Running Time | 98:15 | ||
RSDL / Flipper | Dual Layered | Cast & Crew | |
Start Up | Menu | ||
Region Coding | 4 | Directed By | José Giovanni |
Studio
Distributor |
Canal+ Madman Entertainment |
Starring |
Alain Delon Paul Meurisse Annie Girardot Marcel Bozzuffi Bernard Giraudeau Renato Salvatori Maurice Barrier Maurice Biraud Nicolas Vogel Michel Fortin Pierre Danny Adolfo Lastretti Rino Bolognesi |
Case | Amaray-Transparent | ||
RPI | ? | Music | Claude Bolling |
Video | Audio | ||
Pan & Scan/Full Frame | None | English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s) | |
Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 1.66:1 | ||
16x9 Enhancement |
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||
Video Format | 576i (PAL) | ||
Original Aspect Ratio | 1.66:1 | Miscellaneous | |
Jacket Pictures | No | ||
Subtitles | None | Smoking | Yes |
Annoying Product Placement | No | ||
Action In or After Credits | No |
Alain Delon is Hugo Sennart aka The Gypsy. Sennart is a long-suffering gypsy, a social outcast and wanted man. Protected by his fellow people, Sennart is a ruthless criminal, and the crimes he commits are in the name of the injustices suffered by his people. As Sennart prepares to disappear once and for all, he must settle old scores and his plight is shown parallel to that of Yan Kuq (Paul Meurisse), an aging professional jewel thief, who is also a wanted man.
As the police close in on Kuq and Sennart, the two find themselves having to work together to evade capture and because of their differences ‘honour among thieves’ comes into question, particularly since the two criminals are separated by class and the reasons for their crimes – Sennart has struggled due to his environment and steals to survive, while Kuq, simply steals because he can.
Written and directed by José Giovanni, The Gypsy is an interesting crime-drama, which presents the predicaments of two different criminals without any sense of romanticism.
Presented in 1:66:1 16x9 enhanced widescreen, the transfer is satisfactory considering the age of the film. The colour scheme is natural and the transfer at most times sharp and defined.
While shadow detail is equally adequate, mild film grain and assorted artefacts appear throughout the feature film. There are no subtitles available for the feature film.
Sharpness | |
Shadow Detail | |
Colour | |
Grain/Pixelization | |
Film-To-Video Artefacts | |
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Overall |
There is only a 2.0 English soundtrack available on this DVD. This soundtrack is clear and does not exhibit any problems.
The film is scored with an original score by Claude Bolling and classic songs by Gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt.
Dialogue | |
Audio Sync | |
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts | |
Surround Channel Use | |
Subwoofer | |
Overall |
A still derived from the DVD artwork of the ‘Best French Flicks’ boxset, with options for 12 scene selections.
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
This title is currently available in R4 as part of the ‘Best French Flicks’ boxset from Madman, and the ‘French Screen Icons – Alain Delon 2’ boxset.
Overseas this title is only available in the R2 (France) 10 Disc barebones boxset of Alain Delon films from Studio Canal, along with the following titles; The Red Circle, The Burned Barns, Un Flic, Red Sun, Plein Soleil, Icy Flesh, Honor Among Thieves, The Widow Couderc , Armaguedon
It is unknown if this boxset is English Friendly.
The R1 (US) ‘Alain Delon 5 Film boxset’ also contains this title with the original French soundtrack with English subtitles - along with The Swimming Pool, Diabolically Yours, The Widow Couderc, Our Story.
Written and directed by José Giovanni, The Gypsy is an interesting crime-drama which presents the predicaments of two different criminals without any sense of romanticism.
The DVD release is satisfactory, although the absence of the original French soundtrack is disappointing. This title is currently available in 2 reasonably priced boxsets - 'Best French Crime Flicks' and 'French Screen Icons - Alain Delon 2'.
Video | |
Audio | |
Extras | |
Plot | |
Overall |
Review Equipment | |
DVD | OPPO DV-980H, using HDMI output |
Display | Panasonic PT-AE 700. Calibrated with THX Optimizer. This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 1080p. |
Audio Decoder | Built in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with THX Optimizer. |
Amplification | Yamaha DSP-A595a - 5.1 DTS |
Speakers | (Front) DB Dynamics Polaris AC688F loudspeakers,(Centre) DB Dynamics Polaris Mk3 Model CC030,(Rear) Polaris Mk3 Model SSD425,(Subwoofer) Jensen JPS12 |
Boomerang (Comme un boomerang) (1976) |
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General | Extras | ||
Category | Thriller |
Menu Animation & Audio Gallery |
|
Rating | |||
Year Of Production | 1976 | ||
Running Time | 97:39 | ||
RSDL / Flipper | Dual Layered | Cast & Crew | |
Start Up | Menu | ||
Region Coding | 4 | Directed By | José Giovanni |
Studio
Distributor |
Canal+ Madman Entertainment |
Starring |
Alain Delon Carla Gravina Dora Doll Louis Julien Christian de Tillière Monique Chaumette Louisa Colpeyn Jacques Rispal Suzanne Flon Pierre Maguelon Reinhard Kolldehoff Jacques Debary Charles Vanel |
Case | Amaray-Transparent | ||
RPI | ? | Music | Georges Delerue |
Video | Audio | ||
Pan & Scan/Full Frame | None |
English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s) French Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s) Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s) |
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Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 2.35:1 | ||
16x9 Enhancement |
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Video Format | 576i (PAL) | ||
Original Aspect Ratio | 2.35:1 | Miscellaneous | |
Jacket Pictures | No | ||
Subtitles |
English Spanish |
Smoking | Yes |
Annoying Product Placement | No | ||
Action In or After Credits | No |
The crime thriller Comme Un Boomerang (literal translation - Like a Boomerang – i.e. What goes around, comes around) is the story of teenager Eddy Batkin (Louis Julien), who in the harrowing opening scenes of the film, kills a police officer while under the influence of drugs.
Eddy is the son of Jacques Batkin (Alain Delon), a wealthy industrialist, and the press and public alike, have no pity for the ‘murderous young rich kid’ and wish to see Eddy receive the death sentence for his crime.
Under pressure Jacques hires the best lawyer, but still his son’s freedom, despite Eddy’s deep regret, cannot be promised.
While in prison, Eddy learns of his father’s criminal past and asks his father to break him out of prison, just as Jacques had many years ago.
Written by Delon and director José Giovanni, Comme Un Boomerang would be their final collaboration, following Le Gitan and Deux hommes dans la ville. The tense thriller features some great performances – particularly from Delon and veteran actor Charles Vanel.
Presented in 2:35:1 16x9 enhanced widescreen, the transfer is satisfactory considering the age of the film. The overall colour scheme remains natural and the picture is sharp and defined.
Shadow detail is equally adequate, mild film grain appears throughout the feature film.
Telecine Wobble is visible on a few occasions but is not distracting.
Also mosquito noise artefacts are mildly evident, however again this issue is mild and does not distract from viewing the film.
The optional English subtitles appear in a clear white font.
Sharpness | |
Shadow Detail | |
Colour | |
Grain/Pixelization | |
Film-To-Video Artefacts | |
Film Artefacts | |
Overall |
The 2.0 French, English and Spanish stereo soundtracks remain clear and do not exhibit any problems.
The English soundtrack is the default language and the French soundtrack must be selected from the menu.
However the Spanish soundtrack cannot be selected through the menu, instead it must be accessed manually.
The melodramatic score by Georges Delerue suits the thematic concerns of the film incredibly well, from the thriller aspect of the narrative to the melodrama of the father/son relationship.
Dialogue | |
Audio Sync | |
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts | |
Surround Channel Use | |
Subwoofer | |
Overall |
The Main Menu is animated and is accompanied by a section of the memorable score. There are 12 Scene Selections and access to the Gallery.
25 Production Photographs.
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
This film is currently only available locally as part of the ‘French Screen Icons- Alain Delon 2’ boxset. At the time of writing, there are no releases of this title overseas.
Written by Alain Delon and director José Giovanni, Comme Un Boomerang would be their final collaboration, following Le Gitan and Deux hommes dans la ville. The tense thriller features some great performances – particularly from Delon and veteran actor Charles Vanel. The DVD has been adequately produced with solid picture quality and various soundtrack options.
Video | |
Audio | |
Extras | |
Plot | |
Overall |
Review Equipment | |
DVD | OPPO DV-980H, using HDMI output |
Display | Panasonic PT-AE 700. Calibrated with THX Optimizer. This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 1080p. |
Audio Decoder | Built in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with THX Optimizer. |
Amplification | Yamaha DSP-A595a - 5.1 DTS |
Speakers | (Front) DB Dynamics Polaris AC688F loudspeakers,(Centre) DB Dynamics Polaris Mk3 Model CC030,(Rear) Polaris Mk3 Model SSD425,(Subwoofer) Jensen JPS12 |
A Crime (Un crime) (1993) |
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General | Extras | ||
Category | Drama | None | |
Rating | |||
Year Of Production | 1993 | ||
Running Time | 83:07 | ||
RSDL / Flipper | No/No | Cast & Crew | |
Start Up | Menu | ||
Region Coding | 4 | Directed By | Jacques Deray |
Studio
Distributor |
Canal+ Madman Entertainment |
Starring |
Alain Delon Manuel Blanc Sophie Broustal Maxime Leroux Francine Bergé Pierre Bianco Jean-Marie Winling Jean-Paul Comart Henri-Louis Villard Bernard Guigon Jean-Pierre Riboulet Jean-Claude Caron |
Case | Amaray-Transparent | ||
RPI | ? | Music | Frédéric Botton |
Video | Audio | ||
Pan & Scan/Full Frame | None | French Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s) | |
Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 1.66:1 | ||
16x9 Enhancement |
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||
Video Format | 576i (PAL) | ||
Original Aspect Ratio | 1.66:1 | Miscellaneous | |
Jacket Pictures | No | ||
Subtitles | English | Smoking | Yes |
Annoying Product Placement | No | ||
Action In or After Credits | No |
Jacques Deray’s Un Crime, which was co-written by Alain Delon opens in the midst of a trial. For three days the jury has been deliberating on whether Frédéric Chapelin-Tourvel (Manuel Blac), a young bourgeoisie is guilty or innocent of a double parricide. Tourvel’s lawyer is Maître Charles Dunand (Delon), who believes his client is innocent.
When the jury acquits Tourvel of the double crime, the press and public in the court are outraged and Tourvel indicates to Dunand, that perhaps he wasn’t so innocent after all.
Tourvel later in the day decides to see Dunand, instead of leaving France with his girlfriend, to better explain his motives. What follows is a series of flashbacks which may explain Tourvel’s actions, as Dunand tries to understand his young client.
This is an interesting, well paced drama and the set-up of the lawyer and the unreliable young client draws parallels to Primal Fear (1996).
Presented in 1:66:1 16x9 enhanced widescreen, the transfer is satisfactory considering the age of the film.
The overall colour scheme remains natural, although mild film grain and assorted film artefacts appear throughout the feature film.
MPEG compression artefacts are mildly evident, however this issue is mild and does not distract from viewing the film. The reason for this issue, most likely is a result of the film being encoded on a single-layer DVD.
The optional English subtitles appear in a yellow white font.
Sharpness | |
Shadow Detail | |
Colour | |
Grain/Pixelization | |
Film-To-Video Artefacts | |
Film Artefacts | |
Overall |
The 2.0 French Dolby Digital stereo soundtrack remains clear and does not exhibit any errors. As this film is mostly dialogue orientated, the stereo soundtrack is suitable.
The score for the drama was composed by the late Frédéric Botton.
Dialogue | |
Audio Sync | |
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts | |
Surround Channel Use | |
Subwoofer | |
Overall |
The Main Menu is composed of a still image derived from the feature film. There are 12 Scene Selections and subtitle options.
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
This film is currently only available locally as part of the ‘French Screen Icons- Alain Delon 2’ boxset. At the time of writing, the 2005 R2 (France) release is out of print.
Un Crime is an interesting crime drama, with many twists and turns, and draws parallels with Primal Fear (1996).
The DVD is adequately produced, with satisfactory picture and soundtrack/subtitle options.
Video | |
Audio | |
Extras | |
Plot | |
Overall |
Review Equipment | |
DVD | OPPO DV-980H, using HDMI output |
Display | Panasonic PT-AE 700. Calibrated with THX Optimizer. This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 1080p. |
Audio Decoder | Built in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with THX Optimizer. |
Amplification | Yamaha DSP-A595a - 5.1 DTS |
Speakers | (Front) DB Dynamics Polaris AC688F loudspeakers,(Centre) DB Dynamics Polaris Mk3 Model CC030,(Rear) Polaris Mk3 Model SSD425,(Subwoofer) Jensen JPS12 |