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PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
The Closet (Placard, Le) (2001)

The Closet (Placard, Le) (2001)

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Released 2-Dec-2002

Cover Art

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Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Comedy Main Menu Audio
Theatrical Trailer-2
Teaser Trailer
Easter Egg
Featurette-Set Construction
Biographies-Cast & Crew
Trailer-Kandahar; Lumumba; Monsoon Wedding; No Man's Land
Rating Rated M
Year Of Production 2001
Running Time 81:20 (Case: 84)
RSDL / Flipper No/No Cast & Crew
Start Up Menu
Region Coding 1,2,3,4,5,6 Directed By Francis Veber
Studio
Distributor

Madman Entertainment
Starring Daniel Auteuil
Gerard Depardieu
Thierry Lhermitte
Michele Laroque
Michel Aumont
Jean Rochefort
Case Click
RPI ? Music Vladimir Cosma


Video Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame Auto Pan & Scan Encoded French Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s)
English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio 2.35:1
16x9 Enhancement
16x9 Enhanced
Video Format 576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio 2.35:1 Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures Yes
Subtitles English Smoking Yes
Annoying Product Placement No
Action In or After Credits No

NOTE: The Profanity Filter is ON. Turn it off here.

Plot Synopsis

    The Closet (Le Placard) is a French comedy about a man who claims to be gay in order to avoid being fired.

    Francois Pignon (Daniel Auteuil) works as an accountant for a rubber company that produces condoms. His wife has left him, his son does not want to have anything to do with him and all his fellow workers feel he is boring and uninteresting. When he overhears fellow workers discussing the company's plans to fire him, Francois is unable to take any more and he contemplates suicide. His new neighbour, Jean-Pierre (Michel Aumont), can see Francois's problems and comes up with a plan to allow him to keep his job. They decide to spread a rumour that Francois is gay so that the company will not fire him, as they will be afraid of being sued for sexual discrimination. This plan works and Francois's workers and family start to see him in a completely new context, with some unexpected results...

    This film comes from successful French writer/director Francis Veber, who was also responsible for the widely-known French films The Dinner Game and La Cage Aux Folles. Veber's films have also often become successful American remakes. Some of the American films based on his works include Quick Change, The Toy, Pure Luck, The Birdcage, Fathers Day and Three Fugitives which was also directed by Veber. This film continues Veber's string of successful comedy releases and it has received wide critical acclaim.

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Transfer Quality

Video

    The transfer is presented at an aspect ratio of 2.35:1 and it is 16x9 enhanced.

    The transfer is consistently sharp throughout and high levels of detail are always visible. No low-level noise was detected at any time during the transfer. During the occasional darkly lit scenes, excellent levels of shadow detail are always visible.

    The transfer displays a very natural colour palette throughout and it is always vibrant and well saturated. During the factory scenes, the palette displays a large number of greys and silvers and these are accurately reproduced.

    No MPEG artefacts were detected at any time during the transfer.

    A number of aliasing artefacts may be seen during the transfer. Some examples of these artefacts may be seen at 5:16, 5:26, 5:57, 18:01 and 40:16. A number of moiré artefacts are present during the transfer. Examples of these artefacts may be seen at 15:31, 20:46, 25:52 and 40:09. These artefacts vary in severity and are moderately distracting to the viewer.

    A very small number of minor film artefacts may be seen during the transfer. Some examples of these artefacts may be seen at 15:28 and 21:58 but these are very minor and are unlikely to be detected by most viewers.

    A single set of yellow English subtitles is provided on this disc and they are always clear and easy to read. At 10:27, a subtitle line appears on screen for only a single frame as it is placed across a cell boundary. Luckily, this line is for dialogue heard on the radio and is not required by the viewer.

    The packaging incorrectly claims that this is a dual layered DVD-9 when the disc is actually a single layered DVD-5.

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

Audio

    French and English Dolby Digital 5.1 448 kbps tracks are provided on this disc. I listened to the French track in full and was only able to stand briefly sampling the English track. The English track is poorly acted and often significantly alters the spoken dialogue - this track cannot be recommended for viewers.

    The dialogue is clear and easy to understand at all times.

    During the French track, no problems with audio sync were detected. Conversely, during the English track little effort appeared to have been put into trying to match the dialogue with the actors' movements. No drop-outs were detected at any time.

    The score by Vladimir Cosma is used effectively throughout the film and always helps to set the mood for the on-screen action.

    The audio mix is tightly focused across the front three channels and the surround and subwoofer channels are only used minimally throughout the transfer for the musical score, rarely making their presence felt.

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

Extras

Menu

    The non-animated menu is presented at an aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and it is 16x9 enhanced.

French Trailer (1:44)

    This trailer is presented with a French Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack at an aspect ratio of 2.35:1 and it is not 16x9 enhanced.

American Trailer (0:30)

    This trailer is presented with a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack at an aspect ratio of 1.33:1.

Teaser Trailer (0:38)

    This trailer is presented with a French Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack at an aspect ratio of 1.33:1.

Set Construction Featurette (1:40)

    This is a short segment showing the construction of the sets for the film. This featurette is presented with a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack at an aspect ratio of 2.35:1 and it is not 16x9 enhanced.

Cast and Crew Profiles

    Multiple page profiles are provided for Daniel Auteuil, Gérard Depardieu, Thierry Lhermitte and Francis Veber.

Trailer: Kandahar (1:24)

    This trailer is presented with a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack at an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and it is not 16x9 enhanced.

Trailer: Lumumba (1:32)

    This trailer is presented with a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack at an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and it is not 16x9 enhanced.

Trailer: Monsoon Wedding (2:13)

    This trailer is presented with a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack at an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and it is not 16x9 enhanced.

Trailer: No Mans Land (2:05)

    This trailer is presented with a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack at an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and it is not 16x9 enhanced.

Easter Egg (0:22)

    On the Promotion menu, press either the down or up arrow to leave the list of trailers and the condom on the right of the screen will be highlighted. Press Enter to display an advertisement for the company's condoms. This extra is presented with a French Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack at an aspect ratio of 2.35:1 and it is 16x9 enhanced.

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

    The Region 4 version of this disc misses out on;

    The Region 1 version of this disc misses out on;

    The French Region 2 version of this disc misses out on;

    The French region 2 version of this disc is technically clearly the version of choice, but as the additional features are unlikely to contain English subtitles they may be of little use to non French speaking viewers. If you do not speak French the local release should be sufficient.

Summary

    Le Placard is an entertaining French comedy that should appeal to a wide audience.

    The excellent video transfer is only let down by the occasional presence of aliasing artefacts.

    The front-focused French soundtrack is enjoyable but the English dub track should be avoided if possible.

    The small collection of extras is interesting but provides little insight into the film.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Anthony Kable (read my bio)
Monday, July 01, 2002
Review Equipment
DVDToshiba 2109, using S-Video output
DisplaySony KP-E41SN11. Calibrated with Video Essentials.
Audio DecoderBuilt in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Video Essentials.
AmplificationFront left/right: ME75b; Center: DA50ES; rear left/right: DA50ES; subwoofer: NAD 2600 (Bridged)
SpeakersFront left/right: VAF DC-X; Center: VAF DC-6; rear left/right: VAF DC-7; subwoofer: Custom NHT-1259

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