Le Samouraï - Alain Delon

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

(aka "Frank Costello, faccia d'angelo" or "The Godson")

directed by Jean-Pierre Melville
France 1967

In a career-defining performance, Alain Delon plays a contract killer with samurai instincts. A razor-sharp cocktail of 1940s American gangster cinema and 1960s French pop culture—with a liberal dose of Japanese lone-warrior mythology—maverick director Jean-Pierre Melville’s masterpiece Le Samouraï defines cool.

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Theatrical Release: February 14th, 1967 - France

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DVD Comparison:

René Chateau Vidéo (oop) - Region 0 - PAL vs. Criterion - Region 1- NTSC

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(René Chateau Vidéo (oop) - Region 0 - PAL LEFT vs. Criterion - Region 1- NTSC RIGHT)

DVD Box Cover
Distribution	René Chateau Vidéo - Region 0 - PAL	Criterion Collection - Spine # 306 - Region 1 - NTSC
Runtime	1:40:45 (4% PAL speedup)	1:45:08
Video	1.66:1.00 Letterboxed WideScreen / 16 X 9 enhnaced Average Bitrate: 7.17 mb/s PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s	1.83:1.00 Letterboxed WideScreen / 16 X 9 enhnaced Average Bitrate: 6.95 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s
Bitrate: Rene Chateau
Bitrate: Criterion
Audio	French (Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono)	French (Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono)
Subtitles	English, none	English, none
Features	Release Information: Studio: René Chateau Vidéo Aspect Ratio: Original aspect ratio - 1.66:1 anamorphic Edition Details: Trailer, widescreen, anamorphic (3:18) Posters of the movie around the world (10) Exclusive photos from the film (13) Interview with Alain Delon , 4:3, black and white and excerpt of the movie :"Quand la femme s'en mêle"(7:23) Filmographies -Static screen fro Melville and Delon NO SUBS ON EXTRAS DVD Release Date: March, 2002 Keep Case Chapters: 2	Release Information: Studio: Criterion Aspect Ratio: Aspect ratio - 1.83:1 anamorphic Edition Details: • Video interviews with Rui Nogueira, author of Melville on Melville, and Ginette Vincendeau, author of Jean-Pierre Melville: An American in Paris • Archival interviews with Melville and actors Alain Delon, François Périer, Nathalie Delon, and Cathy Rosier • Theatrical trailer • 29-page liner notes booklet featuring film scholar David Thomson, filmmaker John Woo, and selections from Melville on Melville DVD Release Date: October 25th, 2005 Keep Case Chapters: 24

Comments:

ADDITION: Criterion - NTSC - November 05': Well, I always thought this film's original aspect ratio was 1.66 - the René Chateau DVD image is exactly 1.66:1. Criterion advertises 'presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1' - theirs is about 1.83:1. So one of these DVDs is technically incorrect but neither looks to have compromised the integrity of the image. I don't see any chopped heads and only minor (and seemingly inconsequential) information appears removed at times from the sides and tops - and it is not consistent. A combination of opening-up, zooming, cropping and vertical (or horizontal) stretching or compressing has taken place. Generally the Criterion shows more information on the sides and less on the top and bottom. I don't consider either DVD image to be violently affecting the film expression so lets just drop that issue for the moment. I suspect both transfers may be culprits in some minor ratio manipulations although overall the Criterion is displaying more information.

The René Chateau is brighter than the Criterion and many colors are different (see the car when the license plates is being changed as one example). It is impossible for me to determine which is more correct at this time. The DVDs look equally sharp and crisp - with the Criterion being a minute notch ahead.

Subtitle translations are occasionally different. I suspect that the Criterion are more literally accurate, but the René Chateau more figuratively translated. Neither have a bearing on extravagantly adjusting the inference of the films narrative. The Criterion subtitles are small and less intrusive - both issues they are optional.

Extras, of course, go the way of Criterion. I particularly enjoyed the archival interviews. The René Chateau's supplements are in French with no subtitles offered.

BOTTOM LINE: The René Chateau has been a rare bird for a while and the Criterion is in their lower price point. We rate this film extremely highly here at DVDBeaver and accept both presentations as being very worthy of any personal DVD library. Both are progressive, anamorphic and very sharp. Forced to choose we go with the Criterion in most categories.

Gary W. Tooze

Recommended Reading in French Cinema (CLICK COVERS or TITLES for more information)


The Films in My Life by Francois Truffaut, Leonard Mayhew	French Cinema: A Student's Guide by Philip Powrie, Keith Reader	Agnes Varda by Alison Smith	Godard on Godard : Critical Writings by Jean-Luc Godard	Notes on the Cinematographer by Robert Bresson	Robert Bresson (Cinematheque Ontario Monographs, No. 2) by James Quandt	French New Wave by Jean Douchet, Robert Bonnono, Cedric Anger, Robert Bononno	French Cinema: From Its Beginnings to the Present by Remi Fournier Lanzoni	Truffaut: A Biography by Antoine do Baecque and Serge Toubiana

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(René Chateau Vidéo (oop) - Region 0 - PAL LEFT vs. Criterion - Region 1- NTSC RIGHT)

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