(aka 'Cognome e nome: Lacombe Lucien' or 'Lacombe, Lucien')

Directed by Louis Malle
France 1974

 

 One of the first French films to address the issue of collaboration during the German Occupation, Louis Malle’s brave and controversial Lacombe, Lucien traces a young peasant’s journey from potential Resistance member to Gestapo recruit. At once the story of a nation and of one troubled boy, the film is a disquieting portrait of lost innocence and guilt.

***

Superior, challenging filmmaking from Louis Malle about a simple farmhand who finds himself working for the Gestapo and falling for the daughter of a Jewish tailor

Malle's film, set in France during the Nazi Occupation, centres on Lucien (Pierre Blaise in an excellent performance), a simple farmhand not long out of school, with a penchant for shooting rabbits. After failing to hook up with the Resistance movement, he ends up working for the Gestapo and starts to fall for France Horn (Clément), the daughter of a local Jewish tailor.

 Excerpt from Channel 4 located HERE

Posters

Theatrical Release: January 30th, 1974

Reviews    More Reviews    DVD Reviews

DVD Review: Criterion - Region 1 - NTSC

DVD Box Cover

   

CLICK to order from:

Also available in the 3 Films by Louis Malle Boxset which includes Murmur of the Heart (1971), Lacombe, Lucien (1974) and Au revoir les enfants (1987) plus a bonus disc of supplements featuring: New interviews with actor and Louis Malle widow Candice Bergen and biographer Pierre Billard, Excerpts from a French TV program featuring the director on the sets of Murmur of the Heart and Lacombe, Lucien, Audio interviews with Malle from 1972, 1980, and 1988 and much more...

               

An overview of the package and supplements disc are briefly examined HERE

Distribution Criterion Collection - Spine # 329 - Region 1 - NTSC
Runtime 2:17:14 
Video 1.66:1 Aspect Ratio
Average Bitrate: 6.95 mb/s
NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.

Bitrate:

Audio French (Dolby Digital 1.0) 
Subtitles English, None
Features

Release Information:
Studio: Criterion Collection

Aspect Ratio:
Original Aspect Ratio 1.66:1

Edition Details:

• Trailer (16:9 - 2:31)

• 22-page liner notes booklet with color photos and Pauline Kael essay reprint 

DVD Release Date: March 28th, 2006

Keep Case
Chapters: 22

 

 

Comments:

Another terrific image from Criterion. Like "Murmur of the Heart" the transfer looks extremely film-like with sharp detail and, possibly, brighter colors. The individual release of the film on DVD is quite bare-bones with an anamorphic trailer and some excellent liner notes (Pauline Kael essay with many color photos) but is does have a correspondingly more reasonable price tag. The bulk of the extras are on the boxset's bonus disc with the individual price of Au Revoir Les Enfants being the most convincing reason to nab the entire package.

The subtitle font, consistent throughout the boxset, is a shade larger than usual. Sound is original one channel but clear and audible. The film is another story of maturation - this time a more complex one dealing with innocence corrupted by the ethical complexities of war. Succinct narrative of a moral conundrum with excellent acting. A marvelous film in its own right yet all three Malle offerings in the boxset are highly recommended!  

Gary W. Tooze

 





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DVD Box Cover

   

CLICK to order from:

Also available in 3 Films by Louis Malle which includes Murmur of the Heart (1971), Lacombe, Lucien (1974) and Au revoir les enfants (1987) plus a bonus disc of supplements featuring: New interviews with actor and Louis Malle widow Candice Bergen and biographer Pierre Billard, Excerpts from a French TV program featuring the director on the sets of Murmur of the Heart and Lacombe, Lucien, Audio interviews with Malle from 1972, 1980, and 1988 and more...

               

An overview of the package and supplements disc are briefly examined HERE

Distribution Criterion Collection - Spine # 329 - Region 1 - NTSC




 

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