Un flic Catherine Deneuve Alain Delon

(aka "Dirty Money" )

directed by Jean-Pierre Melville
France 1972

Jean-Pierre Melville's last film is far from his best, but it still presents some wonderfully executed noir (or should I say blue) moments. The opening heist scene is beautifully shot and executed, like all Melville heist scenes. The production budget was clearly quite restricted, with some very obvious studio backdrops in certain scenes. The second heist scene is a nail-biting twenty minutes of cinematic fun. They have twenty minutes to execute it, and Melville shoots it in real time, heightening the sense of anxiety. The helicopter and train are clearly miniatures in many shots, but the primitive special effects do not distract from the tension in the scene.

Alain Delon and Catherine Deneuve are both very good in their roles, exhibiting a type of icy calm throughout. Their roles are much more restricted than most of their other work, in part due to the lack of dialogue, but also because of the film's nature. The film is hit-and-miss, and is not as consistent as Le Samourai or Le Cercle Rouge, but it's worth seeing nonetheless if you're a Melville or a noir fan.

Eric Portelance

Posters

Theatrical Release: October 1972

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DVD Comparison:

LionsGate - Region 1- NTSC vs. Anchor Bay - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Optimum Home Entertainment - Region 2 - PAL

Big thanks to Eric Portelance for the NTSC caps and to Per-Olof Strandberg for the PAL caps!

1) LionsGate - Region 1- NTSC LEFT

2) Anchor Bay - Region 1 - NTSC MIDDLE

3) Optimum Home Entertainment - Region 2 - PAL RIGHT

DVD Box Cover
Distribution	LionsGate Region 1 - NTSC	Anchor Bay Region 1 - NTSC	Optimum Home Entertainment Region 2 - PAL
	The Optimum R2 PAL release is also available in The Alain Delon - The Screen Icons Collection which includes Un Flic, Plein Soleil, L'eclisse, *Traitement De Choc* and Flic Story.
Runtime	1:39:42	1:39:46	1:35:42 (4% PAL speedup)
Video	1.85:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 5.75 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	1.85:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 5.25 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	1:1.85 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 5.18 mb/s PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate : LionsGate
Bitrate : Anchor Bay
Bitrate : Optimum
Audio	French (Dolby Digital 2.0)	French Dolby Digital 2.0	French (Dolby Digital 2.0)
Subtitles	English, Spanish, None	English, None	English, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: LionsGate Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1.85:1 Edition Details: • none DVD Release Date: July 22nd, 2008 Keep Case Chapters 12	Release Information: Studio: Anchor Bay Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1.85:1 Edition Details: • Trailer • Talent Bios DVD Release Date: July 24th, 2001 Chapters 24	Release Information: Studio: Optimum Home Entertainment Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1:1.85 Edition Details: • Trailer (4:13) • DVD-5 DVD Release Date: June 25th, 2007 Keep Case Chapters 12

Comments:

ADDITION: LionsGate - Region 1 - NTSC - July 08': Although this new NTSC edition takes up marginally more space on a single-layered disc (4.25 Gig) - there really is little difference in the image quality. This transfer is also provided by Studio Canal.

I get the feeling though that these visuals could look exceptionally good if given to 1080P or even dual-layering on an SD. The audio is 2 channel, English subs are optional (along with Spanish). There are no extras.

The Anchor Bay is out-of-print and we suggest getting the most reasonably priced edition for the area you live. The Lionsgate seems like a very good deal at around $12. This is a great crime drama as Melville fans will already know!

Gary Tooze

***

ADDITION: OPTIMUM - PAL - 06' - Both versions are provided from Studio Canal, and they are more or less identical. The Optimum has 3.82 GB, and the Anchor Bay 4.04 GB of space utilized for the film. The Optimum has a slightly heavier blue color timing (and brighter), that seems, to me, to be more accurate. The difference overall though is very minimal.

The Optimum could be a very good choice, as it seems that the Anchor Bay disc is currently OOP.

- Per-Olof Strandberg

ON THE ANCHOR BAY: The transfer has its occasional soft spots, but is quite sharp overall, and exhibits some nice film grain. The almost monochrome steely blue colors have been preserved throughout. I only have two gripes. The first is that there are a few moments during the film where some shots have clearly been taken from different elements, and there is a visible drop in image quality. The second is the occasional vignetting (darkening of the corners) visible, especially in the outdoor shots. This could have been caused by a wide angle lens during shooting, but it could just as well be due to decaying film elements. Having not seen a theatrical print of this, it's tough to say.

The disc is rather bare-bones, with the only extras being the theatrical trailer and talent bios for Melville and Delon. The transfer is still very good, and you should pick this up if you're a Melville fan.