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(aka "Hate" )
directed
by Mathieu Kassovitz
France 1995
When he was just twenty-nine years old, Mathieu Kassovitz took the international film world by storm with La haine (Hate), a gritty, unsettling, and visually explosive look at the racial and cultural volatility in modern-day France, specifically in the low-income banlieue districts on Paris’s outskirts. Aimlessly whiling away their days in the concrete environs of their dead-end suburbia, Vinz (Vincent Cassel), Hubert (Hubert Koundé), and Saïd (Saïd Taghmaoui)—a Jew, an African, and an Arab—give human faces to France’s immigrant populations, their bristling resentment at their social marginalization slowly simmering until they reach a climactic boiling point. A work of tough beauty, La haine is a landmark of contemporary French cinema and a gripping reflection of its country’s ongoing identity crisis.
***
With ”La Haine”, director Mathieu Kassovitz illustrates the
dichotomy, that exists between people from the projects outside of Paris and
those from the outside. By society and topography seen as losers, there is
little tolerance, acceptance nor understanding from either side, which leads
to instant aggression, to hate, hence the title.
According to Kassovitz, who is a well educated middleclass Parisian Jew, this
pattern of behavior can be found everywhere, in the US, the Germany, in the
UK, hence, what he attempts to describe is a universal situation of a society
on a self-destructive path. He illustrates this path of society by the story
of a man falling down from a tall building; As he passes each floor, he says,
“so far, so good”.
The approach Kassovitz takes is to illustrate the projects as a village,
isolated from “society”, with its own laws. The “isolation” is a reaction
against the attempt from the authorities to control the projects, so while it
may seems strange, that the people will burn down, for instance, a gym, it is
because it was financed by the authorities. The message is, we don’t need your
help or hands down.
The story takes place over a day, where each “chapter” is marked by an
intertitle clock. We follow the three friends, Vinz, Said and Hubert, their
bumming around and their trip to Paris. There is little plot, but more a
series of situation which illustrate the situation the film notes its motifs
upon.
In order to film in the projects, Kassovitz, the production team and the
actors, moved into the projects and lived there for three months prior to the
shooting and during the three months of actual shooting, in order for those
living there to get to know them. Many of the participants in the film are non
actors. This gives the film a documentary feel, which is stressed by its black
and white photography. Likewise, many of the situations in the film were
written out of real events. As such, “La Haine” is
fictionalized fact.
With the growing following of Le Pen in France, and the anti-Semitism and
anti-immigration that follows, “La Haine” is still actual, and as long as
society makes an active choice of making certain groups into outcasts,
supported by official politics, then the situation will only get worse. Few
films are as timeless and powerful as this.
Posters
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Theatrical Release: May 1995 (Cannes Film Festival)
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
DVD Comparison:
Optimum Home Entertainment (SE - 10th Anniversary Edition) - Region 2 - PAL vs. Criterion (2-disc Special Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC
Big thanks to Henrik Sylow for the Review!
(Optimum Home Entertainment (SE - 10th Anniversary Edition) - Region 2 - PAL LEFT vs. Criterion (2-disc Special Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC RIGHT)
| DVD Box Cover |
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| Distribution |
Optimum Home Entertainment Region 2 - PAL |
Criterion Collection - Spine # 381 Region 1 - NTSC |
| Runtime | 1:33:31 (4% PAL speedup) | 1:38:18 |
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Video |
1.85:1 Original Aspect Ratio
16X9 enhanced |
1.85:1 Aspect Ratio
16X9 enhanced
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NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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| Bitrate: Optimum |
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| Bitrate: Criterion |
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| Audio | French (Dolby Digital 2.0), French (Dolby Digital 5.1) | French (Dolby Digital 2.0), French (Dolby Digital 5.1) |
| Subtitles | English (fixed) | English, none |
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Features |
Release Information:
Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details: Chapters 16 |
Release Information:
Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details: Chapters 21 |
| Comments: |
ADDITION: Criterion - March 07': Short story on the image - the Criterion is superior on every front. It is sharper, much better contrast and even more information in the frame. The Optimum has a slim black border circumventing the frame limiting the horizontal resolution but the Criterion is tight to the frame edges. Criterion's subtitles are removable (unlike the Optimum) and are far less intrusive. Both DVD editions offer audio in both 2.0 and 5.1 flavors. NOTE: There is a Finnish Two disc set from Universal with subtitle options in Finnish, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, English, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, Czech and Polish - audio in French DTS, DD 5.1 DD 2.0 and a Spanish DD 2.0 DUB. One screen capture is compared below. It looks a shade brighter than the Criterion but may have some very minor edge enhancement -Thanks Per-Olaf! who says - "The film is very grainy, and I think it's intended to achieve a documentary style. It seems that both Optimum and Criterion have tried to remove the grain from the image and both have ended up with a soft(er) image. The Finnish Universal master-tape is from Studio-Canal, and it seems to be a port from the French DVD (that doesn't have English subs).". I have not heard the Optimum commentary (nor the French) but Criterion state that their commentary is a new one - recorded specifically for them in 2006 in Paris. Director Kassovitz pulls no punches and speaks quite frankly about the politics of the project, production details, people involved and the impetus for the film. He makes comments about the current state of France - with regard to a potentially fascist leaning government - speaking his displeasure as the voice of many French citizens. His accent is not harsh and his English is fully understandable. He remarks how he is a Criterion fan owning many of their LaserDiscs from years gone by. He seems proud to have his film produced onto DVD by them. Jodie Foster gives an articulate, heartfelt 15 minute introduction. She is wonderful to listen to - this is a highly intelligent person detailing why she got involved in the distribution of the film to the US. She gives a brief overview of the narrative from her personal standpoint. Disc 2 is stacked with supplements - most notably a 1 1/2 hour documentary entitled Ten Years of "La haine". It pulls together some of the backstory details of the project with some archive news footage and vital comments. It is very well done and I really enjoyed watching it. There is much more including 4 deleted scenes and 4 extended scenes, a short featurette on the making of a scene and another on preparation for shooting. The disc 2 digital supplements have optional English subtitles. Included also is a 24-page liner notes booklet with black and white photos. It contains an essay by film scholar Ginette Vincendeau and a 2-page appreciation by acclaimed filmmaker Costa-Gavras. Criterion have done it again with an entirely complete package of an important film experience - both educating and enlightening. It is a powerful and ultimately eviscerating cinematic pleasure that Criterion have rendered expertly to digital. Strongly recommended! ***
On the Optimum: The new digital remastering is
simply stunning. Complete flawless black and white, with deep blacks and
crisp details. It simply looks great. The DVD comes with the original
stereo / mono mix (Kassovitz recorded certain passages in mono to pinpoint
the situation on screen) and a newly mixed 5.1 DD track. |
DVD Menus
(Optimum Home
Entertainment
(SE - 10th
Anniversary
Edition) -
Region 2 - PAL
LEFT vs.
Criterion
(2-disc Special
Edition) -
Region 1 - NTSC
RIGHT)
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Criterion - Disc 2
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NOTE: Not exact frame
Optimum Home Entertainment (SE - 10th Anniversary Edition) - Region 2 - PAL TOP vs. Criterion (2-disc Special Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC MIDDLE vs. Universal (Finland) - Region 2 - PAL BOTTOM)
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Screen Captures
(Optimum Home Entertainment (SE - 10th Anniversary Edition) - Region 2 - PAL TOP vs. Criterion (2-disc Special Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC BOTTOM)
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(Optimum Home Entertainment (SE - 10th Anniversary Edition) - Region 2 - PAL TOP vs. Criterion (2-disc Special Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC BOTTOM)
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(Optimum Home Entertainment (SE - 10th Anniversary Edition) - Region 2 - PAL TOP vs. Criterion (2-disc Special Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC BOTTOM)
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(Optimum Home Entertainment (SE - 10th Anniversary Edition) - Region 2 - PAL TOP vs. Criterion (2-disc Special Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC MIDDLE vs. Universal (Finland) - Region 2 - PAL BOTTOM)
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Report Card:
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Image: |
Criterion |
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Sound: |
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| Extras: | Criterion |
| Menu: | Criterion |
| DVD Box Cover |
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| Distribution |
Optimum Home Entertainment Region 2 - PAL |
Criterion Collection - Spine # 381 Region 1 - NTSC |
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