(aka 'Rififi')
directed
by Jules Dassin
France 1955
After making such American noir classics as The Naked City and Brute Force, blacklisted director Jules Dassin went to Paris and embarked on his masterpiece: a twisting, turning tale of four ex-cons who hatch one last glorious heist in the City of Lights. At once naturalistic and expressionistic, this melange of suspense, brutality, and dark humor was an international hit and earned Dassin the Best Director prize at the Cannes Film Festival.
Posters (Click to enlarge)
 |
 |
 |
 |
Theatrical Release: April 15th, 1955 - France
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
DVD Comparison:
Criterion Region 1 vs. Madman Entertainment (Australia) Region 0 - PAL
R0 screenshots courtesy of Ole
| DVD Box Covers |
|
|
| Distribution | Criterion
Collection
- Spine #115 Region 1 - NTSC |
Madman Entertainment
Region 0 - PAL |
| Runtime | 1:58:24 | 1:57:48 (No PAL Speed Up?) |
| Video | Original
Aspect Ratio (Standard) - 1.37:1 Average Bitrate: 6.71 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s |
Original
Aspect Ratio (Standard) - 1.37:1 Average Bitrate: 6.21 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
|
Criterion:
|
|
| Bitrate
|
Madman Entertainment:
|
|
| Audio | French
(Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono), Dub - English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
 |
French
Dolby Digital 2.0 mono
|
| Subtitles | (White) English or none | (Yellow) English (removable when the film is running) |
| Features | Release
Information: Studio: Home Vision Entertainment Discographic Information: DVD Encoding: Region 1 (US and Canada only) Layers: Dual Edition Details: • Production notes |
Release Information: Madman Entertainment (Australia)
Discographic
Information: Layers:
Dual
|
| Comments: |
Although it appears as
though the Australian Madman version has duplicated the Criterion extras
they certainly couldn't duplicate the image quality. Hazy and washed-out
the Madman release borders on sepia tones. The Criterion on the other
hand is sharp (see the Umbrella top in capture #3) with solid black
levels. My only complaint with the Criterion was two reels were out of sync with the sound being slightly
early - This was corrected in a 2nd printing. Picky, I know. The Australian release has inaccurate and incomplete
sub-titles. Go with the Criterion all the way on this one.
Aside: Unclear throughout the narrative of the film, the cabaret song in the show that details what the word "rififi" means 'for the rough and tumble', as an active sexual reference. |
|
|
DVD Release Date:
April 24, 2001 Chapters 24 |
DVD Release Date:
April 2002 Chapters 20 | |
Recommended Reading in Film Noir (CLICK COVERS or TITLES for more information)
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Film Noir: An Encyclopedia Reference to the American
Style by Alain Silver, Elizabeth Ward |
The Dark Side of the Screen: Film Noir by Foster Hirsch |
Somewhere in the Night: Film Noir and the American City by Nicholas Christopher |
The Art of Noir: The Posters and Graphics from the
Classic Era of Film Noir by Eddie Muller |
The Little Black and White Book of Film Noir:
Quotations from Films of the 40's and 50's by Peg Thompson, Saeko Usukawa |
Film Noir by Alain Silver |
Detours and Lost Highways: A Map of Neo-Noir by Foster Hirsch |
More Than Night: Film Noir in Its Contexts by James Naremore |
(Criterion left,
Madman Entertainment right)
DVD Menu
 |
 |
 |
 |
(Criterion top, Madman Entertainment
bottom)
Capture #1
 |
 |
(Criterion
top, Madman Entertainment bottom)
Capture # 1a
|
|
 |
(Criterion
top, Madman Entertainment bottom)
Capture # 2
|
|
 |
(Criterion
top, Madman Entertainment bottom)
Capture # 3
|
|
 |
(Criterion
top, Madman Entertainment bottom)
Capture # 4
|
|
 |
(Criterion top, Madman Entertainment bottom)
Capture # 5
|
|
 |
Report Card:
|
Image: |
Criterion |
|
Sound: |
- |
| Extras: | - |
| Menu: | Criterion |
| DVD Box Covers |
|
|
| Distribution | Criterion
Collection
- Spine #115 Region 1 - NTSC |
Madman Entertainment
Region 0 - PAL |
DONATIONS Keep DVDBeaver alive and advertisement free:
Mail cheques, money orders, cash to: or CLICK PayPal logo to donate!
|
Gary Tooze 1775 Rowntree Court Mississauga, Ontario, L4W 4V3 CANADA |
|
