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S E A R C H    D V D B e a v e r

(aka "He Who Must Die")

 

Directed by Jules Dassin
USA 1957

 

Set in a Turkish-occupied Greek village shortly after World War I, Jules Dassin’s stunning He Who Must Die tells the story of the townspeople’s efforts to stage their Passion Play, an event that occurs once every seven years. The leading citizens choose who will play the parts: a stuttering young shepherd is chosen as Jesus; the town butcher as Judas; the town prostitute as Mary Magdalene. But as the movie unfolds, the Passion becomes a reality, and the villagers actualize their biblical roles against the tragic backdrop of a country uprooted by war and poverty. Adapted from author Nikos Kazantzakis (Zorba the Greek, The Last Temptation of Christ) by the world-renowned Jules Dassin, the director of Rififi, Never on Sunday and Topkapi, this powerful film asks: What would happen if Jesus came down to Earth a second time? The extraordinary international cast includes Melina Mercouri, Pierre Vaneck, Jean Servais, Carl Möhner, Grégoire Aslan, Gert Fröbe, René Lefèvre, Roger Hanin, Nicole Berger, Maurice Ronet and Fernand Ledoux.

***

Greece, in the 1920s, is occupied by the Turks. The country is in turmoil with entire villages uprooted. The site of the movie is a Greek village that conducts a passion play each year. The leading citizens of the town, under the auspices of the Patriarch, choose those that will play the parts in the Passion. A stuttering shepherd is chosen to play Jesus. The town butcher (who wanted to be Jesus) is chosen as Judas. The town prostitute is chosen as Mary Magdalene. The rest of the disciples are also chosen. As the movie unfolds, the Passion Play becomes a reality. A group of villagers, uprooted by the war and impoverished, arrive at the village led by their priest. The wealthier citizens of the town want nothing with these people and manipulate a massacre. In the context of the 1920s, each of the characters plays out their biblical role in actuality.

Posters

Theatrical Release: May 4th, 1957

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Review: Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

Box Cover

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Bonus Captures:

Distribution Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime 2:08:01.090        
Video

2.35:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 44,161,748,912 bytes

Feature: 41,160,757,248 bytes

Video Bitrate: 38.93 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

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

Bitrate Blu-ray:

Audio

DTS-HD Master Audio French 1582 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1582 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Commentary:

Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps

Subtitles English, None
Features Release Information:
Studio:
Kino

 

2.35:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 44,161,748,912 bytes

Feature: 41,160,757,248 bytes

Video Bitrate: 38.93 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Edition Details:

• NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historian/Filmmaker Daniel Kremer
• Theatrical Trailer (1:20)


Blu-ray Release Date: September 6th
,
2022
Standard Blu-ray Case

Chapters 9

 

 

Comments:

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Kino Blu-ray (August 2022): Kino have transferred Jules Dassin's He Who Must Die to Blu-ray. It is on a dual-layered disc with a max'ed out bitrate and looks very strong in 2.35:1 black and white. Texture is not dominant but contrast is impressive. The 1080P transfer provides a highly pleasing HD presentation.

NOTE: We have added 38 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Kino use a DTS-HD Master dual-mono track (24-bit) in the original French language. He Who Must Die has aggressive moments (rifles) that come through with modest surprising depth. The film's audio is authentically flat. The occasionally uplifting score is by Georges Auric (The Mind Benders, The Lavender Hill Mob, Heaven Knows Mr. Allison, It Always Rains on Sunday, Dead of Night, The Innocents, Lola Montes, Rififi, Wages of Fear) sounding clean with consistent dialogue in the lossless transfer. Kino offer optional English subtitles on their Region 'A' Blu-ray.

The Kino Blu-ray offers a new commentary by Film Historian/Filmmaker Daniel Kremer. He talks about this being Dassin's first widescreen film and the first time working with his future wife Melina Mercouri - of which they would work together in a nine other film projects. Daniel finds connections to French screenwriter Marguerite Duras and director Joseph Losey plus he shares a lot on the director's fascinating career - his Greek period - details of the production of He Who Must Die, dimensions of Passion Play, Scorsese's controversial film, novelist Nikos Kazantzakis, and the use of the widescreen (CinemaScope) with many extras and supporting cast filling the frame. Daniel shares a personal connection to the film and it's at his usual high standard of observant analysis. Well worth the indulgence. There is also a trailer for the film.   

Jules Dassin's He Who Must Die is set shortly after World War I. A Greek village is occupied by a hypocritical Turkish governance - and the story plays out mirroring the Passion Play allegorically, with villagers taking the roles of the Jesus - a stuttering shepherd (Pierre Vaneck) - the apostles, a town widow playing prostitute Mary Magdalene (Melina Mercouri), etc. They rebel against the invaders. Although many assume he was French, Jules Dassin was born in the USA, one of eight children of Russian-Jewish immigrants. He was blacklisted, and moved to France to work, having briefly belonged to the Communist Party. He Who Must Die was shot in Crete, Greece with excellent cinematography by Jacques Natteau and Gilbert Chain. It's a very intelligent film filled with relevant parables - although quite a step away from the director's 'dark cinema' gems; Brute Force, Thieves' Highway, The Naked City, Night and the City etc. The Kino Blu-ray looks and sounds wonderful and includes a valuable commentary by Daniel Kremer. This package is very highly recommended.

Gary Tooze

 


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Box Cover

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Distribution Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray


 


 

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