Touchez Pas Au Grisbi Blu-ray

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

Directed by Jacques Becker
France 1954

Jean Gabin is at his most wearily romantic as aging gangster Max le Menteur in the Jacques Becker gem Touchez pas au grisbi (Hands Off the Loot!). Having pulled off the heist of a lifetime, Max looks forward to spending his remaining days relaxing with his beautiful young girlfriend. But when Riton (René Dary), Max’s hapless partner and best friend, lets word of the loot slip to loose-lipped, two-timing Josy (Jeanne Moreau), Max is reluctantly drawn back into the underworld. A touchstone of the gangster-film genre, Touchez pas au grisbi is also pure Becker—understated, elegant, evocative.

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Jacques Becker’s (Le Trou) Touchez Pas Au Grisbi occupies a significant part in French cinema history; it exerted a huge influence on subsequent directors such as Jean-Pierre Melville (Le Doulos), Henri Verneuil (The Sicilian Clan) and Claude Sautet (Classe Tous Risques). Max (Jean Gabin, Port of Shadows) is an aging gangster who manages to pull off his final heist, a spectacular gold bullion robbery at Orly airport. All is well until Max’s former girlfriend Josy (Jeanne Moreau, Viva Maria!) tips off a rival gangster, Angelo (Lino Ventura, Razzia Sur La Chnouf). Angelo kidnaps Max’s partner and best friend and threatens to kill him unless Max hands over the loot from his robbery. Touchez Pas Au Grisbi was the birth the French policier, a European transposition of the fantastic American gangster films and film noirs of the 1940s. Based on a book by Albert Simonin and beautifully shot in striking black-and-white by Pierre Montazel.

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This strangely-christened French film noir was released in the U.S. as Grisbi. Jean Gabin stars as a racketeer known by the Runyonesque nickname of Max the Liar. Seeking out the finer things in life, Max intends to pull one last job and retire. After stealing a fortune in gold, our "hero" is faced with a crisis of conscience when his best friend (René Dary) is kidnapped and held for a huge ransom. Somehow Max manages to turn the tables on the abductors, but his dreams of a life of ease explode in his face. Up-and-coming leading lady Jeanne Moreau plays a pivotal role as the femme fatale who leads Dary into the hands of his kidnappers.

Excerpt from B+N located HERE

Posters and one Comic Book

Rating

Theatrical Release: March 1st 1954 (France)

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Comparison

Criterion - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

Box Cover		Bonus Captures:
Distribution	Criterion - Spine # 271 - Region 1 - NTSC	Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:36:39	1:36:12.975
Video	1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	1.37:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 37,035,531,607 bytes Feature: 27,941,234,688 bytes Video Bitrate: 34.92 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate DVD:
Bitrate Blu-ray:
Audio	Dolby Monaural	DTS-HD Master Audio French 1554 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1554 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit) Commentary: Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps
Subtitles	English, None	English, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Criterion 1;33:1 aspect ratio Edition Details: • 2002 video interview with actor Daniel Cauchy • Excerpt from an episode of the French television series • 1972 interview excerpt with Lino Ventura • Theatrical trailer • Plus: New essays by critics Phillip Kemp and Geoffrey O'Brien Blu-ray Release Date: January 18th, 2005 Standard Blu-ray Case inside cardboard sleeve Chapters 12	Release Information: Studio: Kino 1.37:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 37,035,531,607 bytes Feature: 27,941,234,688 bytes Video Bitrate: 34.92 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • Audio Commentary by Film Critic Nick Pinkerton • Interview with filmmaker Jean Becker (13:59) • Interview with actress Jeanne Moreau (5:03 - SD) • Interview with Professor/Film Critic Ginette Vincendeau (8:07) • Theatrical Trailer (3:53) Blu-ray Release Date: August 13th, 2019 Standard Blu-ray Case Chapters 8

Comments:

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

ADDITION: Kino Blu-ray (August 2019): Kino have transferred Jacques Becker's Touchez Pas au Grisbi Blu-ray. I don't own the Studio Canal Blu-ray from 2017 HERE. Along withsome infrequent waxiness, the image quality lacks grain. A troubling sign. It is brighter than the 2005 Criterion DVD. While there is some slight movement in the frame - there may, generally, be a sliver more information in the 1080P frame. It starts with the Studio Canal logo and we can assume it is from the same restoration as the 2017 HD transfer. I was impressed with the detail of the higher resolution over the SD. It's on a dual-layered disc with a max'ed out bitrate and looks very pleasing in-motion without pulling out the magnifying glass.

NOTE: 44 more full resolution (1920 X 1080) captures for Patrons are available HERE.

On their Blu-ray, Kino use a DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel mono track (16-bit) in the original French language. The lossless is another advancement in the film's audio and score by Jean Wiener (The Lower Depths -1936, Mouchette, Au Hasard Balthazar) sounding a bit deeper with more clear and consistent dialogue. Kino offer optional English subtitles on their Region 'A' Blu-ray.

Kino add an audio commentary by Film Critic Nick Pinkerton who, clearly, is an expert on the film and exports some great analysis on much of the film's subtleties. He is a freelance journalist and film programmer. He has written about films for Sight & Sound, ArtForum, the Village Voice, Moving Image Source, among other publications. He is currently a member of the New York Film Critics Circle. The commentary is an excellent addition to this package. There is also a 14-minute interview with filmmaker Jean Becker and a vintage video piece with Jeanne Moreau, Revealing is a brief 8-minutes with Professor/Film Critic Ginette Vincendeau. Lastly is a theatrical trailer and trailers for other films.

Saying that Touchez Pas au Grisbi is Jacques Becker best film is saying a mouthful considering "Casque d'or" and "Le Trou". But many people agree with this opinion. It's a Noir-ish masterpiece touching beyond crime to themes of honor, adventure and age (retirement.). It's a film I am very thrilled to own on Blu-ray. despite reservations about the image. Perhaps we can compare to the UH BD soon.

Gary Tooze

ON THE DVD (2005): Another great presentation by Criterion. It's hard to believe that this film was shot in 1954 from the clarity of the images. Comparing the images used in the excerpt from "Cineastes de notre temps" to the ones in the film is like looking at night and day. The audio, while only monaural, is excellent. The dialogue is very crisp. This DVD is a must own for fans of Gabin, Becker, or the gangster-themed genre.