Les Noces Rouges (aka: Wedding In Blood)

Introduction

I shall leave the description of the film to that which is in the disc details above, as this describes the plot very well, only to add that I found it a rather Hitchcockian affair, and none the worse for it. I`m a little confused by the English translation though, as `Wedding in Blood` uses a bit of poetic license, and gives you the impression that we may be about to watch a different type of story altogether.

Video

I was impresed by the quality of the film stock considering its age, and didn`t notice any problems until we came to the night scenes, which showed some blotchiness and green tinges around the edges.

Audio

The sound quality is very good. Understandably, we`re not going to be getting a full-on DTS surround, but sometimes we don`t need this to make an impressive story. The film is underpinned by a very atmospheric score by Pierre Jansen (always nice to have a good tune which is easily developed and sticks in the mind).

Features

Absolutely no extras unfortunately (although English subtitles were rather helpful)

Conclusion

So, we have adultery, murder, duplicitousness and finally, admission and some form of redemption. Everything a good story should contain(and is possibly a trait of Chabrol`s films).

The sleepy life of a small French town is perfectly captured, from the shots of empty streets early in the morning (and most of the day to be honest, as not much seems to happen there), to the impression that everyone knows everyone else and so all underhand activities need to be kept well under wraps. Having said that, political skulduggery has never been out of fashion, and the corrupt Mayor of the town (Claude Piéplu) plays his part wonderfully, right up to the end, at which point we almost feel sorry for him. Even the French President becomes involved, albeit over the phone as I doubt Georges Pompidou had much time to appear in films at the time it was made.

The cold and manipulating lovers (Michel Piccoli/ Stéphane Audran) are very believeable as their seemingly happy domestic lives (to the town anyway) gradually fall apart and the arrest scenes are quite moving, considering they were instigated by a `helpful` daughter trying to save her mother.

I have to admit, I`m new to Claude Chabrol, despite hearing of his films beforehand, but I was pleased to have this as an introduction to his output, as he comes across as a fine director, employing great camerawork to enhance the drama (shots while driving - with the car radio playing in particular, and a noticeable attraction to water in certain scenes). The previously mentioned sleepy life, and general ambience, is shattered by one incredibly violent moment which, as a mark of a fine storyteller, we feel is unavoidable, but utterly necessary if the plot is to continue to its inevitable conclusion.

A well structured and compact film which is very welcome on DVD. A shame that older films like this only tend to come as `barebones` editions.