Upcoming Melville & Belmondo Titles Detailed
Kino Lorber Studio Classics will release a treasure trove of French cinema on Blu-ray and DVD on July 2nd, including three films from the master of French Noir, Jean-Pierre Melville, and several starring international superstar Jean-Paul Belmondo. I haven’t seen every Melville film, but based on those I’ve watched, he never disappoints. Consequently, July can’t come soon enough for me.
Here are the announcements from the Kino Lorber Studio Classics Facebook page:
Coming July 2nd on DVD & BD!
3 Masterpieces by Jean-Pierre Melville!
Bob Le Flambeur (1956)
- 4K Restoration
- NEW Audio Commentary by Film Critic Nick Pinkerton
- Diary of a Villain – Documentary
- Theatrical Trailer
Screenplay by Melville and Auguste Le Breton (Rififi, Razzia) and shot by Henri Decaë (The 400 Blows, Purple Noon).
Léon Morin, Priest (1961)
- 4K Restoration of 128-Minute Director’s Cut
- NEW Interview with Assistant Director Volker Schlöndorff
- NEW Audio Commentary by Filmmaker and Historian Mike Siegel
- Master Class with Philippe Labro & Rémy Grumbach
- Theatrical Trailer
Gloriously shot in black-and-white by Henri Decaë (The Sicilian Clan, Viva Maria!).
Le Doulos (1962)
- 4K Restoration
- Audio Commentary by Film Historian Samm Deighan
- Interview with First Assistant Director Volker Schlöndorff
- Birth of the Detective Story Melville Style – Documentary
- Theatrical Trailer
Top-notch cinematography by Nicolas Hayer (Le Corbeau).
Coming July 2nd on DVD & BD!
2 Action Classics Starring Belmondo!
Le Professionnel (1981)
- Audio Commentary by Film Historians Howard S. Berger, Steve Mitchell and Nathaniel Thompson
- Theatrical Trailer
International superstar Jean-Paul Belmondo (Le Doulos, Le Marginal) brings his smoldering intensity to French super-spy Joss Beaumont, a top agent sent on a mission to assassinate a foreign dictator. But when the political winds change, and Beaumont is double-crossed by his own government, revenge becomes the name of the game. Prison can’t hold him and no one can stand in his way as Beaumont lays down the gauntlet—he will carry out his assignment and someone must die. Director Georges Lautner (Road to Salina) delivers a taut, thrilling espionage drama with a sensational score by legendary maestro Ennio Morricone (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly). Beautifully shot by Henri Decaë (Les Bonnes Femmes, Bob Le Flambeur) and co-starring Robert Hossein (Vice and Virtue) and Jean Desailly (The Soft Skin).
The Outsider (Le Marginal) (1983)
- Audio Commentary by Film Historian Samm Deighan
- Theatrical Trailer
From Jacques Deray, the legendary director of The Swimming Pool, Borsalino, The Outside Man and Flic Story. Screen legend Jean-Paul Belmondo (Les Professionnel, Le Doulos) stars as Commissaire Philippe Jordan, a rogue French detective in Marseille infiltrating a network of drug traffickers and their crime boss, Sauveur Meccacci (Henry Silva, Sharky’s Machine, Code of Silence). Two of the film’s best features are the terrific color photography by Xaver Schwarzenberger (Veronika Voss, Lili Marleen) and the musical score by composer extraordinaire Ennio Morricone (For a Few Dollars More, The Sicilian Clan). The stellar cast includes Tchéky Karyo (La Femme Nikita), Roger Dumas (That Man from Rio), Michel Robin (Amélie) and Jean-Claude Dreyfus (Delicatessen).
