Diabolique (Criterion Collection Spine #35)
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List Price: $29.95
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Manufacturer: Criterion
Starring: Simone Signoret, Véra Clouzot, Paul Meurisse, Charles Vanel, Jean Brochard
Directed By: Henri-Georges Clouzot
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audience Rating: Unrated
Binding: DVD
Brand: Image Entertainment
EAN: 9780780021945
Format: Black & White
ISBN: 0780021940
Label: Criterion
Number Of Items: 1
Picture Format: Academy Ratio
Publisher: Criterion
Region Code: 1
Release Date: 1999-01-26
Running Time: 116
Studio: Criterion
Theatrical Release Date: 1955-11-21
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: 3.5 stars out of 4
Comment: The Bottom Line:
A foul man is murdered by his wife and his mistress but the body mysteriously disappears--Clouzet and his excellent cast take this clever set-up and run with it, weaving such an interesting tale of suspense and shadows that the viewer heartily ignores the impossibilities of the plot.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Best in its kind
Comment: "Les Diaboliques" (1955) is a masterpiece of terror films, at the level of "Psycho" (1960) with which there are similarities. In fact, directors Clouzot and Hitchcock, very much admired each others work. The star power of Simone Signoret was never more evident. I first saw "Les Diaboliques" when initially released and now 50 years later. My opinion remains the same. This is a classic of French cinema and a must for film-lovers, worldwide (5/5 stars).
Customer Rating:
Summary: Excellent Cinema
Comment: The next time you need a film that totally enthralls you, see Les Diaboliques. I had heard so much about this movie that when I finally found it, I watched it immediately. I was nervous from all the hype (as well as from seeing the "remake" with Sharon Stone and Chazz Palminteri, I know it is poor). But seeing this 1955 masterpiece, I am reassured.
The acting is superb. The cinematography is eerie and lends to the mood of the film. And the story is so original and exciting it is no wonder so many have tried to recreate its supernatural magic.
I do not want to spoil any of the plot points, but the film is about an all boys school in France where the principal and a teacher have a very familiar relationship, and his wife knows of it. In an attempt to free themselves from his cruel clutches, the mistress and the wife plot the perfect murder ... but something goes wrong ...
The DVD itself is great. Good sound and an excellent picture quality.
If you like Hitchcock, especially Psycho (his answer to this film) or Vertigo (also written by the same writers as Les Diaboliques), you will love this film.
Highly recommended ... especially for a Criterion Collection DVD under $30!!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Le Diabolique
Comment: A frightening crime caper from 1955 directed by multi award winning French filmmaker Henri-Georges Clouzot
Customer Rating:
Summary: A Film So Good It Made Hitchcock Jealous
Comment: A murder mystery, a suspense thriller, an exploration of human psychology, Diabolique is so good that when he first saw it (the first of many viewings) the reigning master of the suspense thriller, Alfred Hitchcock, was envious. The tortuous Diabolique is the story of the murder of a cruelly domineering headmaster of a French boy's school, carried out by his ailing foreign-born wife and aging, blonde mistress, followed by the sanity-assaulting, seemingly impossible, turns of events that ensue from what should have been a finely-orchestrated exercise in homicide. Was the killing of the brutish headmaster somehow observed? Who is toying with the killers, and why? Is what starts off as a tale of crime truly drifting into the supernatural? With enough white knuckle detours in the plot to keep almost any first time viewer guessing till the explanation comes in literally the last minute, Diabolique was, is, and will ever be a masterpiece of film making.
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Editorial Reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: 3.5 stars out of 4
Comment: The Bottom Line:
A foul man is murdered by his wife and his mistress but the body mysteriously disappears--Clouzet and his excellent cast take this clever set-up and run with it, weaving such an interesting tale of suspense and shadows that the viewer heartily ignores the impossibilities of the plot.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Best in its kind
Comment: "Les Diaboliques" (1955) is a masterpiece of terror films, at the level of "Psycho" (1960) with which there are similarities. In fact, directors Clouzot and Hitchcock, very much admired each others work. The star power of Simone Signoret was never more evident. I first saw "Les Diaboliques" when initially released and now 50 years later. My opinion remains the same. This is a classic of French cinema and a must for film-lovers, worldwide (5/5 stars).
Customer Rating:
Summary: Excellent Cinema
Comment: The next time you need a film that totally enthralls you, see Les Diaboliques. I had heard so much about this movie that when I finally found it, I watched it immediately. I was nervous from all the hype (as well as from seeing the "remake" with Sharon Stone and Chazz Palminteri, I know it is poor). But seeing this 1955 masterpiece, I am reassured.
The acting is superb. The cinematography is eerie and lends to the mood of the film. And the story is so original and exciting it is no wonder so many have tried to recreate its supernatural magic.
I do not want to spoil any of the plot points, but the film is about an all boys school in France where the principal and a teacher have a very familiar relationship, and his wife knows of it. In an attempt to free themselves from his cruel clutches, the mistress and the wife plot the perfect murder ... but something goes wrong ...
The DVD itself is great. Good sound and an excellent picture quality.
If you like Hitchcock, especially Psycho (his answer to this film) or Vertigo (also written by the same writers as Les Diaboliques), you will love this film.
Highly recommended ... especially for a Criterion Collection DVD under $30!!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Le Diabolique
Comment: A frightening crime caper from 1955 directed by multi award winning French filmmaker Henri-Georges Clouzot
Customer Rating:
Summary: A Film So Good It Made Hitchcock Jealous
Comment: A murder mystery, a suspense thriller, an exploration of human psychology, Diabolique is so good that when he first saw it (the first of many viewings) the reigning master of the suspense thriller, Alfred Hitchcock, was envious. The tortuous Diabolique is the story of the murder of a cruelly domineering headmaster of a French boy's school, carried out by his ailing foreign-born wife and aging, blonde mistress, followed by the sanity-assaulting, seemingly impossible, turns of events that ensue from what should have been a finely-orchestrated exercise in homicide. Was the killing of the brutish headmaster somehow observed? Who is toying with the killers, and why? Is what starts off as a tale of crime truly drifting into the supernatural? With enough white knuckle detours in the plot to keep almost any first time viewer guessing till the explanation comes in literally the last minute, Diabolique was, is, and will ever be a masterpiece of film making.
An acknowledged influence on Psycho, Henri-Georges Clouzot's horror classic is the story of a sadistic headmaster who brutalizes his fragile wife and his headstrong mistress. The two women murder him and dump his body in a swimming pool; when the pool is drained, no corpse is found. Criterion presents Diabolique in a new digital transfer.
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