- Director : Jacques Deray
- Actors : Jean Rochefort, Michel Auclair, Charles Vanel, Jose Giovanni, Claude Dauphin
- Media Format : Anamorphic
- Studio : Cohen Media Group
- MPAA rating : NR (Not Rated)
- Country of Origin : France
- Number of discs : 1
- Run time : 1 hour and 50 minutes
- Release date : August 30, 2022
Symphony For a
Massacre is an early 1960s French film noir that has all the seedy pleasure of
the American counterparts, though it takes its time to unravel them. It is a sophisticated
film about the cruel violence of men willing to betray their allies for a price.
The simplicity of the storyline is what makes it so effective, and also
provides director Jacques Deray plenty of time to build the suspense and outline
the methods of betrayal with intricate details.
The storyline
begins with a plan by five men to purchase a large sum of illegal drugs in
hopes that it will set them up for life. In order to make the deal, they must
pool their money for the large purchase. Valoti (Claude Dauphin) uses the money
from his casino to pay his portion, but Clavet (Michel Auclair) is unable to
raise the funds and resorts to including counterfeit bills, much to the
frustration of his wife Madeleine (Michele Mercier), who worries about the
risks involved. The trustworthiness of Jabeke (Jean Rochefort) is also brought
into question when it is revealed that he is secretly having an affair with
Valoti’s wife, Hélène (Daniela Rocca).
Once the money
has been collected, Paoli (Charles Vanel) is designated as the one to travel by
train to pay for the drugs. What he doesn’t realize is that one of the other five
men has put a plan into place to steal the money before he reaches the
destination. This betrayal leads to death, and further murders are carried out to
ensure the plot remains covered up. The audience is clued into the guilty man
and allowed to marvel at his coldly calculated moves, wondering all the time
how it will finally be resolved.
The gorgeous black-and-white
cinematography of Symphony For a Massacre is restored in 2K from a 4K scan of
the surviving 35MM interpositive for the new Blu-ray release for the Cohen Film
Collection. The special features with the release also contains a re-release
trailer and a 28-minute evaluation of the film.
Entertainment Value:
7.5/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 8.5/10
Historical
Significance: 7/10
Special Features: 7/10
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