Cheris Blog

Buy Le Corbeau DVD. Product: Le Corbeau Average customer review: Amazon Price: Sale Price Too Low To Display Click Below To See Amazon Sale Price Add to cart to see discount price@ Availability: In Stock Usually ships in 24 Hours Free Shipping At Amazon

Compare Prices on Le Corbeau

Some called the director Henri Georges Clouzot “the French Hitchcock.” But in many ways Hitchcock was Santa Claus next to the cynical Clouzot. The Frenchman was a master of film noir, that bleakest and blackest of film genres. He made three undeniably titanic films: “Diabolique”, “The Wages of Anxiety”, and this one. For some reason it’s been packaged here as “The Raven”, but its better known title is “Le Corbeau”, or “The Crow.” Like Clouzot’s other broad movies, it’s a suspenseful, ugly scramble into the heart of darkness that can exist in the human soul. In a slight French village, someone is sending anonymous, hate-filled letters chubby of lies and half-truths about the villagers: she is a thief, he is an adulterer, that doctor performs secret abortions. The letters are signed “the Crow.” The level of despise and paranoia in the tiny village rises to fever pitch as a witch-hunt develops to come by The Crow. The final identity of the letter-writer is ghastly, but logical and inevitable. You have to explore the film twice in order to lift up all the diabolical miniature clues Clouzot lets plunge. The protagonist, Dr. Germain (the main target of the Crow’s letter-writing campaign) loses his rigidity about human nature and begins to perceive that people are a mixture of pleasurable and faulty and that “execrable is famous. It’s like a disease from which you emerge stronger.” The film is cleverly written and beautifully and ominously photographed in the best noir style. The film was made in German-occupied France in 1943 and was a harsh portrait of a diminutive French town, so after the war it was misconstrued by many as anti-French propaganda, and Clouzot had difficulty finding work for a few years. That could be the reason why this movie is not as widely appreciated as his others. But it’s not a political film that deals with passing issues. It’s a film-noir gem.

A reticent physician with a mysterious past, practicing in the tiny French town of St. Robin, is targeted by poison-pen letters signed “Le Corbeau” (The Raven) . The letters increase from a trickle to a deluge as virtually everyone in town is targeted; confidences are violated and neighbor suspects neighbor in an infectious atmosphere of growing paranoia and mistrust. Henri-Georges Clouzot (Diabolique, Wages of Dismay) keeps the viewer on his toes throughout the entire 91 minutes; there isn’t a extinct region in this entire film which, amazingly, managed to acquire itself made during the Nazi occupation of France (and which was condemned by both the Moral and Left Wings, with the Church thrown in for wonderful measure) .I caught the beginning of this film some months assist on Turner and was too tired to search for it in its entirety. I was very glad to learn that Criterion (yay!) was scheduled to release it and I wasn’t disappointed; this film belongs in the library of every serious collector. In fact, I can’t imagine anyone’s not enjoying it.Since other reviewers have summarized the station, I’ll confine the rest of my review to the disk and its extras. The print–predictably–is magnificent, presented in its novel, full-screen aspect ratio. Contrary to another reviewer, I found the sound distinct as a bell and not in the least bit harsh or tinny. I haven’t, with the exception of the trailer, availed myself of the extras yet but this is a Criterion release–I’d be surprised if they were anything but pleasurable. A very informative booklet is included and makes for intelligent reading. My quibbles are minor and few: I found the subtitles difficult to witness from a rather short distance, and I wish they were offered in other languages (I have a number of friends who are original emigres from Russia and other countries who are interested to avail themselves of quality cinema) . There was also a scene where the action paused for a share of a second–I’m not clear if this was the director’s blueprint or the result of this being a dual-layer release. This is a intriguing film that can be enjoyed on a number of levels, i.e., one need not be aware of conditions in France at the time it was shot to be captivated by it. An fine introduction to the work of Clouzot for the launch and a welcome event for seasoned fans.
Smokeless Cigarette
Gamefly Trial
Lumosity
Electric Cigarette
Wholesale Authentic Designer Handbags