Some New Alain Delon Films on DVD Soon

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silentscreen
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Some New Alain Delon Films on DVD Soon

Post by silentscreen »

I've only seen three of his films, but he's an intriguing actor. Available for preorder, and being released March 25th on Amazon. This is probably the first time these films have been made available on DVD.

Alain Delon:5-Film Collection (The Widow Couderc / Diabolically Yours / La Piscine / Le Gitan / Notre Histoire)
"Humor is nothing less than a sense of the fitness of things." Carole Lombard
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Ann Harding
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Post by Ann Harding »

Having seen four of the five films on the set, I can say that:
La Veuve Couderc (1971) is a fairly good adaptation of Georges Simenon (the author of Maigret novels) where Delon plays with Simone Signoret.
La Piscine (1969) shows the clash -again- between Maurice Ronet and Delon quite a few years after Plein Soleil (Purple Noon). It's not as good as Plein Soleil though: Jacques Deray is no René Clément. But, you get Romy Schneider as the leading lady.
Diaboliquement vôtre (1967) was directed by Julien Duvivier. I have never seen this one, but Duvivier is a great director, so it must be worth investigating.
Le Gitan (1975) is fairly bog-standard gangster story of the type that Delon produced in droves during the 70s.
Notre Histoire (1984) was a new turn in Delon's career. Instead of his usual gangster or policeman story, he plays a drifter, drowning in alcohol. Bertrand Blier directed this strange opus in usual twisted style. You might be quite put off by this film....

Overall, I think this set has not selected Delon's best pictures. They could have selected some great pictures such as Joseph Losey's Monsieur Klein (1976) where he plays a very ambiguous figure during WWII; Le Cercle Rouge (1970) by Jean-Pierre Melville; Les Aventuriers (1967) a really nice adventure film where he shares the lead with lino Ventura; Quelle Joie de Vivre (1961) by René Clément.
Last edited by Ann Harding on March 14th, 2008, 7:01 am, edited 1 time in total.
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silentscreen
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Post by silentscreen »

Thanks for giving your insights into this set annharding! Sounds like it may only be a so-so representation of Delon's work.
"Humor is nothing less than a sense of the fitness of things." Carole Lombard
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