Alain Delon 5-Film Collection (Lionsgate DVD)

 

Picture: C+     Sound: C+     Extras: D     Films: C+

 

 

Alain Delon is an actor who became an instant international star by appearing in a series of key French and Italian films in the early 1960s.  That was enough to create a lasting career over the last half-century and Lionsgate has decided to issue five of his star vehicles on DVD in a 5-Film Collection that are not always his best, but are certainly interesting enough to take a look at.

 

Diabolically Yours (1967) was the last film by the great Julien Duvivier and has Delon as a rich man surviving a car accident, but he soon learns that there may be something wrong beyond himself and has to investigate under the worst circumstances to find out if it was just an accident, a set-up and who is trying to nail him.  Or is he just loosing his mind?  Senta Berger also stars.

 

The Swimming Pool (1969) pairs Delon and Romy Schneider as a vacationing couple interrupted by her former lover and his own teen daughter (Jane Birkin) in this short, hit-and-miss thriller of sorts.  At least Jacques Deray was ambitious.

 

The Widow Couderc (1971) is another attempt at a dark, profound thriller with (this time by Director Pierre Granier-Deferre) in which he falls for an older woman (Simone Signoret) and though they are good, the screenplay is not totally up to getting the most out of the situation.

 

The Gypsy (1975) is like Delon’s Zorro where he is awkward (even more so here) as the title character, never totally believing him in the role.  He is an ethnic Robin Hood here, but it is a bit tired and shows that his power to choose what is best has started to fail him.

 

Our Story (1984, aka Notre Historie) is a comeback of sorts via Director Bertrand Blier, often criticized, yet always interesting in this story of an older man who has a hot sexual encounter with a young lady (Nathalie Baye) in a story that works very well at first, then Blier gets indulgent into directions that are interesting, but cause this to slowly implode.

 

 

The anamorphically enhanced 1.66 to 1.85 image on each film is not bad, but color and detail can be limited and all can have their share of dirt, discoloration and age.  Overall, there are no standouts.  The Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono on all five films is also passable, also showing their age, but none are a real problem.  There are no extras.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo