Le Pacha Blu-ray

Le Pacha

 (1968)

Le Pacha Blu-ray delivers stunning video and audio in this excellent Blu-ray release
Six months before his retirement from the criminal police, inspector Joss finds his colleague Gouvion dead, in a poorly faked suicide attempt. Joss loses his temper, and investigates on his own, which leads him through the bas-fond of Paris...

For more about Le Pacha and the Le Pacha Blu-ray release, see the Le Pacha Blu-ray Review

Starring: Jean Gabin, Jean Gaven, Dany Carrel
Director: Georges Lautner

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Le Pacha Blu-ray Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov, September 12, 2012

Georges Lautner's "Le Pacha" (1968) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of French distributors Gaumont. The supplemental features on the disc include the film's original French trailer; audio commentary with directors director Georges Lautner and Olivier Marchal; documentary film featuring interviews with actors André Pousse and Dominique Zardi, director Georges Lautner, Florence Moncorge-Gabin, actress Dany Carrel, cinematographer Mauirce Fellous, and assistant director Claude Vital; video interview with Jean Gabin biographer and close friend Andre G. Brunelin; and more. In French, with optional English and French SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

When money talks loud enough, everyone listens...

A heavily guarded truck carrying a priceless collection of diamonds is attacked by a group of professional robbers. Most of the cops escorting the truck are killed, but Inspector Gouvion (Robert Dalban, Fantomas, Diabolique) survives. The news quickly reaches Detective Joss (Jean Gabin, Le Quai Des Brumes), Gouvion's best friend, who is only a few months away from retirement.

Soon after, the diamonds are exchanged for a large amount of money. Escorted by two of his bodyguards, Quinquin (Andre Pousse, Don't Take God's Children for Wild Geese), the leader of the robbers, heads to the countryside, where the money is to be divided into equal shares which will be distributed among the rest of his men. In a secluded house, Quinquin kills the two bodyguards and takes all of the money for himself. Later on, he also kills the rest of the robbers.

Around the same time, Joss is informed that his buddy Gouvion has committed suicide. He does not like what he is told because Gouvion genuinely loved everything life had to offer. And when later on he is told that Gouvion committed suicide while cleaning his gun, Joss becomes convinced that the 'suicide' is actually a murder. He vows to find Gouvion's killer and put him behind bars.

While looking for leads, Joss tracks down Nathalie (Dany Carrel, 3000 Million Without an Elevator), a young and beautiful woman whose brother may or may not have done some business with Quinquin. After the two have dinner, her brother turns up dead. Then Quinquin tries to kill her, but, as advised by Joss, she offers him to finish a 'job' which her brother had been working on that would allow everyone to retire. Quinquin takes the bait and Joss goes after him.

Georges Lautner's Le Pacha is a chic gangster film that falls somewhere between Jean-Pierre Melville's Un Flic and Lucio Fulci's Perversion Story (One on Top of the Other). It borrows the coolness and attitude of the former and blends it with the psychedelic overtones of the latter. Riz Ortolani did not contribute to it, but Serge Gainsbourg did and made it a classic. His Requiem Pour Un Con (Requiem for a Jerk) is easily one of the most stylish tunes ever used in a gangster film.

Gabin is terrific as the old detective who confesses to his boss that he is tired of playing by the rules and takes justice into his own hands. Throughout the film he often smokes and tries to look calm, but it is easy to tell that he can barely wait to face Quinquin.

The beautiful Carrel is also excellent as the naïve girl who decides to help Joss but makes an amateurish mistake that seriously complicates things. However, the character she plays in Le Pasha is far less provocative than the ones she is arguably best known for. (For a taste of Carrel's wilder side, see Giorgio Ferroni's Il mulino delle donne di pietra a.k.a Mill of the Stone Women. The uncut Euro version of the film is available via independent distributors Mondo Macabro).

As usual, Lautner and cinematographer Maurice Fellous do not disappoint. The lensing is very simple but elegant and Le Pacha simply has the right look. Lautner and Fellous worked together on such classic gangster comedies as Les Tontons Flingueurs a.k.a Monsieur Gangster, Les Barbouzes a.k.a The Great Spy Chase, Fleur d'oseille a.k.a Sorrel Flower, and La valise a.k.a Man in the Trunk.

Note: Les Tontons Flingueurs is currently available on an English-friendly Blu-ray release in France, also courtesy of Gaumont. Blu-ray.com has reviewed it here.

Le Pacha Blu-ray, Video Quality

 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.68:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Georges Lautner's Le Pacha arrives on Blu-raty courtesy of French distributors Gaumont.

The high-definition transfer has been struck from a newly restored master done by the folks at Gaumont. Unsurprisingly, Le Pacha looks very healthy, easily the best it ever has. Detail is fabulous throughout the entire film, with close-ups in particular looking very good. Clarity and contrast levels are also stable. Color reproduction does not disappoint either - there is a variety of warm but natural blues, greens, and browns. Anyone who has seen the old R2 DVD release, also by Gaumont, will be enormously pleased with the dramatically improved color depth. More importantly, there isn't even a whiff of edge-enhancement. There are no traces of overzealous degraining corrections either. My only minor complaint here has to do with the presence of a few extremely light artifacts, but overall this is indeed a fabulous presentation of Georges Lautner's film. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location. For the record, there is no problematic PAL or 1080/50i content preceding the disc's main menu).

Le Pacha Blu-ray, Audio Quality

 

There is only one audio track on this Blu-ray disc: French DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (Mono). For the record, Gaumont have provided optional English and French SDH subtitles for the main feature.

The new lossless track is a good enough reason to strongly recommend upgrading your DVD release of Le Pacha. Not only is the dialog crisp and stable, but the PAL speeding is missing, and now Serge Gainsbourg's music is pitched right. This is a huge improvement as far as I am concerned because the music has a very important role in this film. For he record, there are no problematic pops, cracks, distortions or audio dropouts to report in this review. The English translation is excellent.

Le Pacha Blu-ray, Special Features and Extras

 

• Commentary - an audio commentary with director Georges Lautner and Olivier Marchal (MR 73, Les Lyonnais). In French, not subtitled.

• Gabin vs la bande a Lautner - a wonderful documentary on the film featuring interviews with actors André Pousse and Dominique Zardi, director Georges Lautner, Florence Moncorge-Gabin, actress Dany Carrel, cinematographer Mauirce Fellous, and assistant director Claude Vital. Also included are clips from archival interviews with Jean Gabin. In French, not subtitled. (39 min, 1080/50i)

• Requiem pour la police a papa - another documentary, which initially appeared on the DVD release of Le Pacha, featuring interviews with director Georges Lautner, writer Michel Alexandre, director Olivier Marchal, and writer Mathieu Fabiani (La Balance). In French, not subtitled, among others. (32 min, 1080/50i).

• Entretien avec Andre Brunelin sur Michel Audiard et Jean Gabin - an interview with Jean Gabin biographer and close friend Andre G. Brunelin.In French, not subtitled (19 min, 1080/50i).

• Bande-annonce - Original French theatrical trailer for Le Pacha. In French, not subtitled. (4 min, 1080p).

Le Pacha Blu-ray, Overall Score and Recommendation

 

Georges Lautner's Le Pacha is a chic French gangster film from the late '60s with a cracking score by the great Serge Gainsbourg. If you enjoy these types of period films, you do not want to miss Le Pacha. As usual, Gaumont have put together a wonderful Blu-ray release which represents a massive upgrade in quality over the old R2 DVD release. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.