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Product Description
Maurice Pialat's Police delivers on the raw promise of its title, insofar as much of its action qualifies as an insistently 'procedural' descent into the Paris drugs underworld. But the hyper-real route that the film takes to arrive there, before veering into a zone of dangerous emotional play, contributes to a disorienting, adventurous, and ultimately tremendously exciting experience unlike any 'police-thriller' ever before conceived. The iconic Gérard Depardieu (who also collaborated with Pialat on Loulou, Sous le soleil de Satan, and Le Garçu) plays Mangin, a cop whose brutal method of investigation finds its obsessive outlet in an attempt to crack a Tunisian narcotics ring. It is when Mangin enters into close acquaintance with the defiant Noria (expertly played by Sophie Marceau in one of her first screen roles) that the film proceeds to chart an unexpected, emotionally ambiguous course and the lines between 'right' and 'wrong', and 'power' and 'freedom', terminally blur. Written with Catherine Breillat (director of The Last Mistress, Anatomy of Hell, Fat Girl), but relying in equal measure upon Pialat's improvisatory control (directing, among others, his star-actress from A nos amours, Sandrine Bonnaire), Police is a genre-defying excursion rivaled only by John Cassavetes' The Killing of a Chinese Bookie in the pantheon of cinema's most idiosyncratic thrillers. The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present Maurice Pialat's daring 1985 film in a magnificent, digitally restored transfer for the first time on DVD in the UK. SPECIAL 2-DISC EDITION including: Gorgeous new anamorphic transfer of the film in its original aspect ratio -- New and improved English subtitle translations -- 2003 video interview with director and Police co-screenwriter Catherine Breillat, conducted by former Cahiers du cinéma editor-in-chief, and current director of the Cinémathèque Française, Serge Toubiana -- ZOOM SUR POLICE [ZOOM ONTO POLICE] (2002) 34-minute documentary by Virginie Apiou about the production of the film -- Vintage screen-tests featuring Maurice Pialat and C. Galmiche, the inspiration for the character of Lambert -- Excerpt from a 1985 episode of Cinéma Cinémas shot during the course of the 17th day of production on Police -- 23-minute video discussion with Yann Dedet, the editor of Police -- The film's original trailer, along with trailers for other Maurice Pialat films to be released by The Masters of Cinema Series -- 40-page booklet containing a new essay by filmmaker and critic Dan Sallitt, and newly translated interviews with Maurice Pialat
Product Description
United Kingdom released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: LANGUAGES: French ( Dolby Digital 2.0 ), English ( Subtitles ), ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN (1.66:1), SPECIAL FEATURES: 2-DVD Set, Anamorphic Widescreen, Booklet, Cast/Crew Interview(s), Documentary, Interactive Menu, Scene Access, Special Edition, Trailer(s), SYNOPSIS: This strange crime-cum-romance story starts out with the ordinary work-a-day life of Mangin, an apparently straight-and-narrow cop (Gerard Depardieu), and then segues into a love story after he meets Noria, a beautiful Arab woman (Sophie Marceau) who has just been arrested during a drug raid. Mangin grills her, but his buddy, a lawyer of dubious ethics named Lambert (Richard Anconina), gets the woman released. Enamored almost from the beginning, Mangin begins to pursue Noria and soon finds himself faced with making the ethical decision to arrest her -- or not. SCREENED/AWARDED AT: Venice Film Festival, ...Police
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Gerard Deardieu was at his brilliant best during the 1980s. This coincided with French cinema experimenting with a kind of neo-realism.'Police' is a hard hitting, difficult movie to watch with an excellent contrast between on-duty, off-duty themes of Police behaviour. At the office Depardieu is the all macho, violent, racist thug yet the off-duty interludes are a perfect platform for his sensitive acting abilities along with disturbing role switches between the good-guys and the bad.Sophie Marceau plays a fine adolescent gagster's moll with early traces of the beautiful and accomplished actress she has become. Marceau's great talent is in her expressive eyes, here alternating between defiance and great vulnerability, foiled with Depardieu's aggression and desire. This is '80s French film making at its finest.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Police is a classic film which could only really be made in France, with it's brutal, realistic, and often antagonising interviews, you cannot really say you've seen this before in cinema. Gérard Depardieu plays this maverick cop who thinks he's a tough guy - he doesn't have time for people who play him for a fool, so when he meets Noria (Sophie Marceau) - he becomes a bit softer, but he still wants help with a cartel of Tunisian dealers muscling in on Paris. He does everything he can to get them, but really he's the one who's been got; he falls in love with Noria, and nothing seems to matter to him.
This is a brutal-no-holds-barred take on policing in the 80s with corrupt cops who'll do anything to secure a conviction, and shows the stark realities of interrogations in police stations back then. Depardieu often reminding me of Philippe Noiret's rendition a year earlier in Les Ripoux (which never seem to have made it in the UK, though it's a fantastic film I highly recommend watching if you liked this) - the typical stereotype of a cop in Paris is so prevalent. Sophie Marceau as a drug dealer's bit on the side was compelling too, and she was exceptionally good at her role - the quiet women who knew a lot - and wasn't about to help him, but she wanted to be with him.
This film was really quite avant garde, and it really rewards the patient amongst you, but it's a compelling story and is worth watching.
This DVD, a "masters of cinema" release is fantastic, they have done an excellent job of remastering the picture and the sound is wonderful, though there was little music in the film, when it does come in it's very good and clear. Sometimes the dialogue is quiet, but it's mainly because Depardieu and Marceau are speaking quietly, but otherwise it's well balanced.
The extras are wroth it too, you get a 15 minute interview with writer Catherine Breillat, who mainly wrote the female side of the movie; Virginie Apiou's 34 minute look at the making of Police; but the best thing is all the interviews with Maurice about the movie, and the booklet with an essay on the movie. We were really being spoilt with this release, and it's paid off nicely.
Worth getting - it's a classic!
This is a brutal-no-holds-barred take on policing in the 80s with corrupt cops who'll do anything to secure a conviction, and shows the stark realities of interrogations in police stations back then. Depardieu often reminding me of Philippe Noiret's rendition a year earlier in Les Ripoux (which never seem to have made it in the UK, though it's a fantastic film I highly recommend watching if you liked this) - the typical stereotype of a cop in Paris is so prevalent. Sophie Marceau as a drug dealer's bit on the side was compelling too, and she was exceptionally good at her role - the quiet women who knew a lot - and wasn't about to help him, but she wanted to be with him.
This film was really quite avant garde, and it really rewards the patient amongst you, but it's a compelling story and is worth watching.
This DVD, a "masters of cinema" release is fantastic, they have done an excellent job of remastering the picture and the sound is wonderful, though there was little music in the film, when it does come in it's very good and clear. Sometimes the dialogue is quiet, but it's mainly because Depardieu and Marceau are speaking quietly, but otherwise it's well balanced.
The extras are wroth it too, you get a 15 minute interview with writer Catherine Breillat, who mainly wrote the female side of the movie; Virginie Apiou's 34 minute look at the making of Police; but the best thing is all the interviews with Maurice about the movie, and the booklet with an essay on the movie. We were really being spoilt with this release, and it's paid off nicely.
Worth getting - it's a classic!
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Police was made 1985, and isboth suspenseful and psychologically interesting. I won't go into the plot here, but I found it interesting (and maybe realistic?) how policemen, scoundrels and ex-suspects interacted. There are many grey areas here, where the line between the good and the bad guys isn't totally clear. The acting in Police is very good, and here we can see how excellent actors Depardieu and Marceau are. The film is mostly based on dialogue, there is not so much action but violence is always present under the surface. Also most scenes are shot in small compartments like a corner of a room, inside a car and so on - there are few views of Paris or sense of different locations. This is maybe Pialat's style, I don't know.
The picture/transfer on this MoC DVD is very sharp and stable - I watched it on a projector and it looked splendid. Also there are tons of extras (a whole extra disc) and a booklet so the value for money is really good. This is the first movie by Pialat I have seen, and I will try to find some more. Recommended!
The picture/transfer on this MoC DVD is very sharp and stable - I watched it on a projector and it looked splendid. Also there are tons of extras (a whole extra disc) and a booklet so the value for money is really good. This is the first movie by Pialat I have seen, and I will try to find some more. Recommended!
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