Subway [Blu-ray]

I saw this film when it was first released at the Camden Plaza (now a video shop, sadly, but back in 1985, it showed all of the Artificial Eye and other foreign and arthouse releases) uncountable times and though I haven't seen it since, it made an indelible mark on my consiousness and there are sections which I can still quote and smile over.
It is about a man, Fred played by Christopher Lambert, who loves birthdays and hates safes and who, while hiding out in the Paris Metro, meets an assortment of oddball characters and falls in love with Isabelle Adjani and who wouldn't!
It is simple, funny, sweet and innocent in a sort of post punk way and is quite the best thing that Christpher Lambert has ever done IMHO.
It is also a must for anyone who melts into mush at the sound of Rickie Lee Jones' dulcet tones. The setting of 'Lucky Guy' is just gorgeous.
It is a perfect film for all the incurable romantics out there and anyone who wants an escape from the toils of everyday life into a fairy tale world that never existed, will never exist but wouldn't it be lovely if it did.

Subway is my favourite film of all time, the action, fluidity of it, and the new-wave look is just so cool, so when I heard they were going to put it on Blu-Ray I was very excited, maybe a little too much, as I was expecting great things. I feel a bit disappointed with it to be honest, but first lets talk about the film for those who don't know it.

Fred is a hipster who loves cracking safes, and just likes birthdays. He meets Helena, a beautiful bourgeois woman who lives outside Paris, and falls in love with her. When he's at her home he blow up a safe and steals some important papers which belong to her husband. He has to flee, and to the metro system he goes, and meets all sorts of bizarre characters he'd never expect to be living in the subway.

This is a fantastic film, beautifully crafted by Luc Besson, and captured beautifully by Carlo Varini, who has made good work of the cinematography, with it's stylish look and nouvelle vague style. The whole movie is just so cool and modern, but does look a bit dated today. He captures the metro system as I remember it, and the tunnels are nice and dark like they are in real life. Both Isabelle and Christophe are amazing in this, and should have got awards for their work, especially Christophe for his moody portrayal of Fred, and Jean-Pierre Bacri for his role as Batman. Those of you eagle eyed will notice Luc Besson's driving the metro when the roller jumps over the rails!

The Blu-Ray is disappointing - I was really hoping for better, the colours are good but not the best and the sound isn't the best - my old Sony DVD was better than this sound wise. The image does look more human, but I have noticed colours come in and out of the picture. The bitrate is good though, 30MB/s VC, but the LPCM 2.0 audio isn't good, and the mixing of the music is not as good as it was on the Sony DVD.

There are no extras on this disk neither, which is a crying shame, you get the trailer but this was on the French release, at least we don't have that horrible English dub which was shocking now, but there's only English subtitles - very disappointing!

Again, not sure who this is aimed for, there's nothing new for fans like myself who love Subway - yet it's not really a beginner's Blu either, because it's just so bare. I just hope one day we get to see this "making of" Jean-Hugues Anglade was alleged to have made back in the 80s - and the deleted scenes, there is at least 40 minutes of deleted stuff Luc never used, and it would be a horrible thing to never see them,as this is one of the best movies ever made.

Not convinced at all :(

After a typically wild and funny car chase from French master Luc Besson, the protagonist heads underground into the Paris Metro, never to emerge for the duration of the picture. And, after being chased by thugs, he then heads behind-the-scenes, as it were, to the non-public areas of the vast system where he meets the denizens of a complex subterranean culture. This is the premise of Besson's wonderful early film, Subway.

Mr. Besson sets the stage in this one for his action series, Taxi, complete with loveable characters, villains, fast edits, fast action, great actors working in ensemble. First among these is Christophe Lambert, fresh off his success as Tarzan so he is suitably athletic, young and achingly handsome in a blonde punk haircut. His character, Fred, has fallen for Isabelle Adjani as Elena -- and who can blame him? Her slow entrance, down a staircase in the subway in a glorious cocktail dress of gray silk, is full of portent for the fun to come. Elena had invited Fred to her house for a party, where he promptly blew the safe (because he 'can't stand safes'), stole papers, and he is now pursued by her not-so-nice husband and his henchmen.

Other inhabitants of the underground world include Jean-Hugues Anglade as a thief on skates, Jean Reno as a drummer in the band Fred wants to manage, and a host of recognizeable French character actors obviously delighted to work with Besson.

Mr. Lambert's French is perfect, though born American, because he was raised in Switzerland by his diplomat father. He was a French star before the Highlander film made him an American megastar. It is wonderful to see such actors in their youth, looking so beautiful, and having such a good time. This is a hallmark of a Besson film and the fun is infectious.