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The Crimson Rivers [DVD] [2001]
 
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The Crimson Rivers [DVD] [2001]

DVD ~ Jean Reno
3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
RRP: £19.99
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Product details

  • Actors: Jean Reno, Vincent Cassel, Nadia Farès, Dominique Sanda, Karim Belkhadra
  • Directors: Mathieu Kassovitz
  • Writers: Mathieu Kassovitz, Jean-Christophe Grangé
  • Producers: Alain Goldman, Catherine Morisse, Jérôme Chalou
  • Format: Anamorphic, Box set, Dubbed, PAL, Widescreen
  • Language French
  • Subtitles: Arabic, Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Icelandic, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish
  • Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
  • Number of discs: 2
  • Classification: 15
  • Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
  • DVD Release Date: 26 Nov 2001
  • Run Time: 101 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B00005N531
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 12,135 in DVD (See Bestsellers in DVD)

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Reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review

The Crimson Rivers is an openly acknowledged French attempt to make a big Hollywood-style serial-killer thriller. Jean--Ronin(1997)--Reno is Niemans, who while investigating the case of a horrifically mutilated body finds himself partnered with Kerkerian, a younger detective played by Vincent Cassell, (La Haine). Set in beautiful mountain country and shot in CinemaScope by Thierry Arbogast (Leon), it looks fabulous. Kassovitz packs the frame with stylish flourishes from a breathtaking helicopter shot in homage to The Shining (1980), to a lavish stairwell tracking shot inspired by Vertigo (1958). With a sumptuously layered score and some superbly achieved special effects The Crimson Rivers has all the expensive sheen of the American movies it imitates. Unfortunately it also proves Europeans can make films as technically accomplished but ludicrously plotted as Hollywood can: for what begins as a tense and unsettling police procedural, mutates into an action movie where the details make no sense. Even the Boys From Brazil inspired plot is ludicrous. Demonstrating Kassovitz has seen plenty of Brian De Palma and Dario Argento movies, The Crimson Rivers entertains despite its own absurdity, and should see the director following Luc Besson to Hollywood to make even bigger and dumber blockbusters.

On the DVD: Despite not being labelled a special edition this two disc set is one of the most impressive releases on DVD this year; all the more remarkable for being a French film barely seen in UK cinemas. The 2.35-1 anamorphically enhanced transfer is virtually flawless while the Dolby Digital 5.1 sound is superb. Apart from the original French soundtrack there are English and Spanish dubbed versions, and subtitles in 20 languages (including English and French). The first disc includes three trailers, plus three more for other Columbia releases, and two commentary tracks. The first features Reno, Cassel and Kassovitz--all talking at full speed providing a wealth of information. The second--a commentary by composer Bruno Coulais--offers a real insight into the use of music in film as he explains his approach to specific scenes and his overall philosophy of film scoring. This track also features the score isolated in Dolby Digital 5.1, though Colais does talk over the beginning of some cues.

The second disc contains over two hours of documentary material. First is a serious 52-minute making-of, in which cast and director explain how the film was constantly re-written, going so far as to admit it makes no sense. Further documentaries are on "The Scalpel Scene" (26 min) and the "making of the corpse" (9 min) used in the opening scenes. There is seven minutes on shooting the martial arts fight, with or without commentary, nine minutes on shooting the car chase and a section playing the chase alongside the original storyboards, with or without commentary. A documentary on filming the mountain climax (10 min) and a further documentary on creating a digital avalanche (15 min), plus a multi-angle feature presenting the scene as storyboards, edited rushes, special effects or outtakes. The Production Designer archives (13 min) covers the sets. Additionally there is footage from the Far East promotional tour, a poster gallery, filmographies of Cassel, Reno and Kassovitz, the complete storyboards for four sequences, including the never-filmed originally planned opening and a gallery of on-set still photographs. It's a veritable "how to make a blockbuster" on two shiny discs. --Gary S Dalkin



Special Features

2.35 Wide Screen
16:9 Anamorphic Wide Screen
DVD 9
French\Spanish
English
Region 2
Dolby Digital 5.1 English French Spanish
Dolby Digital 5.1
Director And Cast Commentary
Isolated Music Score With Composer Commentary
Trailers
Animated Menus
The Investigation Making of Documentary
12 Featurettes
Cast And Crew Filmographies
Arabic\Bulgarian\Croatian\Czech\Danish\Dutch\English\Finnish\French\Greek\Hebrew\Hungarian\Icelandic\Italian\Norwegian\Polish\Portuguese\Romanian\Spanish\Swedish\Turkish
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Customer Reviews

16 Reviews
5 star:
 (3)
4 star:
 (4)
3 star:
 (6)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:
 (3)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.2 out of 5 stars (16 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Suspense, twist, Alpine scenery and much more, 6 Dec 2007

A good suspense movie with a good cast for those who are familiar with French actors. It has everything needed for an entertaining thriller, where clues are slowly dropped along the way as the mystery unravels. Whether the events are plausible is another matter, but then again, sometimes one has to suspend belief, when watching a movie.

There is a sequel with the same name, which is also a mystery, but not as good as this one.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Thoroughly enjoyable, but it ain't quite art, 12 Jul 2006
By Hooligween "Rowena the Red" (Kernow, Great Britain) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   
Jean Reno and Vincent Cassell -- what's not to like? Both actors lift an otherwise inconsistent movie above its natural three-star slot.
The Crimson Rivers is a strange hybrid of Hollywood hyperbole and continental cnic, and the mix can be somewhat confusing. The plot isn't altogether clear -- at least not in the dubbed version. With sub-titles it's easier to follow especially if you can busk some of the French dialogue.
The film's preposterous ending suggests that the producers didn't quite know where to take it; the plot veers from noir detective to X-Files-esque neo-Nazi conspiracy to James Bond blows up the whole shebang at the end.
But hey, we had a good time watching it. There's an enjoyable film in here and a couple of great actors. I'll just echo what others have said: I'd be happy to rent this but a bit less happy if I'd paid 20 notes to own it. This isn't the kind of film you'll come back to watch over and again...
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6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Gripping ... until the end, 20 Dec 2001
By Ashvin Mathoora (Tooting Broadway, London United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
I originally rented this out on a whim of bored. I was stunned, Jean Reno and Vincent Cassell were excellent, the plot was gripping and the while I half expected some of the plot to happen it was done stylishy. You start to get drawn in and want to know what happens next how the two cops interact. The fight scene pulling sounds and atmosphere from Virtua Fighter/Tekken was quite amusing also. And then... and then... it all got quite silly right near the end it was all over too quickly, a big build up only to be spend its load all over your TV screen in a burp of disappointment. If someone ever wants to re make this script ... change the ending.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent French Thriller
Jean Reno plus crime thriller. They are made for each other. Keep them coming.
Highly recommended
Published 3 months ago by J. Gould

3.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully filmed tasty but surprisingly unfulfilling.
I bought this on the general run of modern French cinema movies, starting with Red Riding Hood (very Dark horror), Frontiers (Darker Horror), and the ridiculously priced £2. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Victor deBs

5.0 out of 5 stars Best French film ever
Most suspenseful movie I've seen in a long time - and funny! I had no trouble following the story even though it was in French. The actors do a great job.
Published 6 months ago by Kirstine Aaen

4.0 out of 5 stars Better than average...
I suppose the reason why i liked the original and the sequel is due to the fact both films have a strong leading cast. Read more
Published 14 months ago by godzilla78

3.0 out of 5 stars A great first half gives way to laziness and predictability in the final
The best detective stories allow their central arc of enigmatic mystery to unravel slowly, leaving behind a trail of clues for the audience to follow. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Jonathan James Romley

1.0 out of 5 stars I like Jean Reno, but...........
I felt like the Grandad in Homer Simpson when I watched this film - I needed someone to explain it in a loud voice!! Read more
Published 23 months ago by Tattoohussy

3.0 out of 5 stars As Hollywood as French cinema gets...
2 cops, investigating 2 separate cases that are unknowingly connected, end up helping each other out investigating some bizarre murders in a small university town, which hides... Read more
Published on 20 Jan 2006 by H. R. Trigg

3.0 out of 5 stars This is what happens when French thesps lose their way.
Thank God the reviewer who couldn't watch to the end DIDN'T, because he possibly would have been unable to cope. Read more
Published on 7 Sep 2005 by Sweary

1.0 out of 5 stars MUST HAVE BEEN REVIEWED BY DAVID BLUNKLET
Waste of time, very disappointing. Poor script,acting,storyline.French film, american money.French trying to act like americans, laughable. Read more
Published on 6 Feb 2005 by david blunkett's dog

1.0 out of 5 stars Read the book....
This is quite possibly the worst french film I have seen for years. I was expecting quite a lot from the talent involved, but was bitterly let down. Read more
Published on 30 Jun 2002 by Andrew Hodgkinson

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