Razzia Sur La Chnouf
Director– Henri Decoin
Starring – Jean Gabin, Marcel Dalio, Lino Ventura
Country of Origin- France
Distributor - Kino Lorber
Number of Discs - 1
Reviewed by - David Steigman
Date- 09/30/2019
Razzia Sur La Chnouf aka Raid on Drugs, is a 1955 French crime drama gangster film which focuses on the narcotic scene in Paris. The story is a tale of a man who is recruited by a drug lord to learn why he losing money and profits from selling drugs.
Henri Ferre (Jean Gabin) aka Henri from Nantes, is brought in by Paul Liski (Marcel Dalio) , the head of a drug dealing operation to restore order and profitability to his drug operation as his merchandise has been disappearing and some of his dealers haven’t been too reliable. To help get everything back on track, Henri is accompanied by two hit-men, Catalan (Lino Ventura) and Bibi (Albert Remy) to investigate, among other things. But there is more to Henri than what he is led everyone to believe. And that revelation may result in ending Liski’s drug operation.
Razzia sur la Chnouf is a superior film. The entire tone of the film is set a perfect methodical pace and is quite effective. The pacing, along with the lack of music adds a lot of atmosphere, giving the film a Noirish touch. While it may not be action packed, there are certainly a number of moments where mass shootings and other violence occurs, keeping the film moving along. Henri Decoin has done a marvelous job directing this film. There’s also a bit of cheesecake with some rather attractive women around to keep your focus on the film during its subtle moments.
One of several movies that were released by Criterion on DVD back in the day, Kino Lorber has swooped in and has given Razzia sur la Chnouf a domestic Blu-ray release. The black and white image, which was given a new 4K scan, is dynamite, with a crisp, sharp and polished video presentation. The grey scale is well-balanced, with appropriate black levels. The picture is smooth with grain texture and also without any print damages, debris or other distracting imperfections. No DNR appears to have been applied.
For the audio, Kino’s lone offer, French DTS-HD master audio 2.0 comes in loud and clear with no distortions detected. The dialog, music and other action noises come in perfectly. The audio amplifies when gunshots and other action noises occur. Optional English subtitles are available.
Extras include an audio commentary by critic Nick Pinkerton. He discusses the history of Razzia sur la Chnouf and talks about in great detail as much information about the film, cast and crew. The commentary was recorded exclusively for this Kino Lorber release.
The other extras are trailers. There is a high definition trailer for Razzia sur la Chnouf in French language with imposed English subtitles.
There are also trailers for the other Kino Lorber releases, including Port of Shadows Touchez Pas au Grisbi, Maigret Sets a Trap,Maigret and the St. Fiacre Case and The Sicilian Clan. The trailers for all the films are worth pursing and watching in their entirety.
For those who own the Criterion DVD, this is the time to retire it and savor the fantastic new Blu-ray release of Razzia sur la Chnouf courtesy of Kino Lorber. Recommended!
