Simone Signoret schemes in Henri-Georges Clouzot's Diabolique.
Criterion did the right thing by 1954’s Diabolique when it issued new Blu-ray
Criterion previously released the thriller on DVD back in 1999. This new release, featuring a new digital restoration, marks Diabolique’s Blu-ray debut.
Diabolique is the story of two women — the fragile wife (Vera Clouzot, Les Espions) and the willful mistress (Simone Signoret, Ship of Fools) of a sadistic school headmaster (Paul Meurisse, The Contessa’s Secret) — who hatch a daring revenge plot. With its narrative twists (which were quite radical in their day!) and unforgettably scary images, Diabolique is a heart-grabbing benchmark in thriller/horror filmmaking, featuring outstanding performances, taut direction and one of the all-time great terrifying climaxes.
The film got a new digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition.
Here’s a list of the features that Criterion put on the new DVD and Blu-ray:
- selected-scene commentary by French-film scholar Kelley Conway
- new video interview with Serge Bromberg, co-director of Henri-Georges Clouzot’s Inferno
- new video interview with horror film expert Kim Newman
- new and improved English subtitle translation
- booklet featuring a new essay by film critic Terrence Rafferty
The Blu-ray and DVD carry the list prices of $39.95 and $29.95, respectively.
Diabolique
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Arrow Films will release Diabolique in the UK on April 18th. It remains to be seen whether their transfer can match Criterion’s, but it will hopefully be a good alternative for those who can’t play Region A.
Criterion’s discs are usually topnotch. Hope the UK version is great.