Lies And Deceit: Five Films By Claude Chabrol – Arrow Video (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Dates: France, 1985 (Cop Au Vin), France, 1986 (Inspector Lavardin), France, 1991 (Madame Bovary), France, 1992 (Betty), France, 1994 (Torment (L’enfer))
Director: Claude Chabrol (All Films)
Cast: Jean Poiret, Stéphane Audran, Michel Bouquet, Jean Topart, Lucas Belvaux, Pauline Lafont, Andrée Tainsy (Cop Au Vin), Jean Poiret , Jean-Claude Brialy, Bernadette Lafont, Jean-Luc Bideau, Jacques Dacqmine (Inspector Lavardin), Isabelle Huppert, Jean-François Balmer, Christophe Malavoy, Jean Yanne, Lucas Belvaux, Christiane Minazzoli (Madame Bovary), Marie Trintignant, Stéphane Audran, Jean-François Garreaud, Yves Lambrecht, Christiane Minazzoli, Pierre Vernier (Betty), Emmanuelle Béart, François Cluzet, Nathalie Cardone, André Wilms, Marc Lavoine, Christiane Minazzoli, Dora Doll, Mario David, Jean-Pierre Cassel (Torment (L’enfer))

Release Date: February 21st, 2022 (UK), February 22nd, 2022 (USA)
Approximate Running Times: 109 Minutes 27 Seconds (Cop Au Vin), 100 Minutes 13 Seconds (Inspector Lavardin), 142 Minutes 38 Seconds (Madame Bovary), 103 Minutes 35 Seconds (Betty), 102 Minutes 21 Seconds (Torment (L’enfer))
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC (All Films)
Rating: 15 (UK), NR (USA)
Sound: LPCM Mono French (Cop Au Vin, Inspector Lavardin, Madame Bovary, Betty), LPCM Stereo French (Torment (L’enfer))
Subtitles: English (All Films)
Region Coding: Region A,B
Retail Price: £69.99 (UK) / $99.95 (USA)

"The hidden meanness of provincial life is at the heart of Cop Au Vin (Poulet au vinaigre), as deaths and disappearances intersect around the attempt by a corrupt syndicate of property developers to force a disabled woman and her son from their home. Actor Jean Poiret would prove so compelling as the laconic Detective Inspector Lavardin  good cop/bad cop all in one  that the sequel would be titled after him. Inspector Lavardin sees the titular detective investigating the murder of a wealthy and respected catholic author, renowned for his outspoken views against indecency, whose body is found naked and dead on the beach. In Madame Bovary, Chabrol directs one of his greatest collaborators, actress Isabelle Huppert, in perhaps the definitive depiction of Flaubert’s classic heroine. Meanwhile Betty, adapted from the novel of the same name by Maigret author Georges Simenon, is a scathing attack on the upper middle classes, featuring an extraordinary performance by Marie Trintignant as a woman spiraling into alcoholism, but fighting to redefine herself. Finally, in Torment (L’enfer) Chabrol picks up a project abandoned by Henri Georges Clouzot, in which a husband’s jealousy and suspicion of his wife drive him to appalling extremes. Francois Cluzet and Emmanuelle Beart give career best performances as the husband and wife tearing each other apart." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 3.75/5 (Cop Au Vin, Inspector Lavardin), 4.25/5 (Madame Bovary, Betty, Torment (L’enfer))

Here’s the information provided about the transfers, “The films in this collection were restored and supplied by MK2.”

And here’s additional information about the transfers, “New 4K restorations of Madame Bovary, Betty, and Torment (L’enfer).”

Cop Au Vin comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 45.5 GB

Feature: 25.2 GB

Inspector Lavardin comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 41.2 GB

Feature: 27.4 GB

Madame Bovary comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 45.1 GB

Feature: 39 GB

Betty comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 44.1 GB

Feature: 28.3 GB

Torment (L’enfer) comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 43.9 GB

Feature: 28.7 GB

Though the sources used for these five films are comparable, the three strongest transfers are Madame Bovary, Betty, and Torment (L’enfer), which all received new 4K restorations. That said, Cop Au Vin and Inspector Lavardin look good, despite coming from older sources. It should be noted that the transfers for these films feature different color timings than what Cohen Media used for their Blu-ray releases.

There are no issues when it comes to image clarity, compression, or grain, and black levels look very good. That said, as someone who had never seen these films before, the difference in color timing did not bother me.

Audio: 4.25/5 (Cop Au Vin, Inspector Lavardin, Madame Bovary, Betty, Torment (L’enfer))

Each film comes with one audio option. Cop Au Vin, Inspector Lavardin, Madame Bovary, and Betty each come with an LPCM mono mix in French, and Torment (L’enfer) comes with an LPCM stereo mix in French. All of the audio mixes are in great shape; dialog comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced, ambient sounds are well-represented, and the score sounds appropriately robust. Each film comes with removable English subtitles.

Extras:

Extras for Cop Au Vin include a poster and stills gallery (24 images), theatrical trailer (2 minutes 16 seconds, Dolby Digital mono French with removable English subtitles), an archival Swiss TV episode in which the director and cast discuss Cop Au Vin (Poulet au vinaigre) titled Claude Chabrol, Jean Poiret & Stephane Audran in conversation (29 minutes 38 seconds, Dolby Digital mono French with removable English subtitles), archival select scene audio commentary by Claude Chabrol (21 minutes 43 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo French with removable English subtitles), an archive introduction by film scholar Joël Magny (3 minutes 44 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo French with removable English subtitles), Claude Chabrol at the BFI, Chabrol discusses his career in this archival interview conducted onstage at the National Film Theater in 1994 (74 minutes 35 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English and French with removable English subtitles), an interview with film historian Ian Christie about the cinema of Claude Chabrol titled An Interview with Ian Christie (12 minutes 35 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles) and an audio commentary with film critic Ben Sachs.

Extras for Inspector Lavardin include a poster and stills gallery (10 images), theatrical trailer (2 minutes 14 seconds, Dolby Digital mono French with removable English subtitles), archival select scene audio commentary by Claude Chabrol (33 minutes 58 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo French with removable English subtitles), an archive introduction by film scholar Joël Magny (2 minutes 46 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo French with removable English subtitles), an interview with film critic Sam Wigley about why the films of Claude Chabrol remain essential viewing titled Why Chabrol? (16 minutes 7 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles) and an audio commentary with Ben Sachs.

Extras for Madame Bovary include a poster and stills gallery (18 images), theatrical trailer (1 minute 22 seconds, Dolby Digital mono French with removable English subtitles), archival select scene audio commentary by Claude Chabrol (37 minutes 59 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo French with removable English subtitles), an archive introduction by film scholar Joël Magny (2 minutes 31 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo French with removable English subtitles), visual essay by film historian Pamela Hutchinson titled Imagining Emma: Madame Bovary on screen (16 minutes 6 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles) and an audio commentary with film critic Kat Ellinger.

Extras for Betty include a poster and stills gallery (8 images), theatrical trailer (53 seconds, Dolby Digital mono French with removable English subtitles), archival select scene audio commentary by Claude Chabrol (32 minutes 21 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo French with removable English subtitles), an archive introduction by film scholar Joël Magny (2 minutes 57 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo French with removable English subtitles), interview with the English translator of the Georges Simenon novel on which the film is based titled An Interview with Ros Schwartz (15 minutes 21 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), visual essay by French Cinema historian Ginette Vincendeau titled Betty, from Simenon to Chabrol (16 minutes 16 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles) and an audio commentary with Kat Ellinger.

Extras for Torment (L’enfer) include a poster and stills gallery (40 images), theatrical trailer (1 minute 21 seconds, LPCM stereo French with removable English subtitles), archival select scene audio commentary by Claude Chabrol (39 minutes 25 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo French with removable English subtitles), an archive introduction by film scholar Joël Magny (3 minutes 15 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo French with removable English subtitles), an archival interview with Marin Karmitz, Chabrol’s most frequent producer titled An Interview with Marin Karmitz (25 minutes 49 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo French with removable English subtitles), an archival interview with Claude Chabrol in which he talks about fellow director Henri Georges Clouzot, whose original attempt to make L’enfer was abandoned, and how the project came to Chabrol titled On Henri Georges Clouzot (11 minutes 44 seconds, Dolby Digital mono French with removable English subtitles) and an audio commentary with film critics Alexandra Heller Nicholas and Josh Nelson.

Rounding out the extras is an eighty-page booklet with cast & crew information for each film, an essay titled Chabrol’s Vengeance written by Philip Kemp, an essay titled The Anti-Maigret? Claude Chabrol’s Inspector Lavardin Movies written by Philip Kemp, an essay titled Cop Au Vin (Poulet au vinaigre) Production Notes written by Dominique Roulet, an essay titled Some Words About Cop Au Vin (Poulet au vinaigre) written by Claude Chabrol, an essay titled The Discreet Harm of the Bourgeoisie: Chabrol’s Madame Bovary written by Martyn Conterio, Madame Bovary Production Notes, an essay titled Show Me Your Wound: Transfusion, Transference, and Transcendence in Chabrol’s Betty written by Sam Wigley, Betty Production Notes, An Extract from Intimate Memoirs written by George Simenon, an essay titled It’s the Privilege of Pretty Women to Ruin Us: Domestic Violence & Male Insecurity in Chabrol’s Torment (L'enfer) written by Kat Ellinger, an essay titled Some Words About Torment (L'enfer) written by Claude Chabrol, About the Transfers and Production Credits.

Summary:

Cop Au Vin: Claude Chabrol was a filmmaker who was most known for his work in the suspense genre. And, with Cop Au Vin, he once again provides an engrossing suspense film that does an excellent job of concealing its killer.

Cop Au Vin is filled with an assortment of colorful characters whose motivations make all of them perfect suspects. Most notably, a character named Inspector Lavardin (La Cage aux Folles), who’s brilliantly portrayed by Jean Poiret. Claude Chabrol and Jean Poiret would reteam for a sequel titled Inspector Lavardin, despite the fact that Inspector Lavardin does not appear until 43 minutes into the film.

The narrative can be split into two sections: the first half introduces all the suspects, and the second half shifts the focus to Inspector Lavardin’s investigation. This is not your usual investigation since Inspector Lavardin does not always do things by the book and he often crosses the line when interrogating suspects.

Cop Au Vin has an outstanding cast that includes Lucas Belvaux in the role of Luis Cuno, a voyeur whose nocturnal adventures help him uncover clues to the murders, and Claude Chabrol regular Stéphane Audran (Les Biches) in the role of Luis’ overbearing, wheelchair-bound mother.

From a production standpoint, the premise is superbly realized, the narrative does a great job of building suspense, and a very satisfying finale wraps everything up perfectly. Having said that, it's interesting to note how different Cop Au Vin is from its sequel, Inspector Lavardin, in terms of tone. Ultimately, Cop Au Vin is a solid suspense film that quickly draws you into its web of deceit.

Inspector Lavardin: Jean-Pierre Poiret reprises the role of Inspector Lavardin, and once again he delivers a delightful performance that steals every moment. This time around, he’s given the task of solving the murder of a man whose main suspects are his family. Also, he conducts his investigation by staying at the family’s home as a guest.

Inspector Lavardin is another solid whodunit directed by Claude Chabrol, who’s often referred to as the French Alfred Hitchcock. And though his direction lets the performances take center stage, visually, he does not disappoint. With the moment of truth scene that reveals the killer's identity, it is a visually arresting moment.

Besides Jean Poiret, the rest of the cast are all very good in their respective roles. Notable cast members include Jean-Claude Brialy (Woman is a Woman) in the role of Claude Alvarez, the brother-in-law of the man who was murdered, and Bernadette Lafont (An Impudent Girl) in the role of Hélène Mons, the dead man's wife.

Though Inspector Lavardin has all the elements that are synonymous with the cinema of Claude Chabrol, it should be noted that Inspector Lavardin has a slow-moving narrative that fortunately ends with an exemplary payoff. Ultimately, Inspector Lavardin is a well-made suspense film and an entertaining sequel to Cop Au Vin.

Madame Bovary: Claude Chabrol’s Madame Bovary is an adaptation of author Gustave Flaubert’s novel of the same name. And though there have been other adaptations of Gustave Flaubert’s Madame Bovary, most fail to retain the essence of Gustave Flaubert’s novel. Fortunately, Claude Chabrol’s adaptation retains all the key elements from Gustave Flaubert’s novel.

The narrative revolves around a spinstress who marries a dull doctor. Their marriage is more about financial security than love. She quickly becomes bored with her new life and, wanting more, seeks out a series of lovers who all leave her feeling empty.

Claude Chabrol’s Madame Bovary is a costume drama set in the 1800’s. And from a production standpoint, he does a superb job of recreating this era. The costumes and set design are impeccable.

Though Claude Chabrol’s Madame Bovary does not fall into the genre that he’s most known for, this film actually explores many themes that Chabrol returned to in his films throughout his career. Most notably, obsession and blackmail.

The heart and soul of Claude Chabrol’s Madame Bovary is Isabelle Huppert’s (Story of a Woman) exquisite portrayal of Madame Bovary. She delivers a pitch-perfect performance that captures the essence of the character. The rest of the cast’s performances do a great job playing off of Isabelle Huppert’s.

Having only seen Claude Chabrol’s suspense films, I was very interested in what he would do with a literary source like Gustave Flaubert’s Madame Bovary. And the result was an engrossing adaptation in which he took full advantage of his resources.

Betty: Claude Chabrol’s cinema is filled with characters who are victims of their own destructive behavior. And his film Betty is an exemplary example of why he’s so good at making films about these types of characters.

The narrative revolves around a woman named Betty who finds herself in a downward spiral after her marriage breaks up due to her infidelity. When the narrative begins, we are introduced to a broken woman who’s turned to alcohol to numb her pain. Also, though the narrative mostly focuses on what is happening to Betty in the present, there are some well-placed flashbacks that give insight into how she got to the state she is now in.

Despite the fact that the entire cast is excellent in their respective roles, they are all overshadowed by Marie Trintignant’s (Une Affaire de Femmes) inspired portrayal of Betty. She delivers an utterly convincing performance in which she fully immerses herself. Another performance of note is that of Stéphane Audran (The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie) in the role of Laure Le Vaucher, a woman who takes Betty under her wing in her time of need.

From a production standpoint, there’s no area where Betty does not excel. The premise is well-executed, and the narrative is greatly reinforced by the editing, which juxtaposes moments from Betty’s past with those from the present. Another strength is Claude Chabrol’s direction, which is a mixture of visually arresting moments and moments where he lets the performances take center stage. Ultimately, Betty is a gut-wrenching melodrama that has all the flourishes that Claude Chabrol’s cinema is known for.

Torment (L’enfer): This film is based on a screenplay written by Henri-Georges Clouzot (The Wages of Fear, Diabolique) for Inferno (L’enfer), a film that he began but was forced to abandon. By the time Claude Chabrol became attached to Inferno (L’enfer), he went back to the source, Henri-Georges Clouzot’s various screenplay drafts, and crafted from them his version of Torment (L’enfer).

How one sets up a film in its opening moments greatly affects everything that follows. And with Torment (L'enfer), Claude Chabrol fills in his characters' backstories with a series of quick scenes that cover several years very quickly. This type of opening is an inventive way to open a film that actually suits the story that follows.

At the heart of Torment (L’enfer) is a story about a jealous husband who becomes increasingly possessive of his wife, whom he fears is having an affair. And the thing that ultimately drives Torment (L’enfer) is how effectively it blurs the line between what’s real and what’s not. With its finale providing a coda with the word "without end", the ending, like everything that preceded it, leaves a lot of room for interpretation.

Despite the fact that the entire cast is excellent in their respective roles, it’s the two leads, François Cluzet in the role of the jealous husband and Emmanuelle Béart (The Women) in the role of the wife. That said, it is the latter's performance that steals every moment she’s in. She delivers a captivating performance in the role of an object of desire.

From a production standpoint, there’s not an area where Torment (L’enfer) does not deliver and then some. The premise is superbly realized, the narrative does an excellent job of building tension, and a visually stunning finale provides an exclamation point. Another strength of Torment (L’enfer) is its beautifully photographed visuals that are filled with symbolic imagery. Ultimately, Torment (L’enfer) is an extraordinary tale about obsessive love.

Lies and Deceit: Five Films by Claude Chabrol is an exceptional release from Arrow Video that comes with strong audio/video presentations for each film and a wealth of insightful extras about each film and Claude Chabrol, highly recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer