Playing with Fire - Cult Epics (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: France/Italy, 1975
Director: Alain Robbe-Grillet
Writer: Alain Robbe-Grillet
Cast: Jean-Louis Trintignant, Philippe Noiret, Anicée Alvina, Sylvia Kristel, Agostina Belli, Serge Marquand, Charles Millot, Vernon Dobtcheff, Jacques Seiler, Michel Berto, Christine Boisson, Marc Mazza, Jacques Doniol-Valcroze, Nathalie Zeiger, Joëlle Coeur

Release Date: January 24th, 2023
Approximate Running Time: 112 Minutes 35 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: LPCM Mono French, DTS-HD Mono French
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $34.95

"Grossly affluent banker Georges de Saxe (Philippe Noiret) keeps his daughter, Carolina (Anicée Alvina), hidden in a mysterious house of perversion after a kidnapping attempt snags a young woman who resembles her. Carolina soon finds herself trapped in a deliberately confused existence in the house of sexual exploitation and imprisonment. At the heart of it all seems to be an enigmatic man named Franz (Jean-Louis Trintignant), who will either be Carolina’s killer or savior." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.5/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "New 2K HD Transfer (from original negative) & Restoration."

Playing with Fire comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 32.6 GB

Feature: 29.4 GB

The source used for this transfer is in excellent shape. Flesh tones look healthy, colors are nicely saturated, image clarity and compression are solid, the image always looks organic, and outside of a few moments, black levels look great.

Audio: 4.5/5 (LPCM Mono French, DTS-HD Mono French)

This release comes with two audio options, a LPCM mono mix in French and a DTS-HD mono mix in French. I did not notice anything different about these two audio tracks. Both audio tracks are in great shape; dialog comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced, and range-wise, this track does a great job with ambient sounds. Included are removable English subtitles for the French-language tracks.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a photo gallery (37 images - posters/lobby cards/pressbook), an interview with Catherine Robbe-Grillet (5 minutes 16 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo French with removable English subtitles), an audio commentary with film critic Tim Lucas, reversible cover with uncensored original poster art, and a eight-page booklet (limited to the first pressing) with an essay about Alain Robbe-Grillet written by Marcus Stiglegger, and a filmography for Alain Robbe-Grillet.

Other extras are trailers for Julia, Pastorale 1943, and Mysteries.

Summary:

After his daughter is nearly kidnapped, an affluent banker arranges for his daughter to stay at home, which is connected to a criminal organization that drugs women into being held for ransom and forced into sexual acts of depravity.

Most filmmakers have elements in their films that show you who influenced them. When it comes to a filmmaker like Alain Robbe-Grillet, he is a truly unique filmmaker whose films have no linkage to other films or filmmakers. That said, Last Year at Marienbad is the closest any film has come to capturing the essence of Alain Robbe-Grillet’s cinema. It's not surprising that Alain Robbe-Grillet wrote Last Year at Marienbad’s screenplay.

Before anyone is introduced or any words are spoken, Playing with Fire opens with a sensational opening sequence that does a superb job of setting the stage for what is about to unfold. It is also just one of many moments of misdirection or alternate realities where everything that happens is not always clear-cut.

Though the narrative moves forward in a fairly straightforward way, there is not much in the way of backstory, and when it comes to the character motivations, things are vague. Fortunately, the narrative does a superb job of building momentum towards a very satisfying coda that perfectly encapsulates the events that preceded it.

Playing with Fire has a solid cast that is filled with faces that anyone familiar with 1960s and 1970s European cinema is sure to recognize. The two performances that stand out are Philippe Noiret (Cinema Paradiso), an affluent banker whose daughter is kidnapped, and Jean-Louis Trintignant (The Conformist), in a dual role; one of his characters is a kidnapper while the other is a private detective. Other notable characters are Anicée Alvina (Successful Slidings of Pleasure) in the role of the affluent banker's daughter, Sylvia Kristel (Emmanuelle), and Agostina Belli (Scent of a Woman 1974), whose characters reside at the home where the banker's daughter is being held captive.

Though eroticism is an element that runs throughout Alain Robbe-Grillet’s films, a film like Playing with Fire is much more than your run-of-the-mill erotica; it is a film that is better described as avant-garde. Surrealism is another element that is prominent in Alain Robbe-Grillet’s films, and there is an abundance of surrealism in Playing with Fire. And nowhere is this clearer than when it comes to the visuals, which are overflowing with symbolism. Another strength of the visuals is how they take full advantage of the 2.35:1 scope frame. Also, the way that Playing with Fire uses images and sound heightens the mood. Ultimately, Playing with Fire is an extraordinary cinematic experience that is a must-see if you're a fan of Alain Robbe-Grillet.

Playing with Fire is an excellent release from Cult Epics that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and a trio of insightful extras, highly recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer