Kiss of Death – Twilight Time (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: USA, 1947
Director: Henry Hathaway
Writers: Ben Hecht, Charles Lederer
Cast: Victor Mature, Brian Donlevy, Coleen Gray, Richard Widmark, Karl Malden

Release Date: February 14th, 2017
Approximate Running Time: 98 Minutes 59 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1 Aspect Ratio / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono English
Subtitles: English SDH
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: OOP

"With his law-breaking lifestyle in the past, an ex-con, along with his family, attempts to start a new life, knowing someone betrayed from the past is bound to see otherwise." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.5/5

Kiss of Death comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 25.9 GB

Feature: 25.7 GB

The source looks excellent; image clarity, contrast, black levels, and compression are solid, and the image looks organic.

Audio: 4.25/5

This release comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in English with removable English SDH. The audio is in excellent shape; it sounds clean, clear, balanced, and robust when it should.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a theatrical trailer (2 minutes 20 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), an option to listen to an isolated music track, an audio commentary with film historians Julie Kirgo and Nick Redman, an audio commentary with film historians James Ursini and Alain Silver, an eight-page booklet with an essay about Kiss of Death written by Julie Kirgo, and an extra that allows you to view the Twilight Time catalog.

Summary:

Henry Hathaway directed Kiss of Death. He’s known for Call Northside 777, Niagara, The Sons of Katie Elder, and Nevada Smith.

When a diamond heist goes wrong, a small-time crook named Nick Bianco is given the chance to reduce his sentence if he snitches on the other three men who got away. He refuses to be a snitch and is sent away to prison. And while he is serving his time, he receives word that his wife has killed herself. Not wanting his children to grow up without both parents, he changes his mind and agrees to collaborate with the district attorney to help bring the psychopathic gangster Tommy Udo to justice.

Though Kiss of Death incorporates many elements commonly associated with the Film noir genre, it also diverges from the standard in several notable ways. Most notably, the film employs a female voice as the narrator. Another area where Kiss of Death differs from more traditional Film noirs is its use of lighting, which goes for a natural look that is more in line with Italian cinema’s Neorealism film movement.

The visuals effectively create a menacing mood, particularly during the memorable opening bank heist sequence and the thieves' subsequent escape. When discussing Kiss of Death, no moment is more ingrained in viewers minds than the scene where Tommy Udo throws a wheelchair-bound woman down a flight of stairs.

All around, the cast are excellent. Especially Richard Widmark’s (Don’t Bother to Knock) portrayal of Tommy Udo dominates every moment he’s in. He delivers an utterly believable portrayal of a sadistic psychopath that is arguably one of the best film debuts in cinema history. The cast is filled with recognizable faces like Victor Mature (Cry of the City), who portrays an ex-convict named Nick Bianco; Brian Donlevy (Hangmen Also Die!), who portrays assistant D.A. Louis D’Angelo; and Karl Malden (On the Waterfront), who portrays Sgt. William Cullen.

From a production standpoint, there is not an area where Kiss of Death does not excel. The premise is superbly realized; the narrative does a phenomenal job holding your attention with moments overflowing with tension, and an exemplary finale provides the perfect coda. Another strength of Kiss of Death is its well-defined characters whose motivations are never in doubt. While many crime films tend to portray criminals in a negative light, Kiss of Death uniquely evokes sympathy for its characters. In the end, Kiss of Death stands out as an exceptional example of Film noir, ranking among the best in the genre.

Kiss of Death gets a solid release from Twilight Time; highly recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer

A New Leaf – Cinématographe (4k UHD/Blu-ray Combo)

Theatrical Release Date: USA, 1971
Director: Elaine May
Writer: Elaine May
Cast: Walter Matthau, Elaine May, Jack Weston, George Rose, James Coco, Dorris Roberts, Renée Taylor

Release Date: July 22nd, 2025
Approximate Running Time: 102 Minutes 12 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / Dolby Vision HDR10
Rating: G
Sound: DTS-HD Mono English
Subtitles: English SDH
Region Coding: Region Free (4K UHD), Region A (Blu-ray)
Retail Price: $59.98

"Henry Graham (Walter Matthau, The Bad News Bears), a descendant of a wealthy New York family, has exhausted his inheritance, leaving him near penniless, much to the dismay of his uncle Harry (James Coco, Murder By Death), who refuses his request for a loan. Upon suggestion of his valet driver Harold (George Rose, The Flesh and the Fiends), Henry devises a plot to marry wealthy professor Henrietta Lowell (played by writer/director Elaine May) and murder her, becoming the beneficiary of her fortune. Along the way, Henry faces various obstacles, including unexpectedly falling in love." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5 (4K UHD, Blu-ray)

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "a new restoration from the original 35mm camera negative."

A New Leaf comes on a 66 GB dual layer 4K UHD.

Disc Size: 57.5 GB

Feature: 57.3 GB

Even if you already own the Olive Films 2017 Blu-ray, which holds up really well, this new release's transfer improves upon that one. The source looks excellent; flesh tones and colors look correct, image clarity, contrast, black levels, and compression are solid, and the image always looks organic.

A New Leaf comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 42.8 GB

Feature: 23.6 GB

This Blu-ray uses the same master that is used for the 4K UHD disc.

Audio: 5/5

This release comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono English with removable English SDH. The audio sounds excellent; dialogue comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced, and ambient sounds and the score are well represented.

Extras:

Extras on the 4K UHD disc include an audio commentary by film programmer, writer, and educator K.J. Relth-Miller and Maya Montañez Smukler, author of Liberating Hollywood: Women Directors and the Feminist Reform of 1970s American Cinema.

Extras on the Blu-ray disc include a theatrical trailer (1 minute 52 seconds, DTS-HD mono English, no subtitles),  an archival interview with director Amy Heckerling titled Women in Hollywood: A Tragedy of Comic Proportions (7 minutes 2 seconds, DTS-HD stereo English, no subtitles), an archival interview assistant editor Angelo Corrao titled The Cutting Room Floor: Editing A New Leaf (12 minutes 59 seconds, DTS-HD stereo English, no subtitles), Elaine May's A New Leaf 50th Anniversary - an episode of the Silver Streams podcast from the American Film Institute featuring programmers of the AFI Silver Theater discussing May's film (48 minutes 22 seconds, DTS-HD stereo English, no subtitles), Elaine May and Mike Nichols In Conversation - an hour-long post-screening discussion between Elaine May and her frequent collaborator, conducted at Film at Lincoln Center's Walter Reade Theater in New York City in 2006 (69 minutes 3 seconds, DTS-HD stereo English, no subtitles), a video essay titled Looking for Elaine May by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, co-editor of ReFocus: The Films of Elaine May (14 minutes 53 seconds, DTS-HD stereo English, no subtitles), an interview titled Director Jail with Carrie Courogen, author of Miss May Does Not Exist: The Life and Work of Elaine May, Hollywood’s Hidden Genius (22 minutes 30 seconds, DTS-HD stereo English, no subtitles), and an audio commentary with K.J. Relth-Miller and Maya Montañez Smukler.

Other extras include a fold-out poster, a J-card MediaBook slipcase, and a 60-page booklet with an essay titled Grass is Greener: Elaine May’s A New Leaf written by Elena Lazic, an essay titled The Strong Roots of a New Leaf written by Hannah Strong, an essay titled Elaine May Takes Comedy Beyond the Edge of Reason written by Willow Maclay, an essay titled A New Leaf Tracing the Discovery of a Unique Filmic Voice written by Sarah Fensom, an archival piece titled The Rapturous Romance and Desperate Tragedy of Elaine May’s A New Leaf written by Richard Brody.

Summary:

Elaine May wrote and directed A New Leaf; it was adapted from the short story The Green Heart written by Jack Ritchie. A New Leaf was her directorial debut; she would only direct three more films: The Heartbreak Kid, Mikey and Nicky, and Ishtar.

A playboy’s extravagant lifestyle brings him to the brink of poverty. Not wanting to give up the lifestyle he has become accustomed to, he takes out a loan from his uncle, who forces him to put up his remaining assets as collateral. With only six weeks to raise the money he has borrowed from his uncle, he devises a plan to marry a wealthy spinster, whom he has every intention of murdering once he has gained control of her fortune.

The late 1960s and early 1970s were a transitional period for Hollywood, which saw shrinking audiences because of television. The other change during this period was adapting a rating system that would allow filmmakers to go where they were not previously allowed to. Needing a shot in the arm, Hollywood would give a handful of first-time filmmakers unprecedented freedom to create, which ultimately proved to be a cautionary tale for many filmmakers.

Elaine May is a filmmaker whose career perfectly fits into this scenario. It has been rumored that Elaine May’s original cut of A New Leaf was about 80 minutes longer than the version that was ultimately released by Paramount Pictures. It is unfortunate that Elaine May’s version will never be seen. That said, the end result is a film that actually achieves the majority of its goals, despite the many obstacles that it has faced.

Besides directing, Elaine May would cast herself in the pivotal role of Henrietta Lowell, a wealthy botany professor with no family. This character provides the perfect mark for the protagonist, who needs to find a wealthy woman quickly so he can marry her, kill her, and assume her fortune. Her performance does an exemplary job capturing Henrietta’s awkwardness and just general lack of awareness of what’s going on around her.

When it comes to the rest of the performances, they are all outstanding. Walter Matthau (The Fortune Cookie) is cast in the role of Henry Graham, a man whose extravagant lifestyle has drained his inheritance. His performance does a remarkable job conveying Herny’s desperation as he races against time to get rid of his new bride. Other performances of note are Jack Weston (The Thomas Crown Affair), who portrays Henrietta’s devious lawyer, and Doris Roberts (Everybody Loves Raymond), who portrays Henrietta’s thieving housekeeper.

From a production standpoint, A New Leaf is a film that’s overflowing with creativity and inspired moments of genius. The execution of the premise is superb, and even in its current form, the narrative masterfully captures your attention. That said, despite a conventional happy ending, the narrative really has no other shortcomings. Another strength is the visuals and how they cleverly work in conjunction with the black humor. Ultimately, A New Leaf, even in its current form, is an extraordinary film that fans of subversive humor should thoroughly enjoy.

A New Leaf gets a definitive release from Cinématographe; highly recommended.

Note about the 4K screenshots: It is not possible to make Dolby Vision or HDR10 screenshots that faithfully match the experience of watching a film in motion on a TV. Instead of not having any screenshots, all of the 4K screenshots are m2ts taken with a MPC-HC player and lossless PNGs.

Written by Michael Den Boer

Terrifying Girls' High School: Delinquent Convulsion Group – Discotek Media (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Japan, 1973
Director: Masahiro Shimura
Writers: Masahiro Shimura, Norifumi Suzuki
Cast: Reiko Ike, Yûko Kanô, Hiroshi Nawa, Jun Aida, Makoto Aikawa, Mike Danning, Ryôko Ema, Tatsuo Endô

Release Date: July 29th, 2025
Approximate Running Time: 87 Minutes 4 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: LPCM Mono Japanese
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region A
Retail Price: $24.95

"Anyone who roams the halls of St. Ai Girls’ Academy knows that Takako Nonaka (Reiko Ike) is the big girl on campus. She has looks, money, and more importantly, is the Crimson Rose Society’s new boss. But when an international conspiracy tears her perfect life asunder, Takako finds herself thrown out with the dregs of this prestigious academy. Hellbent on revenge, the fallen delinquent forms a new gang—the Raptors—and sets out to beat those responsible to a bloody pulp." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 3.75/5

Terrifying Girls' High School: Delinquent Convulsion Group comes on a 25 GB single layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 18 GB

Feature: 17.3 GB

No information is provided about the source used for this transfer. That said, the source is in good shape, and any source debris is minimal. Flesh tones and colors look correct, the image looks crisp, black levels are strong, and there are no issues with compression.

Audio: 4/5

This release comes with one audio option, a LPCM mono mix in Japanese, and included with this release are removable English subtitles. The audio sounds clean, clear, and balanced. Range-wise, things sound very good.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a theatrical trailer (3 minutes 5 seconds, Dolby Digital mono Japanese with removable English subtitles) and a slipcover.

Summary:

Terrifying Girls' High School: Delinquent Convulsion Group was directed by Masahiro Shimura; he only directed one other film, Terrifying Girls’ High School Animal Classmates.

Students at a prestigious all-girl school push back against the administration when they take the side of a drug syndicate that murdered the father of one of the girls.

Terrifying Girls' High School: Delinquent Convulsion Group is the third film in a series of films. The other three films are Terrifying Girls' High School: Women's Violent Classroom, Terrifying Girls' High School: Lynch Law Classroom, and Terrifying Girls’ High School Animal Classmates. Norifumi Suzuki directed the first two films in this series, and all four films starred Reiko Ike.

Classism is front and center in Terrifying Girls' High School: Delinquent Convulsion Group, where most of the girls come from affluent families; there is one classroom made up of girls from broken homes. Overseeing the girls behavior is a disciplinary group called the Crimson Rose Society, who use intimidation and brute force against rule breakers. Things come to a head when the classroom of delinquent girls forms a group called The Raptors, and the Crimson Rose Society becomes determined to destroy them.

Reiko Ike (Sex and Fury) portrays Takako, the newly elected leader of the Crimson Rose Society. After her father's death, her life is turned upside down, and now she is impoverished, forcing her to lose her spot in the Crimson Rose Society. While she is often associated with playing bad girl roles, she starts off in Terrifying Girls' High School: Delinquent Convulsion Group as a good girl before ultimately evolving into a more recognizable character. Another performance of note is Ryôko Ema, who portrays Kinue, the sadistic daughter of the PTA’s chairman. Like Reiko Ike, Ryôko Ema appeared in all four Terrifying Girls' High School films.

Despite featuring a significant amount of violence and elements typical of Pinky Violence, Terrifying Girls' High School: Delinquent Convulsion Group has a dramatically different tone than its predecessor, Terrifying Girls' High School: Lynch Law Classroom. The most notable difference is how much time Terrifying Girls' High School: Delinquent Convulsion Group devotes to exposition and character development when compared to the two films that precede it.

The well-constructed narrative has a lot of moving parts; it does a superb job blending everything and building to a cathartic, bittersweet finale that serves as a perfect coda. Where most of the violence in its predecessors is limited to fighting, this time around it leans heavily towards assaulting women. That said, though Masahiro Shimura’s direction is solid, it lacks the flair that someone like Norifumi Suzuki would bring to a film. Ultimately, there are far superior examples of Pinky Violence cinema than Terrifying Girls' High School: Delinquent Convulsion Group, especially for those who are new to this genre of films.

Although it is great that a film like Terrifying Girls' High School: Delinquent Convulsion Group is getting an English-friendly release, the lack of extras is a disappointment since most boutique labels releasing Asian cinema come with extras that provide insight about these films. Terrifying Girls' High School: Delinquent Convulsion Group is another barebones release from Discotek Media that comes with a strong audio/video presentation.

Written by Michael Den Boer

Terrifying Girls' High School: Lynch Law Classroom – Discotek Media (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Japan, 1973
Director: Norifumi Suzuki
Writer: Tatsuhiko Kamoi
Cast: Miki Sugimoto, Reiko Ike, Seiko Saburi, Misuzu Ôta, Rie Saotome, Yuuko Mizusawa, Yukiko Asano, Ryôko Ema

Release Date: July 29th, 2025
Approximate Running Time: 88 Minutes 33 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: LPCM Mono Japanese
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region A
Retail Price: $24.95

"When whispers of a close ally’s death escape the chaotic Kibou Girls’ Academy, a delinquent gang leader (Miki Sugimoto) enters the infernal institution in search of answers. However, what she finds inside isn’t pretty—corrupt cops, twisted teachers, and trails of blood left by the devilish disciplinary committee. Determined to snuff out these creeps, this “Boss with the Cross” finds herself allying with righteous rivals and a crafty journalist in her quest for vengeance." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 3.75/5

Terrifying Girls' High School: Lynch Law Classroom comes on a 25 GB single layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 18.3 GB

Feature: 17.6 GB

No information is provided about the source used for this transfer. That said, the source is in good shape, and any source debris is minimal. Flesh tones and colors look correct, the image looks crisp, black levels are strong, and there are no issues with compression.

Audio: 4/5

This release comes with one audio option, a LPCM mono mix in Japanese, and included with this release are removable English subtitles. The audio sounds clean, clear, and balanced. Range-wise, things sound very good.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a theatrical trailer (2 minutes 51 seconds, Dolby Digital mono Japanese with removable English subtitles) and a slipcover.

Summary:

Norifumi Suzuki directed Terrifying Girls' High School: Lynch Law Classroom. He’s known for Tokugawa Sex Ban, The Lustful Shogun and His 21 Concubines, School of the Holy Beast, The Killing Machine, Star of David: Hunting for Beautiful Girls, and Roaring Fire. He also directed several films in the Girl Boss and Terrifying Girls' High School film series.

A school is run by sexual deviants, and a group of girls who oversee punishment of those who are out of line is disrupted by three delinquent girls who refuse to bend to the rules.

Terrifying Girls' High School: Lynch Law Classroom is the second film in a series of films. The other three films are Terrifying Girls' High School: Women's Violent Classroom, Terrifying Girls' High School: Delinquent Convulsion Group, and Terrifying Girls’ High School Animal Classmates. Norifumi Suzuki directed the first two films in this series, and all four films starred Reiko Ike.

Terrifying Girls' High School: Lynch Law Classroom opens with a pre-credits sequence that does a phenomenal job setting the tone. In this opening a group of girls known as the discipline squad punish a girl named Michiyo by retraining her and making her think that they are draining her blood. These girls are wearing surgical masks and gloves in the color blood red. This moment climaxes with Michiyo escaping; her punishers chase her to the rooftop, and with nowhere to go, she falls off of the roof.

Miki Sugimoto (Zero Woman: Red Handcuffs) and Reiko Ike (Girl Boss Guerilla) are the two actresses most identified with Toei’s Pinky Violence films. Miki Sugimoto has the larger role in Terrifying Girls' High School: Lynch Law Classroom; she portrays Noriko, the leader of a girl gang, and Michiyo, the girl who died at the hands of the discipline squad, was her right-hand woman. Miki Sugimoto delivers another exemplary performance as the tough girl character, fearless and capable of standing her own against any man. Reiko Ike portrays Maki, a leader of a girl gang who has a grudge against Noriko. Her character does not appear until around the 47-minute mark and is only in a few scenes. That said, despite her limited screentime, her moments are some of the most memorable.

Norifumi Suzuki is widely regarded as one of the top filmmakers producing exploitation films in 1970s Japan. While Terrifying Girls' High School: Lynch Law Classroom incorporates many elements typical of Pinky Violence, it is also filled with nudity, catfights, blackmail, and instances of extreme violence. Some of the means with which characters are tortured include electrocution, a lightbulb inside of the vagina, and forcing a girl to drink so much water that she has no choice but to piss herself. In the case of the latter, Terrifying Girls' High School: Lynch Law Classroom was the first film to feature the omorashi fetish. That said, Norifumi Suzuki is a filmmaker known for creating arresting imagery, and with Terrifying Girls' High School: Lynch Law Classroom, he delivers in spades.

What starts off as a story about a girl's death that is wrongly labeled a suicide shifts to revenge in the middle act and culminates with revenge being served. The expertly crafted narrative captivates your attention with a series of shocking moments that consistently surpass the previous ones, leading to an exceptional ending that serves as a perfect conclusion. Another strength is how effectively the score reinforces the mood; it is a mixture of 1970s funky and classical music. Ultimately, it is easy to see why Terrifying Girls' High School: Lynch Law Classroom is one of the high water marks of Pinky Violence, making it a must-see for fans of this genre.

The biggest letdown about this release is its lack of contextual extras, unlike this film's previous release from Panik House. That said, Terrifying Girls' High School: Lynch Law Classroom gets a strong audio/video presentation; it is recommended despite its lack of contextual extras.

Written by Michael Den Boer

Belle de Jour – The Criterion Collection (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: France/Italy, 1967
Director: Luis Buñuel
Writers: Luis Buñuel, Jean-Claude Carrière
Cast: Catherine Deneuve, Jean Sorel, Michel Piccoli, Geneviève Page, Pierre Clémenti, Françoise Fabian, Macha Méril

Release Date: January 17th, 2012
Approximate Running Time: 100 Minutes 14 seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVCC
Rating: NR
Sound: LPCM Mono French
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region A
Retail Price: $39.95

"Séverine, a Paris housewife who begins secretly spending her after­noon hours working in a bordello. This surreal and erotic late-sixties daydream from provocateur for the ages Luis Buñuel is an examination of desire and fetishistic pleasure (its characters’ and its viewers’), as well as a gently absurdist take on contemporary social mores and class divisions." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "This new high-definition digital transfer was created on a Spirit 2K Datacine from a 35mm interpositive. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, warps, jitter, and flicker were manually removed using MTI's DRS, while Image Systems' DVNR was used for small dirt, grain, and noise reduction."

Belle de Jour comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 38.7 GB

Feature: 27.5 GB

The source looks excellent; flesh tones look healthy, colors look correct, image clarity and black levels are solid, there are no issues with compression, and grain remains intact.

Audio: 5/5

This release comes with one audio option, a LPCM mono mix in French with removable English subtitles. The audio is in excellent shape; dialogue always comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced, and ambient sounds are well-represented.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a theatrical trailer (2 minutes 41 seconds, Dolby Digital mono French with removable English subtitles), a U.S. rerelease theatrical trailer (1 minutes 8 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), a segment from the French television program Cinéma, featuring interviews with Carrière and actress Catherine Deneuve (7 minutes 17 seconds, Dolby Digital mono French with removable English subtitles), an interview with screenwriter Jean-Claude Carrière (10 minutes 22 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), a video piece featuring writer and sexual-politics activist Susie Bright and film scholar Linda Williams titled The Obscene Source of Desire (18 minutes 8 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), an audio commentary with Michael Wood, author of the BFI Film Classics book Belle de jour, and a 30-page booklet with cast & crew information, an essay titled Tough Love written by Melissa Anderson, a 1970s interview with director Luis Buñuel titled Buñuel on Belle de Jour, and information about the transfer.

Summary:

Belle de Jour was directed by Luis Buñuel, a Spanish filmmaker who made most of his films in France and Mexico. Notable films he directed include L'Âge d'Or, The Exterminating Angel, Diary of a Chambermaid, and The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie.

A housewife having intimacy problems with her husband awakens her libido when she becomes a prostitute.

Belle de Jour depicts a woman torn between tradition and temptation. Although it incorporates surrealism, much like many of Luis Buñuel's other films, this one stands out as his most sexually explicit work. When it comes to the sexual moments, they never feel exploitative, and they always further the narrative.

The opening setup is an exemplary example of misdirection; a husband and wife are having a romantic carriage ride, an argument ensues, and the husband pulls the carriage over and has his wife tied to a tree where his servant whips her backside. At the height of this moment, it is revealed that what we have been watching was a fantasy, the first of many moments throughout Belle de Jour. The wife's thoughts and desires are effectively expressed through these fantasy sequences.

Belle de Jour is also a story about a woman who leads a double life; in private she is timid, while in public with strangers she has no boundaries. Her inability to be intimate with someone she cares for is linked to a traumatic event from her childhood in which she was molested. Her sexual rendezvous with strangers help her understand and deal with her intimacy issues.

Catherine Deneuve (Repulsion), in the role of the protagonist, Séverine, aka "Belle de Jour," delivers a career-defining performance that is arguably her best. The pitch of her performance perfectly captures her character's current moods and state of mind. The rest of the performances are excellent, and the cast is filled with recognizable faces. Jean Sorel (A Lizard in a Woman’s Skin) in the role of the husband, Macha Méril (Deep Red) portrays Séverine’s friend, Michel Piccoli (Contempt) portrays the husband’s lecherous friend who secretly desires Séverine, and Pierre Clémenti (The Designated Victim) portrays Marcel, a criminal who she meets through her work as a prostitute and whose infatuation for her becomes deadly.

Though the narrative often blurs the line between reality and fantasy, it still unfolds in a linear way. Its narrative is flawlessly constructed, and it does a phenomenal job building to a tragic finale imbued with ambiguity. Visually Belle de Jour is overflowing with arresting moments, notably Séverine’s fantasies. Another notable aspect of Belle de Jour is its absence of a musical score; rather, various sounds are employed to enhance the atmosphere. In the end, Luis Buñuel directed numerous films that could be deemed masterpieces, yet it is Belle de Jour that remains his most defining work.

Belle de Jour gets an exceptional release from The Criterion Collection that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and insightful extras, highly recommended.

 

Written by Michael Den Boer

Mondo Keyhole: The Psychotronica Collection #2 – VCI Entertainment (Blu-ray/DVD Combo)

Theatrical Release Date: USA, 1966
Directors: Jack Hill, John Lamb
Writer: Jack Hill
Cast: Nick Moriarty, Adele Rein, Carol Baughman, Pluto Felix, Christopher Winters, Penelope Faith, Cathy Crowfoot, Rene De Beau, Gaby Martone, Barbara Nordin, Missy Simone, Luana Anders, Ron Gans, Joy Lowe

Release Date: July 29th, 2025
Approximate Running Time: 77 Minutes 37 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: LPCM Mono English
Subtitles: English SDH
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $29.95

"A serial rapist relishes his attacks on women, but are they only fantasy, real though they may seem?" - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 3/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "Restored in 2K from the original uncut 35mm camera negative!"

Mondo Keyhole comes on a 25 GB single layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 22.2 GB

Feature: 20.6 GB

Though there are moments where black levels, contrast, and image clarity dip in quality, this new transfer is the best Mondo Keyhole has ever looked on home media.

Audio: 2.5/5

This release comes with one audio option, a LPCM mono mix in English with removable English SDH. Although audio sounds clear and balanced, it sounds limited range-wise.

Extras:

Extras for this release include an archival audio commentary with director Jack Hill, an audio commentary with film historian, podcaster, and artist Rob Kelly, a Psychotronica photo and poster gallery with text information about this subgenre, and a trailer for Delinquent Schoolgirls.

Included is a DVD that contains the same contents.

Summary:

Jack Hill co-directed Mondo Keyhole. He’s known for Blood Bath, Spider Baby, Pit Stop, The Big Doll House, The Big Bird Cage, Coffy, Foxy Brown, The Swinging Cheerleaders, and Switchblade Sisters.

A married man who works as a pornographer secretly leads a double life at night as a serial rapist.

Mondo Keyhole is a film that fits firmly into a subgenre of films known as The Roughie. These were softcore films that upped the ante when it came to violence, specifically towards women. That said, despite their nudity and softcore elements, these films were more shocking than erotic.

The protagonist is a husband who lives a double life. He has an attention-starved wife who is addicted to heroin. The only way that he can get off is by taking women by force. Driven by impulse, and during one of his attempted assaults at a party where everyone wears a mask, his wife finds out about him when he tries to assault her.

Mondo Keyhole’s opening setup oversells what follows; it claims that what you are about to watch is an exploration of the line between reality and illusion. Unfortunately, what unfolds is a film that is heavy on exploitation elements like nudity, S&M, and other acts of depravity and light on plot. When it comes to pacing the narrative, it does a good job creating an uneasy feeling that builds to a fever pitch by the revenge-themed finale. Though Jack Hill has a proven track record when it comes to exploitation cinema—he made one of the best exploitation films of the 1970s, Mondo Keyhole—it is nothing more than a curiosity for fans of Roughies.

VCI Entertainment gives Mondo Keyhole its best home video release to date. 

Written by Michael Den Boer