L'Amour braque (Mad Love) – Kino Lorber (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: France, 1985
Director: Andrzej Żuławski
Writers: Etienne Roda-Gil, Andrzej Żuławski
Cast: Sophie Marceau, Francis Huster, Tchéky Karyo, Christiane Jean, Jean-Marc Bory, Wladimir Yordanoff, Marie-Christine, Michel Albertini, Saïd Amadis, Roland Dubillard, Ged Marlon, Serge Spira, Julie Ravix, Azeddine Bouayad, Pascal Elso

Release Date: July 27th, 2021
Approximate Running Time: 105 Minutes 30 seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVCC
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono French
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region A
Retail Price: $29.95

"A manic bank robber (Karyo) aims to take back his beloved moll (Marceau) from rival gangsters. On a train to Paris, he meets a neurotic dreamer (Huster) who assumes the mantle of the tale’s “idiot” and gets swept up in the ensuing maelstrom of love and vengeance." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.5/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "4K Restoration from the Original Camera Negative".

L'Amour braque (Mad Love) comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 34 GB

Feature: 30.5 GB

The source is in excellent shape; flesh tones look healthy, colors look correct, image clarity is solid, black levels are strong, there are no issues with compression, and the image looks organic.

Audio: 5/5

This release comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in French with removable English subtitles. The audio is in excellent shape; dialogue always comes through clearly, and everything sounds balanced and robust when it should.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a theatrical trailer (2 minutes 11 seconds, Dolby Digital mono French with non-removable English subtitles), an archival behind-the-scenes footage, featuring interviews with director Andrzej Zulawski, actress Sophie Marceau and actor Francis Huster (16 minutes 33 seconds, Dolby Digital mono French with non-removable English subtitles), an archival interview with cinematographer J.F. Robin (24 minutes 10 seconds, Dolby Digital mono French with non-removable English subtitles), an archival interview with Sophie Marceau titled Becoming Marie (24 minutes 38 seconds, Dolby Digital mono French with non-removable English subtitles), an archival interview with Andrzej Zulawski and writer Daniel Bird, in English, and an audio commentary with film historian Kat Ellinger.

Other extras include theatrical trailers for Cosmos and Diva.

Summary:

A psychopath bank robber takes his girlfriend back by force from the men who stole her from him, only to lose her to a neurotic dreamer he befriended on a train.

L'Amour braque is a film that divides its audience; those who are not familiar with the cinema of Andrzej Żuławski are bewildered and quickly tune out, while those who know his films embrace his kind of cinematic chaos. French cinema is well steeped in crime cinema, and Andrzej Żuławski takes a stab at this genre, makes it his own, and throws in Fyodor Dostoevsky’s The Idiot for good measure.

L'Amour braque plunges into a wild bank robbery sequence, where the robbers don masks of Disney characters before any characters are introduced. Although this moment is frantic, it is meticulously constructed as the robbers follow a plan that provides them the perfect means to escape and disappear without a trace. Despite its lack of dialogue, this opening robbery sequence does a phenomenal job setting the tone.

Anyone expecting things to settle down after the opening sequence clearly has not seen an Andrzej Żuławski, even as the characters begin to reveal who they are; there is still a manic energy that pervades over the events that unfold. In the midst of all of this madness, there is also a love triangle that unfolds. That said, L'Amour braque is a crime film, a melodrama; like all of the films of Andrzej Żuławski, it is a genre unto itself.

All around, the cast are outstanding. The most memorable performance is Tchéky Karyo (Nikita), who portrays a loud, angry, and violent character named Mickey, the ringleader of a gang of thieves. Other performances of note are Francis Huster (The Public Woman), who portrays Léon, a simpleton who goes into convulsions when other men embrace the woman he loves, and Sophie Marceau (Braveheart), who portrays Mary, the woman at the center of the love triangle. The performances are outside of the realm of reality, some might say over the top, as chaos and carnage follow these characters.

The narrative is fairly straightforward; everything you need to know is clearly displayed on the surface. The dialogue is poetic, not the type of words people would normally say, and it is laced with subtext. Stanislas Syrewicz (The Lair of the White Worm) delivers an exemplary score that perfectly captures the characters' essence and does a superb job reinforcing the mood. Ultimately, L'Amour braque is an extraordinary display of controlled anarchy that is captivating, and at the same time, it will send your senses into overdrive.

L'Amour braque (Mad Love) gets an excellent release from Kino Lorber that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and insightful extras; highly recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer