La Tête contre les murs (Head Against the Wall): Limited Edition – Radiance Films (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: France, 1959
Director: Georges Franju
Writers: Hervé Bazin, Jean-Pierre Mocky, Jean-Charles Pichon
Cast: Pierre Brasseur, Paul Meurisse, Jean-Pierre Mocky, Anouk Aimée, Jean Galland, Jean Ozenne, Thomy Bourdelle, Rudy Lenoir, Roger Legris, Henri San Juan, Edith Scob

Release Date: June 22nd, 2026 (UK), June 23rd, 2026 (USA)
Approximate Running Time: 96 Minutes 36 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1 Aspect Ratio / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: 15 (UK), NR (USA)
Sound: LPCM Mono French
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region A,B
Retail Price: £14.99 (UK), $39.95 (USA)

"After he steals money from his wealthy father one too many times, the rebellious François (Jean-Pierre Mocky, Litan) is forcibly committed to a psychiatric institution. Labelled a delinquent and an arsonist, he endures the dehumanizing treatment reserved for society's rejects, and attempts to thwart the archaic methods of the cruel Dr. Varmont (Pierre Brasseur, Children of Paradise)." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.5/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, “La Tête contre les murs was restored in 4K by the Éclair Classics laboratory with support from the CNC and supervised by Mocky Delicious Products."

La Tête contre les murs (Head Against the Wall) comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 33.5 GB

Feature: 28 GB

The source looks excellent; flesh tones look healthy, contrast, black levels, image clarity, and compression are solid, and the image retains an organic look.

Audio: 4.5/5

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

Extras:

Extras for this release include an archival interview with actor Jean-Pierre Mocky (10 minutes, Dolby Digital stereo French with removable English subtitles), an archival French television interview with director Georges Franju and actor Charles Aznavour (11 minutes 40 seconds, Dolby Digital mono French with removable English subtitles), an archival interview with Jean-Pierre Mocky’s assistant and friend Eric Le Roy (26 minutes 8 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo French with removable English subtitles), reversible cover art, removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings; and a 28-page booklet (limited to 3,000 copies) with cast & crew information, an archival writing about La Tête contre les murs written by Raymond Durgnat, and information about the transfer.

Summary:

Georges Franju directed La Tête contre les murs (Head Against the Wall). Notable films he directed include Eyes Without a Face, Spotlight on a Murderer, Therese, Judex (1963), and Thomas the Impostor.

A man fed up with his delinquent son has him institutionalized.

Trauma and how one deals with it are central to the narrative that unfolds. When it comes to how to deal with mental illness, La Tête contre les murs (Head Against the Wall) offers two distinctly different viewpoints. Where Dr. Emery has helped the majority of his patients move past their trauma, Dr. Varmont views himself as a protector of society, and instead of curing his patients, he forces them to forever stay in a suspended state. When it comes to Dr. Varmont's approach, it has dire consequences where one patient uses suicide as their only escape.

Although Georges Franju had directed 14 short films over 25 years, La Tête contre les murs (Head Against the Wall) was his feature film debut. His instincts as a filmmaker greatly aid the story that unfolds by finding a solid balance between the performances and the visuals. In the case of the latter, they are filled with a tremendous amount of atmosphere that heightens the mood by perfectly capturing the characters' states of minds.

Jean-Pierre Mocky (Solo) and the cast deliver outstanding performances, with Mocky playing François Gérane, the estranged son of an affluent man who institutionalizes him. He delivers a remarkable performance that perfectly captures his character's desperation and desire to be free to live life the way he wants to. Another performance note is Pierre Brasseur (Eyes Without a Face) in the role of Dr. Vermont, who views his job as protecting society from those who have been institutionalized. Other performances of note are Anouk Aimée (A Man and a Woman) in the role of Stéphanie, a woman who becomes involved with François and Paul Meurisse (Les Diaboliques), who portrays Dr. Emery, a colleague of Dr. Vermont whose views on curing the mentally ill are polar opposite.

The premise is superbly realized. The well-executed narrative does an exemplary job drawing you in, and it is very effective at building momentum to its heartbreaking finale where the protagonist accepts his doomed fate. The narrative also fleshes out its protagonist, especially regarding his mother's death, the source of his trauma. Ultimately, Head Against the Wall is a hard-hitting drama about mental illness and how society treats those who are institutionalized.

La Tête contre les murs (Head Against the Wall) gets an excellent release from Radiance Films that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and insightful extras. Highly Recommended.

 

Written by Michael Den Boer