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Released by: PVB Editions
Released on: 2/22/2002
Director: Jean-Claude Roy
Cast: Henry Silva, Andre Pousse, Philippe Clay, George Geret, Robert Dalban, Yves Afonso
Year: 1973
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The Movie:
Henry Silva (The Hills Run Red) plays Emmanuel Ristack, better known as The Insolent, who has recently escaped from his prison cell where he was incarcerated. He quickly makes his escape and but soon the former US Special Forces agent has hooked up with a gang of thugs and is planning what they hope will be the perfect heist.
Once he's put together his team, they setup an elaborate scheme to knock off a truck full of gold bullion which they intend to then sell off to a group of men who run a members only club called The Hippodrome, where they gamble and enjoy the many scantily clad go-go dancers that are employed there.
Everything appears to go smoothly for the crew, and they make the transaction successfully. The Insolent takes off with a suitcase full of 'bread' and the guys in the suits get their gold. Or so it would seem. In all actuality, they've screwed each other. The gold was actually painted lead, and the cash that was used to pay for it is counterfeit!
There's no way that a cold blooded killer like Emmanuel 'The Insolent' Ristack is going to take this laying down, so he and his crew head off to the Hippodrome where the suits are hanging out and set to make things right, one corpse at a time.
With a solid supporting cast including Andre Pousse of Jean-Pierre Melville's Un Flic, and Georges Geret of Diary Of A Chambermaid, the film proves to be engrossing and entertaining. Silva, never afraid to chew through any scenery that looks appetizing, scowls his way through the proceedings with sufficient maniacal energy and lends an air of unease to the story that wouldn't have come across in the hands of a less intense actor. Ristack is a mean son of a bitch and Silva plays him perfectly, whether abducting a woman or shooting a man in cold blood, he shows no remorse and is cold and calculating.
Roy's direction is solid and tight and carries on the grand tradition of the French crime films of the era with its claustrophobic moments of tension and elegant sets and set pieces. Likewise, the score by Max Gazzola and Bernard Gerard, with its dirty sounding guitar riffs contrasted against more subtle string compositions brings to mind some of Morricone's better work and wouldn't feel out of place in an Italian police thriller.
Video/Audio/Extras:
L'Insolent is marginally letterboxed at roughly 1.48.1.The video quality is decent enough though there is quite a bit of print damage in a few scenes, most noticeable around the reel changes. Overall though, colors are well defined and there aren't any problems with compression and save for a few scenes where the blacks could have looked deeper, the movie doesn't look half bad.
There is a newly remixed French Dolby Digital 5.1 track and a DTS track as well but there are no English subtitles provided. The only English friendly option on the disc is the dubbed track, which is in Mono. Overall, the clarity of the French remix is great. It's nice and robust with solid bass response and a nice level of clarity. The English dub doesn't fair so well and is a bit messy in a few spots with a small level of hiss and distortion throughout. It's listenable though, and it gets the job done.
All the extras are in French (not surprising, as this is a French market release), but what is on the disc is as follows: an interview with Andre Pousse that runs roughly thirteen minuntes; a featurette on the remixing of the sound for the newly created surround tracks, and filmographies for both Andre Pousse and Henry Silva.
The Final Word:
L'Insolent is a solid crime thriller with a nice performance from Silva and a good supporting cast. The R2 release is of decent quality and Eurocult fans are advised to check this disc out.