Rififi
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Synopsis
After making such American noir classics as The Naked City and Brute Force, blacklisted director Jules Dassin went to Paris and embarked on his masterpiece: a twisting, turning tale of four ex-cons who hatch one last glorious heist in the City of Lights. At once naturalistic and expressionistic, this melange of suspense, brutality, and dark humor was an international hit and earned Dassin the Best Director prize at the Cannes Film Festival. Criterion is proud to present Rififi in a pristine digital transfer.
Picture 5/10
Criterion presents Jules Dassin’s Rififi in its original aspect ratio of 1.33:1 on this dual-layer disc. Because of the aspect ratio it has not been enhanced for widescreen televisions.
Rififi’s transfer would actually be pretty solid if it wasn’t for the fact it’s interlaced. Detail is decent and the print is in fine enough shape but the interlaced transfer presents all sorts of issues. Jagged edges are rampant along with ghosting and pixilation. Contrast looks to have been boosted a bit which causes some details to get lost in darker sequences.
Sadly it doesn’t look very good but I’m hoping Criterion may revisit it. (UK distributor Arrow released a Region B Blu-ray edition that looks very sharp. I’d recommend that one if you have the ability to play back region B titles.)
Audio 5/10
The Dolby Digital mono track is okay, limited by its age. Audio quality is decent enough with a little bit of noise present. Dialogue sounds fairly clear but has an edge to it. Music has been cranked a bit, though, and it creates a very unpleasant, harsh effect. It could be better admittedly but it’s not ear-piercingly bad.
Extras 3/10
Rififi’s only big supplement is an excellent 30-minute interview with Jules Dassin that Criterion recorded in 2001. Dassin first opens with a great story about being recruited to play in a studio baseball game (Fox vs. MGM) and then talks about the painful experience of being blacklisted. In this section he doesn’t only talk about his own experiences, which made life difficult professionally and personally, but also shares stories of others, including the effect it had on those people that did “name names”. He talks about the long dry spell where he couldn’t find work anywhere (Hollywood studios threatened to not show films made by overseas studios if they worked with Dassin) until he was finally able to make Rififi in France. The last half of the interview covers the book and the making of the film. Absolutely great interview that’s worth watching.
Criterion then includes text production notes and a stills gallery, both of which you navigate through using your remote. Finally there’s a theatrical trailer, and the insert includes a short essay on Dassin and the film by Jamie Hook.
Disappointingly slight but the interview is great.
Closing
Bland edition, the only strong aspect of which is the entertaining interview with the director. Unfortunately everything else, which includes the interlaced transfer, audio, and remaining supplements, leaves a lot to be desired. With a nice looking Blu-ray edition available overseas hopefully Criterion will see fit to revisit this film.
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