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Released by: Criterion Collection
Released on: 7/28/2009
Director: Roman Polanski
Cast: Catharine Deneuve, Ian Hendry, John Fraser
Year: 1965
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The Movie:
One of the finest arthouse-horror mash ups of its time, Roman Polanski's first English language feature holds up incredibly well, well over four decades since it was originally marketed as the sleazy, sexualized picture it isn't. While the film might be short on plot, it's not in the least bit lacking in terms of plot, atmosphere, and palpable suspense.
After the striking opening credits where the cast and crew's names emerge out of an eyeball, we meet Carole Ledoux (Catherine Deneuve), a pretty blonde Belgian woman living in London and working at a beauty salon. Carol is a fairly meek woman, seemingly easily put off by some of the snootier clientele she has to deal with. She's a fairly reclusive woman, and the only person she seems to show any attachment to is her older sister, Helene (Yvonne Furneux), with whom she shares an apartment. When her sister and her boyfriend, who Carol does not care for, decide to vacation in Italy for a while and leave Carol alone, things start to get a little strange.
The start off innocently enough, with a young man understandably showing some interest in the girl and asking her out for dinner, but it soon becomes obvious from her response and later her behavior that something is off. Seemingly put off by anything even remotely connected to the outside world, Carol shuts herself in the apartment, preferring the company of the skinned rabbit she and Helene were to have for dinner to her gentleman caller or anyone else for that matter. As the cracks in the walls of the apartment get bigger, so too do the ones in Carol's fragile psyche…
Ripe with symbolism, some obvious and some more subtle than that, Repulsion is, on the surface at least, little more than a document of one woman's inevitable descent into madness. Reasons for her change are hinted at but never spelled out and a lot of the details are left up to the viewer to decide upon. The film has an unsettling vibe to it and while you can see where maybe it borrows a bit from Hitchcock's Psycho, a film that blew the doors off of the box office four years prior, Polanski definitely carves out his own niche here thanks in no small part to Gil Taylor's outstandingly atmospheric camerawork that is as startling as it is claustrophobic at times. The film may take a little while to really get moving but once it does, Polanski and Taylor are very definitely in control of the way all of this is playing out, even if there are times where it may not necessarily feel that way.
Performance wise, Catherine Deneuve, looking all the world like a blonde out of a Hitchcock movie here, is perfectly cast as Carol. She has this certain fragility to her physicality that makes her character both believable and somehow sympathetic despite her actions - almost like you want to give her a hug and let her cry on your shoulder even though you might wind up with a knife in your back if you let her. The rest of the cast are fine, if unremarkable, wisely letting Deneuve's emotional and psychological unraveling remain the focus of the picture.
Slick, eerie, violent, and at times rather sexy, Repulsion may not register as Polanski's best picture but it's definitely in the running.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Criterion presents Repulsion in an excellent 1.66.1 anamorphic widescreen transfer in full 1080p high definition with AVC encoding in glorious black and white, just as it should be. In short, the transfer is excellent. There's a welcome coat of fine film grain present throughout but no serious print damage to note and the improvement in detail, contrast and clarity compared to previous standard definition DVD releases is instantly noticeable. Blacks are nice and strong while whites look smooth and natural, never too hot and never showing any evidence of blooming. There are no noticeable problems with mpeg compression or edge enhancement to complain about. If you want to nit-pick, you'll be able to pick up on some really minor specks here and there but for a film well past its fortieth birthday, Criterion's efforts here are outstanding.
The English language 24-but LPCM Mono track, which comes with optional English closed captioning, is nice and clear. The sound mix for this film plays with silence as often as it plays with noise and thankfully the subtleties of the mix come through very nicely here. There are no problems at all with hiss or distortion to note, no unnecessary background noise, and the levels are all properly balanced. The track might be a little dated compared to more modern mixes, but for an older Mono mix, this one sounds great.
Criterion have ported over their older commentary recorded for their previous release to this Blu-ray debut. Director Roman Polanski and actress Catherine Deneuve were recorded separately and their thoughts then edited together so there are some spots where things don't quite sound like a natural conversation, but by and large this is a good talk. Polanski is frank and honest about what he likes and doesn't like about the film, talking about things he would change if he could while modestly admitting what he thinks works well about the picture. Deneuve discusses her relationship with the director, covering both the highs and the lows and giving us some insight into his style as well as her own. It's a pretty solid track with some good information in it and it moves at a good pace and is well put together.
When Anchoy Bay UK released Repulsion on DVD a few years ago, Blue Underground product an accompanying twenty-five minute documentary entitled A British Horror Film. Criterion has wisely decided to carry over that documentary for this release, which features interviews with Roman Polanski (who starts off by saying that you can ask him whatever you want… except to explain his films), the film's producers Gene Gutowski and Tony Tenser, designer Seamus Flannery and noted cinematographer Gil Taylor. This documentary gives us some insight into the technical side of things by discussing camera work, how different lenses were used and how shots were set up but also delves into some of the spats and disputes that occurred over artistic differences between the various participants while all involved tried to capture what Polanski was aiming for. It's an interesting documentary and it covers some different ground than the commentary does.
Grand Ecran is a twenty-two minute 1964 television documentary that was shot on the set of Repulsion while it was being made and which features some interesting footage of Polanski directing Deneuve. Directed by Claude Chaboud, it's an interesting piece that gives us a fly-on-the-wall look at the film and is presented in French with English subtitles.
Rounding out the extras are two theatrical trailers for the film, menus, and chapter stops. All of the extras are presented in HD. Inside the keepcase is a booklet featuring an essay on Repulsion by film scholar and a second essay on the picture by author Bill Horrigan.
The Final Word:
Polanski's first English language film remains one of his best and one of his most interesting efforts and Criterion are to be lauded for the superb treatment they've afforded the picture with its outstanding Blu-ray release.