movie world

This 1962 film from French director Henri Decoin tends to be regrettably overlooked by histories of the horror film. Based on a 1961 novel by that eminently filmable suspense team Boileau-Narcejac, it is a worthy addition to a filmography that boasts the likes of DIABOLIQUE (1955), VERTIGO (1958), and EYES WITHOUT A FACE (1960), though it is made with such subtlety that one is left somewhat mystified by the experience. What exactly happened here? What actually caused it? The natural or the supernatural?

It is the story of Francois Rauchelle - a mild, unassuming veterinarian who lives with his wife on Noirmoutier Island, which connects to the mainland by a single road known as the Passage du Gois, which is erased at high tide each day. He spends his time tending to farm and domestic animals, until a stranger rouses him from his bed one night with a personal request that he venture out to a mainland address the next day. He makes the trip and finds the leopard domesticated in the care of an exotic-looking woman named Myriem Heller, who lives with her African servant Ronga. Rauchelle soon finds himself under the power of Myriem, who has acquired mystic powers after years of study under an African sorcerer, and his marriage - along with his will - begins to disintegrate...

Director: Henri Decoin
Cast: Juliette Greco, Liselotte Pulver, Jean-Marc Bory, Georges Chamarat, Mathe Mansoura, Jeanne Perez, Marcel Peres, Jacques Dacqmine, Robert Dalban, Maurice Ducasse
Country: France
Genre: Thriller

DVD9 | PAL 16:9 | 01:40:27 | 6.58 Gb + 3% rec
Language: Francais
Subtitles: English, Francais

BD50 | 1080p AVC | 01:44:46 | 34.5 Gb + 3% rec
Language: French
Subtitles: English, French

Extras:
-- "Scenes de la vie conjugale" (2021, 18 min.) : claire et vivante presentation par le fils du cineaste, rassemblant des souvenirs et des informations de premiere main sur la genese du film, son tournage, sa reception critique.
-- Bande-annonce