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STUDIO: Lions Gate
MSRP: $39.98
RATED: Unrated
RUNNING TIME: 516 minutes
SPECIAL FEATURES:
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Alain Delon made his movie debut in the drama Quand la femme s'en mêle (1957) and until the mid-sixties played bit parts. It was in the sixties that he became an acting sensation in Europe and since then he has gone on to star in over 50 films. I never knew that much at Alain's career except for the excellent Le Samourai (1967) that many consider, rightfully so, his finest work. The Alain Delon collection offers five movies that showcase the diversity of his acting skills beginning with the 1969 release The Swimming Pool and ending with Our Story (1984).

The Swimming Pool (La Piscine) (1969)

The Humans

Alain Delon, Romy Schneider, Maurice Ronet, Jane Birkin, Paul Crauchet, Steve Eckhardt

The Nutshell

Jean-Paul (Alain Delon) and Marianne (Romy Schneider) are on vacation at a villa near St. Tropez. Marianne's ex-lover, Harry (Maurice Ronet) shows up unexpectedly with his teenage daughter, Penelope (Jane Birkin), it creates a love triangle that ends with deadly consequences.

The Lowdown

A suspense driven movie that has a slow opening but that is quickly forgotten (forgiven) by the second half. The biggest problem with the first half is it appeared no one was not quite sure how to set-up the  characters in a quiet and relaxing atmosphere and then take that scene to create tension between the two male leads. The tension between Jean-Paul and Harry was practically non-existent and when it does occur everything happens too fast. After Harry and Penelope arrive it is quickly established that Harry and Jean-Paul have known each other for years and Harry does not seem to mind that his former lover is involved with an old friend. When Harry begins to show interest in Marianne it comes across forced which makes the sudden emotional breakdown of Jean-Paul unconvincing.

Another problem with the film is Penelope. Why her character is allowed to play a major role is head scratching at best. All she does is mope and walk around looking at what the other characters are doing and adds nothing to the main plot. I could understand this sort of character included if she was the one causing the rift between the three adults but there is not even a hint throughout the entire film why she is there. It can't be for the eye candy because Romy Schneider takes care of that department. All I can see is her character is included is for Jean-Paul to talk to, nothing more. As I mentioned at the beginning the strength of the movie is the second half. This is where tensions build up and when a certain situation occurs between Jean-Paul and Harry, and when Marianne is put in a position to make a crucial decision is when the suspense fully takes you in up until the last scene.

Even though I had some pacing and character issues, mainly in the first half, The Swimming Pool is still a worthwhile film and this has to do with the appeal of Delon. His character is moody, insecure and intriguing all a the same time and you are kept in the dark as to whether he will unravel. Some of my favorite scenes are when he is alone watching everyone else going about their business - in those scenes Jean-Paul's entire life can be summed up. Romy Schneider delivers a solid performance yet it is not her scenes with Alain that are the strongest. Her scenes with Maurice Ronet are actually the most interesting and when Alain appears in their scenes something changes, something I might add is difficult to pin-point because I don't want to say Alain weakens their scenes, far from it, and I believe it all boils down to when there are more than two in an intense scene the suspense is lost.

The Swimming Pool is a decent drama that is saved by a strong second half.

6.5 out of 10

Diabolically Yours (Diaboliquement Votre) (1967)

The Humans

Alain Delon, Senta Berger, Sergio Fantoni, Peter Mosbacher, Claude Piéplu, Albert Augier, Renate Birgo

The Nutshell

After surviving a car accident Pierre (Alain Delon) is unable to remember who he is. His wife, Christiane (Senta Berger) is convinced he has amnesia but Pierre believes that it is all a ploy to cause him to commit suicide.

The Lowdown

After the accident and a lengthy stay in the hospital, Pierre is taken home and from the start things are disturbing him. First is his wife who is distant and refuses to even kiss him, then there is the cook who has his hands in everything from sewing, landscaping and keeping close tabs on Pierre. Considering they live on a palatial estate this strikes Pierre odd that with all this they have no visitors (except for the doctor) and simply no contact with anyone outside the estate. Pierre is also being haunted while sleeping by the same voice telling Pierre to kill himself. Pierre quickly discovers a few other details that convinces him that he is not who everyone is telling him who he is which only adds to the suspense. Once he begins to feel healthy enough Pierre begins to explore the estate and expresses an interest in going into town which makes everyone around him appear more anxious.

I enjoyed this movie because it kept me guessing on just what was going on. Does Pierre belong there? Why are the others determined to prevent him from leaving?, and who is behind the voices he hears at night? All of these questions are not answered until the final half hour which was a plus because there is nothing worse than watching a suspenseful movie and everything can be figured out early. Even though all the characters are interesting I found the cook, Kim (Peter Mosbacher) to be the most intriguing, mainly because he was a man of few words and even though he's involved in various activities his motives were kept in check until the second half.

Alain turns in a solid performance and what I appreciated the most was how he kept the character in check. It would have been easy in some scenes for him to go over the top (especially the emotional scenes) but Alain did not allow those moments to become ridiculous. The rest of the cast are good and all of them have the right amount of chemistry to carry the movie and, most importantly, make it enjoyable.

7.5 out of 10

The Widow Couderc (La Veuve Couderc) (1971)

The Humans

Alain Delon, Simone Signoret, Ottavia Piccolo, Jean Tissier, Monique Chaumette, Boby Lapointe, Jean-Pierre Castaldi

The Nutshell

Exploring the possibility of love between a young man and older woman, The Widow Couderc centers on the relationship between widow Veuve Couderc (Simone Signoret) and drifter Jean (Alain Delon).

The Lowdown

After getting off the bus Veuve has brought home a warmer for her chickens. Seeing that she is having problems carrying the item Jean offers to help and it is through their conversation on the way to Verve's farm where she learns that Jean is looking for work. The two immediately hit it off and establish a good rapport to the point where they can open up to one another. When Jean learns that there is a clause in a contract that could cost Veuve her farm he begins to offer assistance to not only get the place fixed up but helps in keeping watch on Veuve's in-laws - if her brother-in-law dies she gets the farm, if he signs the farm over to his son Veuve loses it.

Now this is where I have a slight problem with the movie. Just like The Swimming Pool this film has a meddling teenager with a small child. She snoops around and seems to have taken an interest in Jean and from all accounts his feelings are beginning to move away from Veuve as he seems to be spending more time with the teenager. The teenager is the daughter of Veuve's nephew on her husbands side of the family and has no interest in the farm or anyone else for that matter. She's a distraction, nothing more and thankfully her part was relegated to a few minor scenes.

As the movie moves forward the relationship between Jean and Veuve grows and for me this is where the movie plays best. The chemistry between the two leads is what makes The Widow Couderc a worthwhile film. Considering this movie is low-key I was surprised at how fast the story played out and again this has to do with the two leads. The crazy in-laws (who live across the river) do provide a boost in upping the dramatic parts of the story.

The Widow Couderc is my favorite movie on this set.

8.0 out of 10

The Gypsy (Le Gitan) (1975)

The Humans

Alain Delon, Paul Meurisse, Annie Girardot, Marcel Bozzuffi, Bernard Giraudeau, Renato Salvatori

The Nutshell

A long suffering gypsy, Hugo Sennart (Alain Delon), sets out to rob the rich to provide for his fellow gypsies.

The Lowdown

Talk about a jumbled mess! The Gypsy is a movie that is supposed to convince you into feeling sorry for the way gypsies are treated by society and yet it just the opposite. The plot is set up as a story along the lines of Robin Hood and that is something I can get behind. Nothing more enjoyable than seeing the rich getting a taste of their own medicine and yet everything about this movie had me hoping the rich would win! Instead of going into some detail as to why Hugo begins a life of robbing, the audience is offered a cursory glance and the end result is yet just another standard cop movie.

Even though the movie had a couple of good scenes overall it is a big disappointment. Even the actors involved seemed out of sorts and I have to wonder what was the inspiration for this film getting made. From all accounts it was not to get tell a story about the awful conditions gypsies have to face day in and day out. They are simply used as a prop to advance the boring story of one man leading a pack of goons to take whatever they want no matter who suffers.

After watching and enjoying the previous three movies I was hoping the set was going to be solid throughout. Unfortunately this movie broke that streak.

5.5 out of 10

Our Story (Notre Histoire) (1984)

The Humans

Alain Delon, Nathalie Baye, Gérard Darmon, Geneviève Fontanel, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Sabine Haudepin

The Nutshell

A middle-aged alcoholic, Robert (Alain Delon) whose life is turned upside down by a train ride. Sitting alone in a compartment as he reflects on the emptiness of his world, a beautiful woman, Donatienne (Nathalie Baye) suddenly enters, makes love and just as suddenly leaves the train, compelling him to join her.

The Lowdown

Billed as a comedy Our Story is a wild ride thanks in large part to Donatienne's care free world view. At first she is annoyed at the fact that Robert has followed her home and is acting like a love sick puppy. As the story progresses she begins to warm up to him and actually enjoys him sitting around her apartment. That's all he does is sit in her apartment, drunk and ignoring the futile attempts of Donatienne's friends who run out of ideas on how to kick him out. On several occasions it appears they've succeeded only to find out that he is right back sitting and drinking. Some of Robert's friends are brought in to help out but their endeavor produces the same outcome.

The highlight of the movie is Nathalie who portrays the sex starved gal who has captured the unwanted love of an older man who has no ambition (and no imagination) except to sit around a drink feeling sorry for his miserable life. Another element I found enjoyable was how Donatienne changed her name several times and along with the names her personality also changed. This aspect of the movie kept things fresh as I did not know what Donatienne was going to do next. I loved her spirit and attitude about life in general and contrast that with Robert's dire outlook Our Story is a delight to watch.

Out of the five movies this one is different and that could be why I enjoyed it so much. The movie never took itself seriously and even though at times things got pretty weird it was still a nice break from the other films. One could see that Alain was having fun, at times poking fun at himself, and going against type suited him perfectly. If anything, including this film on this set was a nice touch as it showed the diversity of Alain's talent and considering this was made later in his career that makes it even more fun to watch.

7.5 out of 10

OVERALL: 7.0 out of 10