Set in a Turkish-occupied Greek village shortly after World War I, Jules Dassin’s stunning He Who Must Die tells the story of the townspeople’s efforts to stage their Passion Play, an event that occurs once every seven years. The leading citizens choose who will play the parts: a stuttering young shepherd is chosen as Jesus; the town butcher as Judas; the town prostitute as Mary Magdalene. But as the movie unfolds, the Passion becomes a reality, and the villagers actualize their biblical roles against the tragic backdrop of a country uprooted by war and poverty. Adapted from author Nikos Kazantzakis (Zorba the Greek, The Last Temptation of Christ) by the world-renowned Jules Dassin, the director of Rififi, Never on Sunday and Topkapi, this powerful film asks: What would happen if Jesus came down to Earth a second time? The extraordinary international cast includes Melina Mercouri, Pierre Vaneck, Jean Servais, Carl Möhner, Grégoire Aslan, Gert Fröbe, René Lefèvre, Roger Hanin, Nicole Berger, Maurice Ronet and Fernand Ledoux.

For thoughts on He Who Must Die, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:

[youtube https://youtu.be/PFO623ljMjw?t=1006]

Video Quality

He Who Must Die makes its Blu-Ray debut thanks to Kino Classics with a 1080p transfer that is not listed as being from a new scan, but ultimately looks pretty great. There are occasional instances of faint nicks and scratches, but this source has been maintained quite well. The atmospheric black-and-white photography shot by Gilbert Chain and Jacques Natteau shines in high definition with natural grain intact and resolved well. You can easily spot a strong amount of detail present when it comes to textures on the clothing, the environments and within the period production design. The new transfer shows off a grand amount of depth and enhanced detail within the film’s composition. Black levels are pretty deep with no blatant occurrence of black crush or compression artifacts. The contrast is admirably defined, and the track only experiences fleeting instances of flicker and density fluctuation in the print. Kino Classics has provided an excellent visual experience overall.

Audio Quality

The Blu-Ray comes with a perfectly natural DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track in the original French that serves this movie well. A few odd instances present with a minor amount of age related wear and tear, but overall there is not a lot to find fault with here. Even the score sounds robust, and it works in harmony with the dialogue or other important information. The environmental effects are delineated effectively from one another. Kino Classics has served up another great track. There are optional English (SDH) subtitles included for the feature film.

Special Features

Audio Commentary: Filmmaker/Film Historian Daniel Kremer delivers a really informative commentary track in which he talk about how this film fit into the filmography of Jules Dassin, offers background on Dassin and his relationship with European cinema, explores the careers long and short of the creatives, delves into how it compares to the source material, offers some personal anecdotes and more. This is a well-researched track that is worth checking out.

Trailers: There is a minute-and-a-half long trailer for He Who Must Die provided here. There are also trailers for Port Of Shadows, Quai Des Orfèvres, Leon Morin Priest and Topkapi.

Final Thoughts

He Who Must Die is far from the most well known work from Jules Dassin, but it is an under-the-radar gem which is worthy of further exploration from film lovers. The way in which the narrative evolves, twists and surprises with its complexity is a joy to witness, as archetypes are inhabited in a way that never seems too precious or overly constructed. The direction of Dassin brings out the best from these performers, who never fail to impress from the most prominent role to minor standouts. Kino Classics has delivered a Blu-Ray release that sports a wonderful A/V presentation and an informative commentary track. If you are a fan of the auteur, or simply intrigued by the story, this one is worth your time. Recommended

He Who Must Die is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Kino Classics has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.