A scorching love triangle ignites between the iconic Jane Fonda (Klute, Coming Home), sultry Lola Albright (Kid Galahad, Lord Love a Duck) and Alain Delon (The Sicilian Clan, Un Flic) in René Clément’s Joy House (Les Félins). Delon stars as Marc, a dashing young con man on the run from the mob. After seeking refuge in the Riviera villa of the widowed Barbara (Albright) and her curvaceous cousin, Melinda (Fonda), Marc becomes trapped in the passionate snares of both women, who are full of sinister surprises. A neglected masterpiece from director René Clément (Forbidden Games, Is Paris Burning?, Rider on the Rain, And Hope to Die), Joy House weaves a wicked web of hidden desires and all-too-human corruptions. Lalo Schifrin (Coogan’s Bluff) provides the eerie musical score; Henri Decaë (Le Samouraï) serves up the sumptuous cinematography.

For thoughts on Joy House, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:

[youtube https://youtu.be/Ytx1z8cSy70?t=2044]

Video Quality

Kino Classics presents Joy House with a really strong Blu-Ray in 2.39:1 from a new 2K restoration conducted by Gaumont that brings the film to life favorably. The picture has a few stray moments of softness, but the gorgeous black-and-white photography is well saturated with firm contrast and shadow detail. Black levels hold up well with very little in the way of crush. This transfer retains the natural film grain of the presentation with only minor instances of it seeming overly thick. Instances of print damage such as nicks and lines still occasionally pop up, but there is no mistaking that there has been significant cleanup and overall clarity and detail is robust. The presentation is quite enjoyable throughout most of the runtime with image stability and delineation being handled well. Kino Classics has delivered this one with flair.

Audio Quality

The Blu-Ray comes with a DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track in both English and French that serves this film really well. Although this is a French production, most of the performers did perform in English, even the native French speaker Alain Delon self-consciously speaking the foreign tongue. That being said, there are performers who were dubbed in English that spoke French, and many do consider the French track the original track, so it is good that audiences have an option for which version they prefer. It should be noted that the French track still contains some lines in English.

Neither track shows major age related wear and tear such as hissing or popping. Dialogue and background noises are balanced with all competing elements. The sound effects and music appear to be faithful to the intent of the creative team. The fidelity of the Lalo Schifrin score and the way it complements the narrative is very effective. Thankfully, nothing ever overpowers the dialogue or other important information. You could not ask for better from Kino Classics. There are optional English and English SDH subtitles included for the feature film.

Special Features

Audio Commentary: Film Historians Howard S. Berger and Nathaniel Thompson provide a very informative commentary track in which they discuss the different audio tracks, how this fits into the career of the performers, the work of director René Clément, the tone of the narrative and much more.

Trailers: The three-and-a-half minute trailer for Joy House is provided here. There are also trailers provided for Diabolically Yours, Farewell Friend, The Girl On A Motorcycle, The Sicilian Clan, The Widow Couderc, Un Flic, Armageddon, Coming Home, Lord Love A Duck, Rider On The Rain and And Hope To Die.

Final Thoughts

Joy House is a film that feels somewhat regressive at points until it reveals its true nature. The evolution of the narrative is very satisfying as the characters illuminate more of their personalities. There are elements in the plotting that feel a bit slow and plodding, but the performers usually smooth over the rough spots. While Alain Delon may have the spotlight, it is the women, and Jane Fonda in particular, who command the show. Kino Classics has released a new Blu-Ray featuring a pleasing A/V presentation and a worthy commentary track. You should check this out if you have a soft spot for these performers. Recommended

Joy House is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray and DVD.

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.