When a brilliant scientist (Sandrine Bonnaire) discovers that her father did not die accidentally but was murdered by a family friend, she swears vengeance. However, she soon finds herself deeply embroiled in a mystery of lust and intrigue. And when she discovers the truth about her father, it threatens to shake her very foundations in this fascinating thriller.

For thoughts on Secret Defense, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:

[youtube https://youtu.be/Yu2JUdAc27w?t=3897]

Video Quality

Secret Defense comes to Blu-Ray with a new digital AVC encoded 1080p transfer in its original 1.85:1 original aspect ratio derived from a 4K restoration. This new restoration allows the film to shine with a tight grain structure that resolves evenly without getting clumpy or overwhelming. The story offers up a few different types of environments such as a sterile lab, various restaurants and even some country estates, and this transfer reveals subtle details within every bit of production design, clothing and scenery. Print damage and other flaws are never an issue, and overall clarity and detail is terrific. This transfer avoids any signs of digital noise or anything of that persuasion. Black levels are pretty deep with good detail in shadows and very little in the way of crush. The Cohen Film Collection continues to deliver Rivette’s work to a new audience with great care.

Audio Quality

The Blu-Ray disc comes with a perfectly accurate DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track in the original French with forced English subtitles. With substantial stretches of the film quietly following the main character, environmental sounds such as the mechanical noises of a train stand out and are rendered admirably alongside everything else. The score complements the film well, and it comes through with a pleasing fidelity. The track does not experience any instances of age-related wear and tear. Dialogue stays planted clearly in the center channel of the mix without being overshadowed by competing sounds. This audio presentation does everything it needs to, but we do not appreciate the forced subtitles.

Special Features

Audio Commentary: Director Emeritus, New York Film Festival & Professor of Film and Media Studies, Columbia University Richard Peña continues to offer great commentary tracks for Jacques Rivette release as he further explores the career of Rivette and how this film fits into his output, the background of the performers, the themes being explored by the auteur, how this film fares compared to other work from the director and much more. Somewhat amusingly, it appears certain cues Peña uttered for the editor to remove have been left in the final version.

Trailer: This disc provides the minute-long Re-Release trailer.

Final Thoughts

Secret Defense is a deliberate and compelling slow burn mystery-thriller from French auteur Jacques Rivette. The pacing will not be for all tastes, but the lengthy runtime allows time to sit in the actions of the characters and gives meaning to each decision. The answers to certain questions are not earth-shattering, but they are a bit bone-chilling. The narrative is more focused on subverting the expectations of the genre from a humanistic element while never failing to deliver something involving. Cohen Media Group and Kino Classics have delivered a Blu-Ray with an excellent A/V presentation and an informative commentary track. This is a good entry point if you are trying to see if Rivette might appeal to you. Recommended

Secret Defense is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray and Digital.

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

Disclaimer: Cohen Media Group and Kino Lorber have supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.