Seeing Red: 3 French Vigilante Thrillers Blu-Ray Review – A Trio Of Distinct, Riveting Revenge Tales

A Paris flea market vendor (Gérard Lanvin) is transformed into a vigilante after his fiancée is murdered by three vicious thugs on a commuter train in Jean-Claude Missiaen’s Shot Pattern (Tir Groupé, 1982). As the revenge-minded young man tracks the killers, a veteran police inspector leads a parallel investigation. This lean, intelligently-crafted thriller packs an emotional punch, largely due to Lanvin’s superlative performance, for which he received a César Award nomination for Best Actor.

American crime writer David Goodis’ novels have been adapted into numerous films, including Truffaut’s Shoot the Piano Player, Delmer Daves’ Dark Passage and Jacques Tourneur’s Nightfall. For Street of the Damned (Rue Barbare, 1984), Gilles Béhat transposes Goodis’ Street of the Lost from 1950s Philadelphia to a desolate, almost post-apocalyptic Paris suburb. There, no one dares challenge crime boss Hagen, who rules his turf with an iron fist. That includes his former friend Chet (Bernard Giraudeau), who vows to keep to himself in order to protect his loved ones. But Hagen keeps pushing his buttons…and Chet can only stand for so much before he explodes. Resembling a dark, offbeat comic book, Street of the Damned evokes films like Streets of Fire and Mad Max.

Three teenage Parisian punks are duped by a crime syndicate into committing a bank robbery that will distract the authorities while the seasoned crooks hijack an armored truck across town in Alain Bonnot’s Black List (Liste Noire, 1984). Disaster ensues and two of the youngsters are killed, including the estranged daughter of widowed auto repair shop owner Jeanne Dufour (Annie Girardot). A grieving Jeanne ignores her own fear, as well as the law, and sets out to eliminate all of those responsible for her daughter’s death. Groundbreaking in its portrayal of a female vigilante, the film is stylish and violent and features a powerhouse performance from Girardot as a woman who has passed the breaking point.

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Video Quality

Shot Pattern, Street of the Damned, and Black List all make their worldwide debut on Blu-Ray courtesy of Fun City Editions with digital AVC encoded 1080p transfers in their original aspect ratios that are derived from restorations prepared by StudioCanal. Each film has been given its own disc for proper room to breathe. These films were made within a couple of years of each other, and they largely share similar visual qualities and will be discussed as a group with any differences noted. These presentations maintain the sumptuous authentic gritty film aesthetic with ideal image stability and stark delineation. The grain is heavily textured with a refined look rather than a clumpy or frozen mess.

Skin tones are natural and detailed with subtle features such as freckles and peach fuzz easily distinguishable in closeup. Throughout these films, colors are purposefully saturated with deep, natural hues coming through with perfect accuracy. These crime-riddled worlds are quite morally grey, but elements of the costumes and vegetation keep things visually light. Nearly all instances of print damage such as nicks and scratches have been eradicated with clarity and detail holding strong. Fleeting moments can run a touch soft, but this is likely due to the nature of how it was originally captured. Black levels hold up well with no egregious moments of crush or banding observed. Fun City Editions continues to be one of the beacons of quality in the physical media game. 

Audio Quality

The Blu-Ray comes with a DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track in the original French for each film that executes the sonic intentions without a hitch. There do not appear to be any signs of age-related anomalies present such as sibilance or distortion. Environmental elements come through in a natural way that allows the cities to feel alive without sounding too modern. Dialogue comes through crisply and clearly in harmony with the competing elements, never succumbing to the sonic swirl at play. These films deploy effective scores to establish the proper atmosphere with first-rate fidelity. Fun City Editions has ensured that these films have an audio experience that capitalizes on the potential.  

Special Features

Shot Pattern

• Audio Commentary: Film historian Travis Woods provides a very informative commentary track in which he discusses the work of Jean-Claude Missiaen, the surprisingly sumptuous cinematography, how the film subverts revenge tropes, the themes of the feature, the importance of the city within this narrative, the influence of Anthony Mann, and much more that is worthwhile. 

• Archival Featurette with Writer/Director Jean-Claude Missiaen: A four-minute vintage piece with the filmmaker in which he discusses the production of the film, working with his director of photography, fighting for the performers he wanted, the chemistry between the performers, and more.

• Archival Featurette with Actor Gérard Lanvin: A 53-second recitation of a letter to director Jean-Claude Missiaen. 

• Original Ending with Director Commentary: A three-minute look at the unused ending for the film with text insights from Missiaen discussing why it was not used. 

• Image Gallery: An image gallery with stills from the film and marketing material.

• Theatrical Trailer: A two-minute trailer is provided here. 

Street of the Damned

• Audio Commentary: Film historian Travis Woods returns for another terrific commentary track in which he discusses the career of writer David Goodis, the adaptation of Gilles Béhat, the scarce nature of the feature for so long, the despair of the narrative, how this factors into French cinema, and much more you will not want to miss. 

• Archival Interview with Writer/Director Gilles Béhat: A nearly 13-minute interview with the filmmaker is provided in which he discusses his response to the original novel, why he wanted to adapt it for the screen, the themes of the text, the struggle to get the film made, the work of Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu, and more. 

• Archival Interview with Actor Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu: A nearly 17-minute interview with the performer in which he reflects on his relationship with Gilles Béhat, his feelings about playing a villain, memories from the set, and more. 

• Image Gallery: An image gallery with stills from the film and marketing material.

• Trailers: The disc provides a Teaser Trailer (1:04), a Theatrical Trailer (2:20), and a Short Trailer (0:44).

Black List

• Audio Commentary: Film historian Walter Chaw provides a very thoughtful commentary track in which he discusses the way in which the film uses its locales, the influences of American filmmakers, the themes of the picture, and more. 

• Image Gallery: An image gallery with stills from the film and marketing material.

• Seeing Red Trailer: There is a nearly two-minute trailer provided for this trio of films. 

• Booklet: There is a bound booklet included featuring the essay “Streets of the Damned: The French Crime Film” by Barry Forshaw which adds a great amount of context and history to the viewing experience.

Final Thoughts

Seeing Red: 3 French Vigilante Thrillers brings together three films that fit together within the same subgenre, yet are different enough to feel narratively refreshing. Shot Pattern is in the running for our favorite, but Black List is not too far behind with its engaging brand of maternal justice. Street of the Damned is likewise a strong outing, even if the ending was a bit disappointing for us. There is not a dud in the bunch, and anyone who has any sort of affection for these types of crime films is in for a treat. Fun City Editions has delivered a Blu-Ray set featuring a terrific A/V presentation and an array of nifty special features. This set feels like it has been curated by your cool cinephile friend who never steers you wrong. Recommended 

Seeing Red: 3 French Vigilante Thrillers 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: Fun City Editions 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.