Two titans of French Cinema are brought together for this crime drama set in the snow-covered French countryside on the border with Switzerland. The body of a young woman is found savagely murdered near the isolated Burned Barns farm run by Rose (Oscar®-winner Simone Signoret) and her family. The police work begins and the investigating judge, Pierre Larcher (Alain Delon), soon comes to suspect that Rose’s family, and in particular her sons, may have played a role. Signoret and Delon are outstanding as two forces playing a game of wits with profound consequences. Featuring a stunning soundtrack by electronic music pioneer Jean-Michel Jarre.
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Video Quality
The Burned Barns comes to Blu-Ray with a new digital AVC encoded 1080p transfer in its original 1.66:1 OAR derived from a 4K restoration. The presentation still exhibits a few brief flaws, but the new restoration looks really excellent throughout most of the runtime. The occasional minor specks of print damage do not really bother since overall clarity and detail is so impressive. The shots inside the family home are packed with little details in the production design that are easily noticeable thanks to this transfer. Black levels hold up well with strong details in the shadow and very little in the way of crush. Digital noise also does not present as a major issue here. The picture can be slightly soft in long shots, likely an issue with the source material, but colors are nicely saturated in a way that makes landscapes really pop. Skin tones are natural and consistent with distinct facial features easily noticeable in closeup. This new presentation is gorgeous and likely looks better than it ever has before. The Cohen Film Collection has done a fantastic job with this one.
Audio Quality
The Blu-Ray disc comes with a very capable DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track in the original French with forced English subtitles. The dialogue is the star of the show here as it stays firmly planted in the mix without threat of being overwhelmed by competing sounds. The track maintains a good balance with all competing elements so that dialogue comes through clearly. The score sounds wonderful throughout the duration of the film, as it settles you into the heightened tone of the narrative. Environmental sounds such as car noises or weather effects are rendered well alongside everything else. There does not seem to be any major instances of age-related wear and tear. This audio presentation does everything that is asked of it.
Special Features
- Interviews: A 27-minute collection of interviews with various members of the crew in which they reflect on their time working with the film, the ego clashes between the two stars, the demeanor of the director, and much more. This is much more candid and gossipy than a lot of pieces of this sort, which should be fun for those who watch it.
- Original Trailer: The three-minute trailer is provided for The Burned Barns.
Final Thoughts
The Burned Barns is a riveting story of wits which really comes alive thanks to the impeccable performances from Simone Signoret and Alain Delon. These two titans of the French film industry are electric every time they are on screen with one another, and you have enough reasonable doubt about certain plot developments to keep you invested in what actually happened. The plotting is pretty taut and ultimately leaves you satisfied by the time the credits have finished rolling. Cohen Media Group and Kino Classics have delivered a Blu-Ray that knocks it out of the park with the A/V presentation while also including a fun collection of interviews. If you are a fan of French cinema or these two stars in particular, this film is definitely worth your time. Recommended
The Burned Barns 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.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.