577 Cul-de-Sac

[domino harvey]

Uh, that Criterion looks significantly darker. Look at the shot of Dorléac in the cross-- you can barely see her in the Criterion.

[Doctor Sunshine]

You calling Polanski a liar?

[dad1153]

Is he under oath when answering? :p

[Matt]

DON'T START

[colinr0380]

Mondo Digital on Cul-de-Sac. I had not realised that, like Kes, this is apparently the first official home video release of the film in the US.

[thehistoric]

so i bought the dvd yesterday, never having seen the film before. Throughout the entire film there is a dark section on the top half of the image. is it my dvd or is it the actual print? is anybody else having this problem? i noticed it was a director approved dvd and i wouldn't think a director would allow something like this to happen.

[ptatler]

If anyone's interested, I wrote up the SAC over at my blog last week.

[LavaLamp]

Saw the Criterion DVD of Cul-de-Sac for the first time recently. This is a truly messed-up film, and I mean that as a compliment. Interesting story, and the contrast between the loud American gangster & the diminuitive British artistocrat George (Pleasence) was quite pronounced. The scenery was also great; the "castle" & surrounding ocean really added to the isolation & dynamics of the film. I was surprised at Pleasence's shaved head, though I felt this was perfect for the role.

I saw this as more of a comedy than drama, though it had elements of both.

Spoiler

My favorite scene had to be when George told his so-called aristocratic "friends" exactly what he thought of them & their kid, and then promptly threw them out - LOL (right after the kid kicked him).

Now that I've finally seen it, Cul-de-Sac is one of my top three favorite Polanski films (along with Tenant & Repulsion). I really like his '60's/early '70's period.

Side-note: It's interesting that L. Stander (the gangster) was also the narrator in one of my favorite noir films, Blast of Silence.