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Casque d'or

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Jacques Becker lovingly evokes the Belle Époque Parisian demimonde in this classic tale of doomed romance. When gangster's moll Marie (Simone Signoret) falls for reformed criminal Manda (Serge Reggiani), their passion incites an underworld rivalry that leads inexorably to treachery and tragedy. With poignant, nuanced performances and sensuous black-and-white photography, Casque d'or (Golden Marie) is Becker at the height of his cinematic powers—a romantic masterpiece.

Special Features

- New, restored high-definition digital transfer
- Audio commentary by film scholar Peter Cowie
- 1995 video interview with actor Serge Reggiani
- 1963 interview with actress Simone Signoret from the French television program Cinepanorama
- Excerpt from an episode of the French television series Cineastes de notre temps, dedicated to Jacques Becker
- Rare, silent behind-the-scenes footage of Becker on the set, with commentary by film scholar Philip Kemp
- New essay by Kemp
- New and improved English subtitle translation

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The back cover art is available on CriterionDVD.com.

Added to the supplements is an English dub track.

Does anyone know if the interview with Serge Reggiani included on this disc is the same one that appears on the Studio Canal disc?

Took a look at Casque d'Or last night. Wonderful film and a beautiful visual transfer. However, the sound had a lot of interference - background "churn" (aka motorboating) and sometimes even more distracting repetitive sounds. This does not occur through all of the film but does for, say, 60% or so.

Is this just me or has anyone ese encountered this problem?

A review in DVDTalk makes no mention of this and in fact praises the audio to the skies.

I gave Casque d'or a spin last night and I must say that I totally love this film. Criterion's transfer is nothing short of gorgeous! This is a cinematic gem Criterion has sifted for, found and polished up for the world to see! I can't wait to watch Touchez pas au Grisbi! I am totally pleased with the price and content of this disc.*****

Add me to the list of Casque-lovers. It struck me as simultaneously stylized and naturalistic. A powerful recreation of another time that felt both alien and familiar. I thought the costumes were really amazing, and this is not something that I usually take much interest in. I also thought the emotional logic of the film was very compelling. All the characters' actions, some of which were quite extreme, struck me as very real. I'm sure I will watch this one over and over.

I did not notice any problems with the sound, but maybe I just acclimated to whatever the earlier poster was talking about. I'll listen for it on the next go 'round.

During the first excerpt of Cinéastes de Notre Temps there is a small segment which I believe you see Becker acting as fellow named Tonkin who is up in a tree. Maybe I'm mistaken, but from which movie is that taken?

As for the film, I loved it the most for its wonderful rich characters, and those tiny details in certain scenes like when Manda winks to Raymond in prison. Also, as mentioned, was the modern acting style in a historic setting which brought a certain kind of freshness to this period piece.

Simone Signoret was great (her appearance in blinding light at the riverside!), but Serge Reggiani made the salient core, some tacit performance that was. The story was like a simple elegy of love, and maybe that was the reason the only dissapointing part was the ending. (Though its themes of loyalty in friendship often overshadowed the romance, likewise to Touchez pas au grisbi where it was its main theme).

This is why I love Renoir. His films, that I've seen, haven't really spoken to me, but his legacy is the greatest in film. While this is a step down (before) Le Trou this is still so absolutely without flaw. Just that first close up when they're dancing made me fall in love. The way Becker shoots is so quiet and invisible, yet it retains this great beauty throughout. Each shot drips with a passion and love that almost never occurs in films. He's not just showing people, but that myth of humanity underneath.

Spoiler

Even the villains are cared for in a way few would dare. When Roland dies all of the characters ignore him and it passes like night, but the camera is weeping throughout. What Spielberg has tried his whole life to do Becker managed with flying ease in a second.

This is such a wonderful film and with everyone getting on the Becker train with all of the OOPs this film shouldn't be forgotten. As an aside what's with all of the monobrows in Becker's movies?

I think even Jacques Becker himself would be shocked that you prefer him over Renoir. He learned pretty much everything he knew about filmmaking from Renoir, having acted as his assistant director on about a dozen of his films of the 1930s (including Boudu and Grand Illusion). But, though I like many of Becker's films very much and I mean this in the nicest way possible, there's no accounting for taste.

That's why I acknowledged the legacy. Only The Human Beast and The Grand Illusion have gelled right with me so far. I have no idea why I can't seem to enjoy Renoir like most everyone else. Nonetheless if just for Becker's career, not to mention essentially the entirety of the western new waves, I'm indebted to his success. Something about Becker just works better for me.

I couldn't go into any depth on this, but I enjoyed Casque d'or more than almost any other French film I've seen - it's pure bliss from start to finish. It would be hard to argue that Boudu, Grande Illusion, Partie de Campagne and Regle du Jeu are not 'better' in all kinds of ways (and I genuinely love all of them), but if push came to shove I'd have to say that I had a lot more fun watching Casque d'or, perhaps because it's more overtly beautiful, and more immediately satisfying on an emotional level, than Renoir tends to be. (That said, in my experience Renoir's films get better with every viewing, and having only seen it once I don't know whether the same is true of Becker's film.)

Any rumors of a blu-ray upgrade of this one? Or will StudioCanal hold on to it forever? It's one of my all time favorites, and I really want to see it again, but I've been holding back on the R2 blu-ray, hoping that Criterion will re-release. Is it totally unlikely?

I'm not sure about an upgrade, but if you want to see it, it's available on Criterion's Hulu channel. I watched it about a month ago.

Fantastic news. I thought this was significantly better on a recent rewatch, and was just about to import the BD. Here's hoping it's English friendly/gets a UK release.