Crash isn’t a movie I found all that great though my interest was mainly for some of the controversy and honestly as strange as the “plot” and characters were, it’s not that out of bounds at least nowadays.
Madame Claude
(1977)
Genre(s): Drama
Cult Epics| NR – 109 min. – $34.95 | February 9, 2021
Date Published: 03/08/2021 | Author: The Movieman
|
|
|||||||||||
Cult Epics provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post.
The opinions I share are my own.
THE MOVIE — 3¼/5 |
|
Plot Synopsis: Madame Claude (FRANCOISE FABIAN), a well connected Parisienne with dark past, runs a network of high-class call girls. She sends her girls to any place in the world to satisfy sexual desires of wealthy and powerful men. Claude’s manipulations also involve big business and politics. Meanwhile, photographer David Evans (MURRAY HEAD) is trying to clear his own criminal record by providing the authorities with pictures of Claude’s girls with important clients in compromising positions. But powerful men can do anything to keep their secrets…
Quick Hit Review: Not terribly well acted and doesn’t exactly have the strongest dialogue, I still found Madame Claude to be a pretty entertaining and oddly fun quasi-erotic drama that weaves that eroticism with political intrigue during a tumultuous time with Watergate. Although the acting wasn’t the strongest, still Françoise Fabian held her own as the titular character. Madame Claude was directed by Just Jaeckin with a bit of class and a bit of style thanks to the more exotic French locales. Also of note, Netflix apparently has an updated version set for release some time in 2021. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 3½/5 |
|
This release from Cult Epics includes an Audio Commentary with Author Jeremy Richey, an expert on French cinema, including of the erotic-thriller genre, offering insights into this picture, the director and actors; a new Interview (27:00) with Director Just Jaeckin delving into his career and discusses his approach to filming Madame Claude; the Theatrical Trailer (1:35), a Promotional Gallery (1:22) with poster artwork and production stills. In addition, there other Trailers from Cult Epics (Death Laid an Egg, P.O. Box Tinto Brass, Paprika, The Lickerish Quartet, Camille 2000, Blue Movie and My Nights with Susan, Sandra, Olga, & Julie). |
VIDEO – 4¾/5 |
| Cult Epics releases Madame Claude onto Blu-ray for the first time, presented in the original 1.66 widescreen aspect ratio and a 1080p high-definition transfer. This picture was culled from a brand new 4K transfer, supervised by cinematographer Robert Fraisse. I will say, save for a bit of (what appears to be) acidic damage during the opening title sequence, the video here looks downright fantastic. Detail is incredibly sharp throughout, the original film grain and noise has been retained, giving it what I assume is as nearest to a theatrical presentation as possible, in fact perhaps better than it has ever looked. |
AUDIO – 4/5 |
| The disc has been given three options, all mix of English and French: LPCM 1.0, DTS-HD MA 1.0 and last Dolby Digital 2.0, the first is the default option. I tested the PCM and DD2.0 tracks but watched the bulk with the DTS-HD MA track. All three best I can tell were fine, dialogue comes across with fine clarity and considering there’s not a whole lot in terms of any action, depth is limited though some locales do show off some modest depth. On the plus side, there was no noticeable bouts of hissing, pops or other aural flaws. |
OVERALL – 3¼/5 |
|
Madame Claude does have an intriguing premise and does take advantage of the political paranoia of the 1970s, and I did like Françoise Fabian in the lead, though some of the dialogue is a bit stilted and a little on-the-nose. But for all the flaws, there is just enough entertainment value that makes it worth checking out. The Blu-ray released by Cult Epics has great video, more than adequate audio and a good selection of bonus features. |
Check out some more 1080p screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.