DVD of the Week: Alain Delon - Five Film Collection

by Kimberly Lindbergs | March 28, 2008

Categories | Movie Reviews, French Cinema, DVD of the Week, Alain Delon

Alain Delon in La Piscine (1970)
A smokin hot Alain Delon in La Piscine (1970)

This week Lion’s Gate is releasing their Alain Delon - Five Film Collection, which features the incredibly handsome and talented French actor starring in Diaboliquement vôtre (aka Diabolically Yours, 1967), La Piscine (aka The Swimming Pool, 1970), La Veuve Couderc (aka The Widow Couderc, 1974), Le Gitan (aka The Gypsy, 1975) and Notre Histoire (aka Separate Rooms, 1984). I haven’t had the chance to pick up the collection myself so I can’t personally comment on the quality of the new Lion’s Gate set, but according to other sources this 3 Disc DVD collection presents all 5 films in widescreen with English subtitles.

I’ve only previously had the opportunity to see Julien Duvivier’s Diaboliquement vôtre, which I reviewed last year and Jacques Deray’s La Piscine, which features Delon along with the lovely actress Romy Schinder who he had a longtime relationship with off screen, as well as the British actress and pop icon Jane Birkin and the talented actor Maurice Ronet who had previously starred with Alain Delon in René Clément’s brilliant 1960 thriller Purple Noon. Both Diaboliquement vôtre and La Piscine are highly recommended if you enjoy suspenseful French thrillers.

From the films that I haven’t seen, I’m most looking forward to watching La Veuve Couderc, which was directed by Pierre Granier-Deferre and costars the wonderful French actress Simone Signoret. Once I get the opportunity to see the film I hope to share my thoughts about it here.

The Alain Delon - Five Film Collection can currently be purchased at Amazon for $29.99 and that’s only about $6 per movies. You can also find the films available for rent at Greencine and Netflix.

12 Comments »

  1. Keith says; March 28, 2008 @ 7:53 pm

    Wow. This looks awesome. If I was a gay man, I might be going ga-ga over that picture of Alain Delon. He has always been a good looking man. I’m not ashamed to say that. He’s also very talented. He’s my favorite French actor of all time. The only of these films that I’ve seen are the same ones you mentioned. I enjoyed both of them. Both have wonderful and beautiful co-stars for him. I’ll definitely have to be getting this collection. I look forward to your future blogging on this.

  2. Liz says; March 29, 2008 @ 1:25 am

    Ooh, an excuse to practice my French while ogling a gorgeous man. I’m in!

    I somehow missed learning about this fellow during my superficial studies in French film, but I’m all ears (and eyes) now.

  3. Jonathan Lapper says; March 29, 2008 @ 9:39 am

    Haven’t seen any of these and I love pretty much all thrillers so I’ll have to give them a look. Thanks for the heads up on releases I would never know about otherwise.

  4. sergio olivari says; March 29, 2008 @ 3:37 pm

    Greetings, Kimberly. I got to your magnificent site via I am in a Jess Franco State of Mind, and it´s been already a few months of wonderful readings. Just wanted to pop in and complimenting on the overall beauty of this blog. BTW, last night i could not help but endlessly think about you while first time watching Richard Quine´s Strangers When We Meet, a 1960 widescreen technicolor sophisticated adultery-themed movie featuring Kim Novak and Kirk Douglas, that would probably make you cry in bliss. Keep up the excellent work, and thanks for all the useful info. Salud.

  5. Dan says; April 2, 2008 @ 6:57 am

    I just watched Delon in TO KILL A RAT (aka DEATH OF A CORRUPT MAN), a terrific slice of mid-70s international thrillerdom with Delon mixed up in the deaths of corrupt government officials, a secret diary, blackmail, hot babes, and the great Klaus Kinski as a global powerbroker. Good flick and Delon is great in it… he’s in almost every scene and was also a producer on the film.

  6. cinebeats says; April 3, 2008 @ 10:31 am

    Thanks for all the feedback!

    Keith - Gay or straight, it’s impossible to get around the fact that Delon is one sexy guy!

    Liz - I hope you get the chance to see some of his fils soon.

    Jonathan - French thrillers from this period are very interesting and often contain a lot more subtext than people give them credit for. I think you’d probably enjoy La Piscine and Diaboliquement vôtre if you give them a look.

    Sergio - Many thanks for the nice comment! It’s greatly appreciated. I’m afraid I’ve been really busy with real world stuff so I haven’t had a lot of free time for blogging lately, but hopefully I’ll get back into the swing of things next week.

    Dan - I’m DYING to see Death of a Corrupt Man! How did you get a copy? The idea of Delon and Kinski in film together makes me all lightheaded and giddy.

  7. Thombeau says; April 4, 2008 @ 6:39 pm

    OMG, that first picture is too much! Oui!

    On an unrelated note, I have admired your blog from afar for quite a while…so this might interest you!

  8. Michael Blanton says; April 6, 2008 @ 10:35 am

    Kimberly:

    I’m working my way through the set chronologically and have watched DIABOLICALLY YOURS (DY) (1967), LA PISCINE (LP) (1969) and THE WIDOW COUDERC (WC) (1971) so far. All are in French with solid anamorphic tranfers, pillar-boxed at 1.66:1. English subtitles are removable, except for burnt in subs on LP.

    DY is a thriller about a man (Delon, of course) who has been in an auto accident and is suffering from amnesia, while LP reminds me of a Claude Chabrol film from his LA FEMME INFIDELE and WEDDING IN BLOOD period. Both films are very good. THE WIDOW COUDERC, based on a novel by Georges Simenon, has outstanding performances by Simon Signoret and Delon and gorgeous cinematography byWalter Wottitz.

    On March 25, 2008, The New York Review of Books (NYROB) released a new paperback edition of the novel that WC is based upon as “The Widow.” One of Simenon’s roman durs, “The Widow,” was released the same year as Albert Camus’ “The Stranger,” 1942. It’s set in rural France just prior to the Nazi invasion, and deals with a Protagonist who, like Camus’ Meursault, has commited a murder. According to an article by Paul Theroux in the Times Literary Supplement, Georges Simenon, the existential hack (see link below), literary giants as diverse as Andre Gide, Henry Miller, Thornton Wilder and Jorge Amado admired his work, and Gide felt that “The Widow” was superior to the The Stranger. Theroux has also written the introduction to the new NYROB edition.

    The 1971 film pretty much follows the Novel and is very good. Highly recommended.

    http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/the_tls/article3539880.ece

  9. kharis says; April 15, 2008 @ 1:16 pm

    Hi,
    “La Piscine” in this box set is the most complete and best version available so far. Previous releases, including the French version, run shorter (they cut several scenes), not to mention the picture quality was rather poor. This one’s fantastic. I’m glad I finally understand what’s really going on in that movie :-). I enjoy all of the movies here except “Notre Histoire”. It’s just too incomprehensible. Ironically, that’s the movie for which Mr. Delon won a Cesar award for best actor.

  10. Cassie says; April 16, 2008 @ 2:19 pm

    So glad I found this site. I saw La Piscine when it first came out as a student in France and I still have the magazine with Delon and Romy Schneider on the cover. He was always one of my favorites. I’m definitely buying this set.

  11. rom says; May 9, 2008 @ 2:54 am

    Le clan des siciliens by Henri Verneuil with Jean Gabin, Lino Ventura…
    Mélodie en sous-sol by Henri Verneuil with Jean Gabin, Maurice Biraud…
    Le samouraï by Jean-Pierre Melville
    Un flic by Jean-Pierre Melville
    Le cercle rouge by Jean-Pierre Melville with Bourvil…
    Flic story by Jacques Deray with Jean-Louis Trintignant

    I think Henri Verneuil and Jean-Pierre Melville were the best directors for Alain Delon.

  12. Becky Garcia says; June 29, 2010 @ 6:02 pm

    Gee, I’m two years late with this!!! All of a sudden I’ve got this urge to see Alain Delon!!! I was surfing the net on him and bumped into this wonderful site on him. He was DVD of the week, March 28, 2008! I wish I had known, there’s sooo much I’d like to say about him. If there’s anyone out there who thinks the same I do, please come out!!


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