Pepe le Moko
Julien Duvivier's classic 1937 film Pepe le Moco gets the treatment it so richly deserves from Criterion. The film is presented in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.33:1. The French soundtrack is rendered in Dolby Digital Mono. English subtitles are accessible. Supplemental materials include a 1963 interview with the director, clips from a television tribute to actor Jean Gabin, excerpts from a British Film Institute study of the film, a featurette on how the film affected popular French culture, a comparison of the film with the American version of the same story (Algiers ), the original theatrical trailer, and an essay by film critic Michael Atkinson. This is the kind of release that has made Criterion one of the premiere names in home video.
Editorial Reviews
Barnes & Noble - Eddy Crouse
This Algiers-set thriller truly belongs to its eponymous antihero, who is played with resilient gallows charm by hard-eyed, tight-lipped French actor Jean Gabin. Pepé is an expatriate thief who, cornered in the Casbah, yearns for the air of Paris. All the while, he tries to keep his gang tethered. He leaves one woman only to tumble madly for a ravishing tourist (Mireille Balin ), who draws him, à la Dillinger, into a fatal hail of bullets. As hard to escape as the femme fatale here is the hell-on-earth explored by director Julien Duvivier 's snaking camera. Duvivier’s Casbah is a death pit chock-full of latticed shadows, smoky intrigues, and gritty wit. As the quintessence of that fatalistic form known as Poetic Realism, Pepé le Moko is an ominous masterwork that crucially paved the way for American film noir. The Criterion Collection DVD features a newly restored print plus a wide variety of interviews and other background information on Gabin and the film.
All Movie Guide - Richard Gilliam
Pépé le Moko is among the most influential films of the 20th century, a precursor of both 1940s film noir and late 1940s neo-realism. The film quickly generated international acclaim, and it was responsible for director Julien Duvivier's leaving Europe to make films in Hollywood. The film's greatest strengths are its atmospheric visual richness and strong lead performances from Jean Gabin and Mireille Balin. There have been several remakes, though the film's influence has been much wider than that. The setting, ambience, and some of the characters of Casablanca. for example, owe much to Pepe Le Moko. as do numerous English-language crime films. Duvivier's work in Hollywood was of moderate success, as were his later European films, but Pépé le Moko represents the high point of his career.
Product Details
Release Date: 01/07/2003 UPC: 0037429173329 Original Release: 1937 Rating: NR Source: Criterion Presentation: [B&W] Sound: [Dolby Digital Mono] Time: 1:34:00 Sales rank: 905
Special Features
New high-definition digital transfer made from the extensive 35mm restoration; 1962 French television interview with director Julien Duvivier; Excerpts from the 1978 television documentary "Remembering Jean Gabin"; Excerpts from Ginette Vincendeau's BFI Classics study of "Pépé le Moko," addressing the historical background of the film's setting and the French crime novel genre; A study of the lasting influence of "Pépé" on popular culture, including a special video comparison between "Pépé" and the 1978 U.S. remake "Algiers"; Essay by film critic Michael Atkinson; Original theatrical trailer; New and improved English subtitle translation; Optimal image quality: RSDL dual-layer edition
Related Subjects
Cast & Crew
Scene Index
Side #1 --
1. Le Moko at Large
2. Good Craftsmanship
3. No Squealers
4. Potshots
5. Pearls & Diamonds
6. Régis' Gambit
7. Les Femmes
8. Chez Chani/Same "M"
9. Slimane's Services
10. 12 Trough Street
11. Paris in Algiers
12. Player Piano
13. A Heavy Heart
14. Keeping Her Promise
15. Watercolors
16. "Pour Être Heureux Dans la Vie"
17. Bait
18. "Où Est-Il Donc?"/"Ayrab"
19. One Step at a Time
20. "Ville D'Oran," 10:00 A.M.
1. Color Bars
Side #1 --
Play the Movie
Chapters
Subtitles
English Subtitles: On
English Subtitles: Off
Chez Pépé
"L'Origine de Pépé"
Location, Location, Location
The Many Faces of Pépé
"Remembering Jean Gabin"
Play Documentary
Duvivier Interview
Play Interview
Theatrical Trailer