Cul-de-sac: The Criterion Collection [Blu-ray]

Judge Clark Douglas, DVD Verdict-- There are some creepy moments (especially early on, as we don't quite have a handle on who the characters are or what they're attempting to accomplish--Polanski fills in the blanks in a deliberate, methodical manner), but after a while it becomes clear that Cul-de-sac works best when Polanski is being playful.

Perhaps this is due to the fact that it's easier to switch from chills to laughs than vice versa. There are some squirm-inducing yet entertaining moments during the first hour of the film, as the flustered husband and his sneering wife engage in a series of amusing interactions with the American. It's tempting to feel that Polanski is making a larger cultural point, as he seems to have infused each of these three characters with the worst stereotypical traits of the countries they represent: the rude, boorish, violent American; the stammering, spineless, indecisive Englishman and the devious, cruel, self-serving Frenchwoman. The actors push and pull off each other in some intriguing ways (with Pleasance doing particularly good work as a man ever-so-slowly reaching his boiling point).

However, the film shifts from engaging to brilliant with the arrival of several unexpected guests. Over the course of twenty-five minutes or so, we're treated to an increasingly hilarious comic set piece in which the players are spun around in a variety of interesting ways until Pleasance finally explodes in cathartic rage. Polanski builds up to this moment in giddy fashion, transforming the gruff gangster into a faux butler, introducing a particularly overbearing gentleman with a tendency for sticking his nose into everyone's business, delivering an immensely enjoyable skewering of pretentious dinner guests and allowing the world's snottiest little kid to run rampant through the mansion wreaking all manner of havoc. It's a fantastic stretch of direction which blends subtle satire with enthusiastically broad physical comedy, and it allows Polanski to use his strengths in wonderfully atypical fashion.

Unfortunately, the film's ambitious conclusion isn't able to stick the landing. After the aforementioned portion of comic delight, Cul-de-sac plunges into dark territory in supposedly horrific fashion. The ending works nicely on a symbolic level (and some of the comedic commentary continues in this section), but it's too forced and overwrought to really send a chill up the spine. The film seeks to blend the intensely personal terrors of Repulsion with the pleasures of a great farce, but it really only succeeds in the latter department. Still, that's enough to make it well worth your time.

Cul-de-sac arrives on Blu-ray sporting a decent 1080p/1.66:1 transfer. While the level of detail is solid enough, this is a good deal shabbier than many of the black-and-white releases Criterion has delivered thus far (Repulsion included). The exceptional cinematography is hampered slightly by the general flatness of the image, and there's some print damage which can be a little distracting at times. Audio is similarly acceptable yet underwhelming, as some lines of dialogue sound very muffled and the music is occasionally a bit shrill and pinched. While I'm sure Criterion has done what they can with what they had to work with, this isn't a movie to use as a showcase for your fancy home theatre equipment. Supplements include an excellent making-of featurette called "Two Gangster and an Island" (23 minutes) featuring interviews with Polanski and other crew members, an archival interview with Polanski (27 minutes), a couple of trailers and a booklet featuring an essay by David Thompson.
-Full review at dvdverdict.com

1966's Roman Polanski film, "Cul de sac" just got recognized by Criterion and the result is as well as expected. Donald Pleasence, Lionel Stander and Francoise Dorleac star in a film of unstable people. The film was made at just the right time in Polanski's career when it had been on the shelf and after "Repulsion" (1965) Polanski was able to pull it together. Written by Polanski and long-time collaborator Gerard Brach who worked with Dario Argento on his "Phantom of the Opera", one can not help but admire the creative talent at work, much better than "Repulsion"'s limited means, more perplexing than entertaining, but quite a good film nonetheless. Criterion did a good job as usual. I hope no one forgets the creativity that went into early Polanski films as they admire his later work. Though Polanski's world is a dark world and "Cul de sac" is no exception.

This Roman Polanski film, made right after Repulsion, was a shelf-project of the director and writer Gérard Brach. After the success of Repulsion they could resurrect this comedy the producers had rejected. Watch the film may strike the usual Polanski viewer (like myself) for the lack of sinister mood and plot so common in the works of the director. The film basically depict three completely different people stuck together in a old isolated castle, somewhere I read the film is a upside-down story of a knight saved from the princess by the dragon. A good definition of the film.