Cul-de-sac (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray]

What are the chances two misfit thieves would happen across Rob Roy's 11th century castle (drafty in winter) and upset a happy couples life with blundering crudeness. That interloper was so annoying! To me! Not to mention the people he was torturing. His voice! And he would not stop.Roman Polanski is so good. I could not figure out how the private play was going to be a movie, I was beginning to feel a bit let down by Polanski as I've seen some of, and and very much admired, his work. Then things started to get weird. I never saw where this was going next.This is a movie all about the characters. Polanski's art is so focused on the individuals and their interactions, this becomes the only world you know while watching the film. (You put the kids to bed, shut off the phone, got something to drink are sitting in a comfortable chair and have the ability to keep your ass in one place for 90 minutes). You do that and you will experience something very new and very different.Every Polanski film I've ever seen does that in one way or another. He is a very unique director and he has made a very good film here with CUL-DE-SAC.

Polanski:The Good Films:Cul-de-sacBitter MoonChinatownFranticFearless Vampire KillersThe Bad Films:Knife in the WaterRepulsionRosemarie's Baby (except for M F's behind)The TenantThe In-Between Films:TessDeath and the MaidenThe Ninth GateThe PianistOliver TwistThe Ghost WriterWhat?MacbethThe One You Did not See:PiratesWhy is that so? Why isn't, for instance, Rosemarie's Baby a good film? Well, if it was as little seen as his "pirates" and as little talked about, I might give it a more positive review but with all the hype around it compared to how little it delivers, it must be considered bad unless you manage to sell it as an allegory on how all of them that make it in society are a brotherhood of satanists since that is what you become if you strive for power. But, can you really sell that film as such and is it not just a white-trash film?Enough of that and back to Cul-de-Sac and I just burst out: What casting! What wonderful choice of filming-site! What delicious existentialism! What wonderful Francoise Dorleac!

I've waited to see "Cul-de-sac" for many years, but it's been unreleased in the U.S., for whatever reason. Now along comes this region 1 & 4 release, & so I ordered it and I wasn't disappointed. The DVD itself is very nice, no frills but just turn off the Spanish subtitles (or don't) and it's a very nice transfer. The film itself is rather strange, sort of a comedy/thriller, with Donald Pleasance and his wife as hostages of criminal Lionel Stander, who is waiting for rescue from whatever debacle he's gotten himself into, and instead being treated to this couple's obnoxious vistors and their own uh, quirky kinks. Pleasance is a real wimp but eventually realizes that they can get the upper hand on this crook, etc... Worth seeing if you're a Polanski fan, as for others, well, I don't know that there'd be a lot of interest. I would need to watch this at least a couple more times, because it didn't quite grab me like some of Polanski's earlier work (Knife in the Water, Repulsion), but it does have a certain something to it that made it worth seeing. 4 out of 5 stars.

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.

A stupid artistic movie!Totally waste of time.

I've been watching movies I would not normally choose because of the self quarantine. My taste in movies , to my surprise have greatly changed. So this comes up and I see the late Francoise Dorleac is in the lead. I found it hard to watch her so young (24) so full of life and beauty then to think in only a years time she'd be dead at 25. How tragic. But in the movie I did not like her character at all. She was quite unpleasant. Cheap, flirty, arrogant and mean. A very unlikable character. Most are in this movie - highly unlikable. But the movie was good. I enjoyed it enough not to quit or fall asleep 20 minutes in. That's saying a lot.

Humorous, tragic and absurd. The best performance is given by the actor playing Richard, the wounded criminal. Francoise Dorleac as Teresa is intriguing because you can never tell what she'll do next. It reminded me a little bit of the Bunuel movie "The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie". This one came first and has a darker feel to it because of the undercurrents of betrayal. Scenes stick with me and provide something to think about the day after viewing it.

...but the dialogue is stilted, the acting is dinner theater quality, and Polanski's misogyny is beyond offensive. I don't need to listen to a cassette tape in the year 2020 to remind myself I like iTunes. If you're a student of film by all means enjoy this hour and a half of historical retrospect but otherwise skip it and go for a walk.

Ce film, réalisé par Roman Polanski, raconte l'histoire d'un couple vivant dans un manoir situé sur l'île de Lindisfarne, une presqu'île située en Grande-Bretagne et protégée par les marées, qui est tenu en otage par un gangster en fuite. La psychologie des personnages est bien décrite. George (Donald Pleasence), le maître des lieux, est un personnage plutôt instable et assez efféminé. Sa femme Teresa (Françoise Dorléac) est une fille un peu fofolle qui triche son mari et ne fait que l'humilier. Richard (Lionel Stander) le gangster est un gros macho qui tente d'en imposer à ses otages. Ce drame psychologique, tourné sur Holy Island dans des conditions climatiques pénibles, n'attirera pas tous les fans de cinéma mais il s'agit d'un film intelligent qui laisse songeur vis-à-vis de personnages qui semblent plus ou moins équilibrés. C'est tout de même un bon Polanski. ATTENTION: Le titre de la page est trompeur. Ce Bluray n'a pas de piste française ni de sous-titres français. Il n'a qu'une piste anglaise avec des sous-titres anglais.

MALA, LENTA, DESFASADA, NO SE COMO COMPRE ESTA PELICULA.

Article arrivé suivant description connue, service et état impeccable, mais aucun bonus sur Françoise Dorléac, bien triste car c'est pour elle que le film avait été acheté. Y en a que pour Polanski dans les bonus et son film est aussi glauque que les autres

Opera fondamentale assieme al coltello nell'acqua per valutare le qualità registiche di Roman Polanski. a mio avviso a tali livelli di espressività non è più arrivato, nemmeno con il pianista o chinatown , che pur sono due splendidi film. La vere potenzialità però ,a mio avviso, si vedono nei film iniziali, dove senza vincolo ancora di alcun tipo, la descrizione psicologica dei personaggi è perfetta.

Habe den Film überall gesucht und nirgends auf Deutsch gefunden. Sehr schade!!Vor ca. 35 Jahren lief er noch in deutschen Kinos und ich kann mich gut an eine glänzend gelungene Synchronisation (tolle Synchron-Stimme von Donald Pleasence) erinnern, habe ihn damals mehrmals gesehen, weil er einfach fantastisch ist. Gewaltig in seinen schwarz weißen Bildern, skuril in der Story, fantastische Darsteller, ein unvergleichlicher Polanski! Der Import ist trotzdem eine eindeutige Kaufempfehlung, denn der Film wäre sogar ohne Ton ein Jahrhundert-Kaliber!