Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Diaboliques (1955) aka Les Diaboliques


 4.5 / 5
Tagline: See it, be amazed at it, but... BE QUIET ABOUT IT!
Directed by: Henri-Georges Clouzot
Written by: Pierre Boileau, Thomas Narcejac
Actors include: Simone Signoret, Vera Clouzot, Paul Meurisse
Genre: Horror, Crime, Thriller
Length: 116 minutes
Banned: Finland
Country: France

Review:
I've heard this is one of the greatest mystery films of all time and I've been wanting to see this for a long time. I must admit, in the first little bit of the film I thought I had everything figured out, then luckily they kept throwing curve balls at us. I did figure it out before they revealed well what's going on but from the beginning it would be nearly impossible. Now that I've confused you I'll give you a really brief description of what's going on. It takes place at a school, where we meet a stern headmistress who happens to be having an affair with the Principal. Stranger still is that the principle is married to a weak female who seems to get along with the mistress. What the heck is going on? Well the Principal is a jerk, he's a horrible mean man and the two are debating how to resolve the situation. That really won't ruin the film for you I promise as we learn of that in the first few minutes of the film. I didn't find it as gripping throughout as I'd hoped but the last 40 minutes are so are pretty darned tense. It's beautifully filmed, the dialog is delightful and witty and it was a treat to watch. Definitely recommended but be careful before someone ruins it for you!

Availability:  On DVD

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