After the disturbing, nerve-jangling effects of his brilliant psychological thriller Repulsion, Roman Polanski turned next to something just as psychologically rooted as that piece but definitely less tension-filled with his oddball outing Cul-de-sac. Winner of the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival, the film is a dark comedy with psychological overtones that rather come and go in importance. Like some earlier works of his, the focus is on dominance and submission in human relationships, and one must be willing to tread through a constantly changing flow of tones in reaching its graphically tragic, melancholy conclusion.
Cul-de-sac (Blu-ray)
Directed by Roman Polanski
Studio: Criterion
Year: 1966
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 1080p AVC codec
Running Time: 112 minutes
Rating: NR
Audio: PCM 1.0 English
Subtitles: SDH
Region: A
MSRP: $ 39.95
Release Date: August 16, 2011
Review Date: August 9, 2011
The Film
3.5/5
After their criminal enterprise goes wrong (and both men end up wounded, one nearly fatally), Albie (Jack MacGowran) and Richard (Lionel Stander) find an isolated spot at an old castle in Northumberland to hide out. It’s owned by retired middle-aged businessman George (Donald Pleasence) and his luscious but bored wife Teresa (Françoise Dorléac). With Albie ailing, Richard takes it on himself to bully the couple into carrying out his bidding. He phones his superiors telling them about the failure of their job and then waits for them to send him help since Albie is injured and their escape vehicle is disabled. In the meantime, a curious relationship begins to form between the three people as they alternately befriend and insult one another. Things aren’t made easier by interruptions from Teresa’s good-looking young lover (Iain Quarrier) or a family of stuffy Brits (Robert Dorning, Marie Kean, William Franklyn, Jackie Bisset, Trevor Delaney) who descend on the couple and are too dense to realize they’re being held prisoners in their own home.
The script by Polanski and Gerard Brach recalls some of Polanski’s earlier shorts and his first feature Knife in the Water with their ever-shifting relationships between characters, and the comic nuance is as keen as in his Two Men and a Wardrobe but with even more emphasis on cruelty and humiliation (and, as in Repulsion, ending in madness). Polanski’s eye for arresting visuals is as keen as ever with the getaway car slowly being enveloped by the rising tide an early, stunningly shot moment, and an untended veranda at the castle alive with wildly growing vegetation is also equally eye-catching. The beach scenes with the sea and alternately overhead gulls and a seaplane also etch evocative memories within the viewer. The lengthy sequence with the British family who intrudes into the situation and invites themselves to lunch is one of Polanski’s most hilariously satiric extended moments and is beautifully played by everyone. But the shifting allegiances never allow the audience to maintain a rooting interest for anyone, and with comedy and tragedy alternating at random moments, the film seems certainly off-kilter but also erratically unmanageable at certain moments making it less identifiable for the average viewer at almost any given time.
Donald Pleasence certainly has the film’s tour de force performance as George. Whether wearing his wife’s negligee for her amusement (he plays the sad clown through much of the film until he finally gathers the stones to act decisively albeit with unexpected results) or scrambling around trying to maintain his dignity and earn his wife’s respect (which she witheringly withholds throughout), his is a true tragic performance of great proportions. Françoise Dorléac struggles a bit with mastering English for the lines she has to speak, but she’s stunning to look at and serves well as the “prize” so many of the men in the film want to claim. Lionel Stander is alternately brutish and amiable as the thuggish gangster with a curious way of laying low. Jack MacGowran has only a few moments to himself as the wounded member of the pair, but he makes them count. As stated earlier, the members of the British family whose snobbish superiority is easily seen and felt are acted superbly, particularly by Marie Kean whose surface propriety evaporates when she’s insulted enough to say what’s really on her mind.
Video Quality
4.5/5
The film is presented in its theatrical aspect ratio of 1.66:1 and is offered in 1080p resolution using the AVC codec. The grayscale is really first rate with superb black levels that only occasionally crush detail in shadows and crisp whites. Sharpness is outstanding throughout with absolutely no lapses occurring when images drift in and out of focus. There are a few very light scratches here and there, but there is really nothing major which spoils the very film-like appearance of this presentation. The film has been divided into 12 chapters.
Audio Quality
4/5
The PCM 1.0 (1.1 Mbps) sound mix places the well recorded dialogue, the many sound effects from a seaside dwelling, and Krzysztof Komeda's rather jarring music blended together nicely in the same track. Sometimes the music can have a slightly shrill texture to it, but the sound engineers have done a marvelous job of removing any aural artifacts which might have been present. It’s a very clean track despite the age of its recording.
Special Features
3/5
“Two Gangsters and an Island” is a 2003 featurette offering interviews with director Roman Polanski, cinematographer Gilbert Taylor, producer Gene Gutowski, and production designer Voytek Roman discussing the difficulties with the actors (Stander and Pleasence were both notoriously difficult to work with), the weather, the tides, and the animals on the remote Holy Island location. This 1080i bonus feature runs 23 ½ minutes.
“The Nomad” is a 1967 British television interview with director Roman Polanski on the premiere of his fourth feature film The Fearless Vampire Killers. He talks about his early life and his education leading to the direction of several short films and his four completed features (all but the last being shown with film clip excerpts). This very interesting view of the young Polanski runs 27 minutes and is in 1080i.
There are two theatrical trailers (both very similar), each running 2 ¾ minutes and both in 1080p.
The enclosed 18-page booklet contains cast and crew lists, some arresting stills from the movie, and film critic’s David Thompson’s investigation into the film’s history of production and reception.
The Criterion Blu-rays include a maneuvering tool called “Timeline” which can be pulled up from the menu or by pushing the red button on the remote. It shows you your progress on the disc and the title of the chapter you’re now in. Additionally, two other buttons on the remote can place or remove bookmarks if you decide to stop viewing before reaching the end of the film or want to mark specific places for later reference.
In Conclusion
3.5/5 (not an average)
Roman Polanski’s Cul-de-sac has often been said to be his favorite film of his, and while many might choose other movies as his best, it’s certainly an eccentric and individual concoction and one worthy of serious study. A beautiful video and audio encode makes such an analysis of this early work of his something most easily accomplished.
Matt Hough
Charlotte, NC
