The Burglars Blu Ray Review (Sony)

The Burglars (aKa Le Casse) is a 1971 heist film co-written, produced, and directed by Henri Verneuil (A Kiss for a Killer, Gangster Boss, Weekend at Dunkirk, The Sicilian Clan, The Serpent, The Night Caller, and The Most Wanted Man). It was co-written by Vahé Katcha (An Eye for an Eye, Femmina, The Last Image, and Private Party). It’s based on the novel from author David Goodis (The Edge, Nightfall, Street of No Return, Descent into Hell, and The Unfaithful). It’s a remake of 1957’s The Burglar. Azad (played by: Jean-Paul Belmondo from Pierrot the Fool, Breathless, Casino Royale, The Professional, and Hold-Up), Ralph (played by: Robert Hossein from The Secret Killer, Double Agents, and The Wax Mask), Renzi (played by: Renato Salvatori from Burn!, Z, The Organizer, and Disorder), and Helen (played by: Nicole Calfan from The Three Musketeers, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and The Dogs) pull off a big heist in Athens. Detective Abel Zacharia (played by: Omar Sharif from Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago, Top Secret!, Hidalgo, and The 13th Warrior) investigates the burglars after the major crime is committed. Azad tests the detective with small talk posing as a random stranger. The thieves are stranded there until their getaway ship gets repaired in a few days. They go their separate ways until it’s fixed. Zacharia turns out to be corrupt and he wants the emeralds for himself. The criminal crew isn’t sure if he’s working an angle or that he’s really dirty. Azad starts seeing Lena (played by: Dyan Cannon from 8 Heads in a Duffel Bag, Deathtrap, Heaven Can Wait, Ally McBeal, Virginia Hill, and Caddyshack II) during his downtime so things get complicated. As more days pass, their getaway seems impossible. Can they outsmart this bad detective before they are all doomed forever????Director Henri Verneuil was one of masters of French cinema back in the day. They kept it simple with a smaller cast in this 70’s crime feature. This is one of the better remakes from that period, it’s much better than the original version. It’s a fast paced and suspenseful thriller. It has a nice game of cat and mouse with the Azad and Zacharia roles. There’s some solid action and twists in The Burglars. It has some of the greatest cinematic car chases of all time. It lasts for awhile and it gets pretty damn intense. It’s an adrenaline rush that’s very dangerous during it’s run. Jean-Paul Belmondo is impressive as the leader of the thieves. He’s taunting and begging for trouble once everything kicks in. Omar Sharif has two completely different sides of his character. You don’t really know which one is real until it’s closer to the end. It’s definitely the best performance in The Burglars. Both Dyan Cannon and Nicole Calfan are excellent eye candy in this. The rest of the supporting cast is solid. It keeps you on your toes and guessing what’s going to happen next. This is one of higher quality French heist productions. If you haven’t seen this one, you really need to check it out soon, RECOMMENDED!!!!Let’s discuss this high definition presentation from Sony Pictures! These two 1080p (2.35:1) transfers from a 2K restoration feature both the U.S. cut that’s 114 minutes and the extended International version that’s 126 minutes. Both versions of the heist film are available on their own separate discs for this brand new home video release. There’s a little more character development in basically Henri Verneuil’s director cut that’s known as the International version. It also has a different ending compared to the other one. I enjoy both takes of The Burglars or Le Casse here but I feel like the U.S. one has a much better flow and pace to it’s sharper edit. Regardless, it’s awesome to have a variety of different views for this older crime catalog title from the Columbia Pictures vault. It has an English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track for the U.S. cut. It has an French: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track for the International version. Both audio options here are very impressive especially during the iconic chase scene. All of the dialogue is crystal clear, the action is elevated, and the music has a nice boost to it. It has English SDH subtitles. There’s no extras on either disc. It’s available everywhere on June 18th including MovieZyng.com, CHECK IT OUT!!!!