Repulsion | Catherine Deneuve, Helen Fraser | REVIEW of Region 1 & 4 Latin America release

Repulsion | Catherine Deneuve, Helen Fraser | A masterpiece!

DVDs:

Repulsion

	Repulsion Catherine Deneuve, Helen Fraser ENTERTAINMENT PROGRAMS INC., 2005 average customer review:based on 104 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Roman Polanski was still a newcomer to the world of cinema when he unleashed this unforgettable exercise in skin-crawling terror. Repulsion was the Polish director's first film in English, but that hardly mattered: much of the movie is as wordless (and as weird) as the silent Nosferatu. The young Catherine Deneuve plays a Belgian girl stranded in '60s London, a shy beauty with no social skills. When her sister leaves their shared flat, Deneuve goes gradually, quietly, completely mad. Her world becomes Polanski's paintbox, as the devilish director distorts reality via a series of surrealistic touches (grasping hands that protrude from elastic walls) and out-and-out murderous horror. Very few films cast the kind of eerie spell that this 1965 classic achieves, and it clearly points the way toward Polanski's Rosemary's Baby. As with most of the director's work, what is unsettling is not the overt violence, but the terrifying sense of emptiness and isolation, and the boiling unease inside one's own mind. --Robert Horton

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REVIEW of Region 1 & 4 Latin America release

I read the Repulsion DVD comparison/review between the region 1 and region 2 releases on dvdbeaver.com. Region 1 being just unacceptable quality and region 2 suffering from artificial contrast boosts as well as a DTS track that makes you turn down the sound at parts. I was seriously considering buying the criterion laser disc for $100 due to my loyalty in wanting to see the film as closely as possible to the way Mr. Polanski intended. I then saw the Latin America release (region 1 and 4) and decided to bite the bullet.

The picture quality of the Latin America release was just as relieving as could be. It's widescreen (the films original aspect ratio). There are no scan lines or flutters or wrinkles tarnishing the picture. It's definition high and very clear. The contrast and brightness look natural and still punchy. To sum it up: looking at the screenshots of the region 1 and region 2 DVDs on dvdbeaver, then watching the film in its entirety with the Latin America release. I can safely say this is the best looking image of the movie currently available and I don't imagine it could get much better. As for the sound, no pops or dynamic raises for certain parts. A clear and natural representation of the original recording. I do wish the sound were a bit more detailed but you must excuse the fact that I am an audiophile. The downfall of the DVD to some people may be the fact that the menus and case are in spanish. But the film is in English and the quality cannot be beat. That is all that matters to me.

The film itself is now one of my favorites. It's a very deep psychological study of the isolation and psyche of a very shy girl. Denevue's performance is haunting and is easily her best. This is now my favorite Polanski film, it is just perfectly directed. Growing up in the time of edits-a-plenty and flashy camera movement, it's nice to see great camera work that compliments the story. No movement for the sake of movement. Polanski is one of the great directors.

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A masterpiece!

I've seen "Repulsion" quite a few times over the years, and it never gets any less absorbing to watch in spite of knowing the outcome.
Catherine Denueve is incandescently beautiful in it but this all masks her real persona which I guess is shown in the early photograph of her when she was just a child. The rest of her family, involved all together in the event of having their picture taken, but her, aloof, distant, in the background, staring into space, not really wanting to be a part of it. I think this showed a real understanding on the part of the director of the type of personality she had that would later erupt into murderous rage as a result of her paranoia and mental isolation. Sad. Disturbing. And quite possibly one of the most brilliant movies ever made.

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Excellent Film

I really do understand why a lot of people don't like this movie. I really feel sorry for them, however. This is a very slow movie that rides it's suspense. The acting was excellent, Catherine Deneuve makes you want to grab her and scream what the hell is wrong with you. There is very little action or dialogue which might be a putoff for some people, personally, I was gripped throughout the whole movie. But this movie is certainly not for everyone. It was one of Polanski's first movies, and very artistic, along the lines of a movie like Eraserhead. If you don't like slow movies, or don't like to think during a movie, or don't like to think period, this movie is not for you. However if psychosis fascinates you, and slow building suspense gets your rocks off, check this one out. You will not be disappointed.

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Timeless Horror: As Cinematic as a Silent Film. As Modern as a Contemporary Film.

"Repulsion" (1965) was Roman Polanski's first English language film and the first of what would retrospectively be thought of as his "apartment trilogy", the other two films being "Rosemary's Baby" (1968) and "The Tenant" (1976). Whatever your neighbors might be up to, it is probably best left undiscovered. "Repulsion" is top-notch psychological horror about a woman's descent into madness within the confines of her apartment, aided by nothing more than her own troubled psyche and everyday creaks and cracks, a ringing telephone, a persistent landlord, and other mundane features of domestic life.

Carole (Catherine Deneuve) is a quiet, distant young Belgian emigree living with her older sister in London, where she works as a manicurist at a day spa. Carole's good looks attract attention, but she wants nothing to do with men, who seem to repulse her. Her sister Helen's (Yvonne Furneaux) obnoxious boyfriend Michael (Ian Hendry) only heightens her distaste for the opposite sex. When Helen and Michael leave on holiday, Carole is left alone in the apartment with her anxieties and fixations, only to be overcome by them.

This familiar set-up paves the way for perhaps the most convincing and subjective horror film I've seen, the horror of a mind unraveling. "Repulsion" was thankfully shot in stark black-and-white. Color would distract from Carole's internal crisis and the subjective view of her environment. Carole's mental isolation is conveyed strongly and consistently, partly through a lack of dialogue, necessitated by Deneuve's poor English. Although the film starts out with an objective perspective on events, at some point we begin to experience the apartment as Carole does. Her disturbed mind is both terrified and terrifying, both victim and perpetrator, and the audience is caught up in it.

"Repulsion" is remarkable on a couple of counts. The idea is so internal that it might seem more suited to literature than to a visual medium. But the film's focus on Carole's behavior, without distraction, followed by its embrace of her experience in the apartment, takes us into Carole's mind enough to fear for her -though not enough to dispel our fear of her. And "Repulsion" is almost completely cinematic. It communicates visually, not verbally. There is no more dialogue than a silent film would have on intertitles. Once we're confined to that apartment with Carole, the shot, not the scene, is the component part through which the story is told, something that has been achieved only rarely since the silent era.

There is a lot of speculation over the origin of Carole's insanity, but my feeling is that this is a genre film with a simple premise -young woman with dread of men stuck in apartment alone- that is essentially self-contained. I think it's probably a mistake to look to events or behavior outside the action of the film for answers. Psychiatrists often think "Repulsion" depicts schizophrenia. Until the end, I thought it meant to imply that Carole's neurotic fear of sex was the cause of her madness. Then I thought that her fear was part and parcel of her madness instead. Pay close attention to the last shot of the film. People's interpretations, or misinterpretations, of Carole's problems tend to be based on that shot.

The DVD (Westlake Entertainment 2007): This is a poor transfer of a poor print. "Repulsion" was shot in 1.85:1 aspect ratio and has been cropped to 1.33:1 for this disc. Furthermore, the print needs cleaning up, as there are a lot of specks. It's watchable, but if you need to buy it, I would look for some of the other OOP DVDs that were made from a restored print. The only bonus feature is a Gallery, which is a slideshow of stills from the film. No subtitles or dubbing.

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Great film, poor DVD

I am only rating this three stars because this particular DVD is of such poor quality. If you have a multi-region player I would recommend buying the region 2 version of this film (available here and on Amazon UK) - I have seen both versions and the picture quality on the region 2 version is far superior. Other than that - Repulsion is a gem. Polanski at his finest. Cannot recommend this movie enough. Agreed on the calls for a Criterion Collection release!

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

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