Customer Reviews

Any Number Can Win [VHS]

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have to agree about the disappointing quality of this Image DVD. Not only has Image used a mediocre print to make the transfer, they've also used an edited version of the film. It originally ran 118 min., not the 103 that this print runs. Another video company came out with a nice letterboxed vhs of this film a few years back (under its alternate title "The Big Grab"), and they had the smarts to use the full-length version. Too bad Image couldn't do the same... especially since there's some pretty nice stuff to see in those missing 15 minutes. (BTW, like some other foreign films on DVD, this one seems just a bit speeded up or time-condensed, which probably means it was a PAL to NSTC transfer.)

Nothing wrong with the movie: it might be a little weak on character analysis and plot realism, but it is fun and gripping all the way, and soooo 1960s....! The dialogue is the best part ( pure Michel Audiard: you learn French slang a mile a minute!)and both Jean Gabin and Alain Delon sparkle. BUT: the sound of this DVD has a few problem, with background noises at time as if picked up by bits and pieces from different versions of the movie. I paid full price (and above, as it is a foreign item) for this DVD: where is the DVD quality I am entitled to expect ? What a pity...

Verneuil was a gifted french director and obviously he couldn't escape from the New Wave influence. Sooner or later he should make a film who woul express that sense of hopeless and disturbing underground bits of fate.
In this bitter movie about two enchanting thieves Delon and Gabin ; they have a smart plan : to steal a casino in the famous blue coast.
Everything seems under control but!
The smart script carries us to an unexpected and bitter ending.
Gabin as always stating why he was the greatest and most complete french actor in the XX century.
Fine script and dialogues.
A must in your collection!