Le Corbeau (The Criterion Collection)

Le Corbeau aka The Raven is a surprisingly vivid piece of film-making, a wonderfully cinematic dissection of a town torn apart by the poison-pen letters of 'The Raven.' The initial balance of power that maintains the status quo (A knows B's indiscretion, B knows A's, so neither can destroy the other without disgracing himself) is soon destroyed as the whole town learns each other's dirty linen, with suspicions, half-truths and outright lies soon lead to the town turning on each other in the search for a scapegoat. Tragedy, suicide and murder inevitably follow...This, of course, was the film that earned Clouzot a lasting reputation as a collaborator - made for the infamous German Continental films, it was attacked by both the Nazis for discouraging the French from informing (their main source of information during the occupation) and the resistance for attacking the French moral character. Of the two, it's pretty obvious the Nazis were on the right track. Even though the Germans are conspicuous by their absence, it makes clear that the anonymous informer/s are undermining solidarity and making the town easy prey for predators (it is implicit in the film that the Raven is not the only poison-pen writer in the town as a veritable flock of Ravens emerge).The suspense comes not from the Raven's identity, which is blindingly obvious in this era of double-endings but must have seemed groundbreaking at the time, but from what damage the Raven will do next. Blessed with a surprisingly unlikable hero and a frankness lacking in US and British films of the period - abortion and drug-addiction are discussed as readily as adultery and embezzlement - there is a somewhat awkward Catholic moral imposed at the end (the good doctor learns it is better to let a mother die in childbirth to save the child than vice versa because the future is more important than the past) but it's still refreshingly dark. The script establishes character, setting and guilty secrets with remarkable economy and the film is blessed with a great use of location and some visually impressive set pieces: the funeral where people step around a letter left by the Raven before a child picks it up or the huge church silenced by a single letter fluttering down from the gallery are particularly striking. It also has a biting black wit and an interesting discussion about the interdependent nature of good and evil.A genuine masterpiece, and entertaining with it, the Criterion DVD boasts exceptionally good print quality - sharp and clear - with an interesting 18-minute interview with Bertrand Tavernier on Continental and Clouzot and an interesting extract from a French documentary with Clouzot and others talking about the film and French cinema during the Nazi occupation.

One of the best classic movies about human nature. Watched it recently on Criterion Channel but decided to order it. Truly a must have.

"Beware! I see all and tell all." So quoth the Raven, the pen name of the mysterious writer of poison pen letters that has plagued a small town in France with suspicion, fear and anxiety. Since this film was made by a Frenchman under a German controlled studio during Nazi occupied France in 1943, there is a subtext not necessarily explicit in the film itself, but nonetheless pervades its very essence. In Le Corbeau, Dr. Remy Germain becomes a victim when letters start circulating that accuse him of having an affair with a married woman and of being an abortionist. Both of these accusations are false but do contain half-truths, and it is the unfortunate tendency for groups of people, usually motivated by fear, to assume the worst. Furthermore, Germain is an outsider, in that he refuses to participate in gossip and avoids social clicks, which ironically makes him a target. Soon he will find himself under suspicion and alienated. Since virtually every member of the community has some skeleton in their closet, they would much rather turn their ire on the accused than risk having their own affairs aired by The Raven. And so the drama escalates to a crisis where Clouzot does not even spare the victim of blame. By assuming a position of detachment, Germain has turned a blind eye and thereby contributing to ignorance which only provides fuel for the Raven and the lies and deceit spread like a plague.

Filmed during the Nazi occupation of France, Clouzot's brilliant, edgy psychological thriller captures the petty enmities and virulent paranoia that, letter by letter, rips a tight-knit community apart. Framed by the moral dilemma of Fresnay's Germain, a serious, stone-faced man haunted by "two ghosts" from the past, "Corbeau" adds one Hitchcockian twist after another, while immersing us in an ominous atmosphere of suspicion. Adding to the intrigue are radiant social worker Laura (Francey), elderly psychoanalyst Dr. Avorzet (the wonderful Pierre Larquey), and needy cripple Denise (Ginette Leclerc). Dark, cynical, and utterly captivating, "Corbeau" illuminates the inner world where good and evil mix in equal measure.

A perfect purchase in all areas from perfect shipping to perfect condition kind sales people that were helpful everything professional and aboveboard.

What can you say to this classic movie? This film does a great job of placing France within context during the Second World War, where collaboration was rampant during the German occupation. Nothing I will say as a lay guy will compare with what film critics have said. Overall, it's a great movie and highly recommended for anyone interested in French cinema or Francophiles.

Le Corbeau was made in France during the German occupation during World War II. The film describes how an informer in a small town turns everyone against each other. It's a bit surprising that the film made it past the German censors, but was banned by the French censors immediately after the war. Apparently, the French didn't like seeing themselves as informers.

EXCELLENT CRITERION DVD ESPECIALLY FOR SUCH A FILM NOIR, AND I THINK THE ONLY SHORTCOMING IS THAT THE IMAGE IS SLIGHTLY CROPPED. IF YO HAVE EXTRA MONEY, YOU CAN ALSO HAVE UK OR FRENCH DVD EDITION.

An odd but tremendously potent mix of a 'quiet' non-violent but verytense noir thriller, a deeply dark humored, sometimes blackly comiclook at human nature, and a political tale of moral hypocrisy in asmall town.By the end I was riveted, moved and provoked.I was even more impressed when I learned more about the history of thefilm. Made while France was under occupation by the Nazis, the theme ofneighbor turning against neighbor takes on an even deeper and morechilling context.A film with no hero and many villains, it is challenging, well actedand physically beautiful.How sadly ironic that film-maker Clouzot was castigated after the warfor being a Nazi collaborator for making the film under the thumb ofthe Nazis (who, of course, controlled the French film industry at thetime), when this is about as clearly an anti-collaborationist film asone could imagine.This is truly subversive cinema at its finest.

Not a review as such, but merely an observation that all Criterion DVDs (and specifically this one) are Region 0, so all the Region 1 disclaimers above are (or should be) inapplicable.