Why So Blu?

Hardboiled: Choice of Arms (Blu-ray Review)

The French underworld doesn’t get much colder than this. In Choice of Arms (1981), director Alain Corneau trades in the sweaty breakdowns of Serie Noire and the twisting tension of Police Python 357 for something more simmering — almost stately. Starring a trio of legends — Yves Montand, Gérard Depardieu, and Catherine Deneuve — this is a gangster film that’s more about regret than revenge, more psychological standoff than shootout. Presented in HD as the final entry in Radiance Films’ Hardboiled: Three Pulp Thrillers by Alain Corneau Blu-ray box set, Choice of Arms arrives looking crisp, cool, and confidently restrained. It’s a slow burn that may not hit as hard as its companions, but it leaves a bruise all the same.

 

Film 

Choice of Arms begins in calm, rural elegance — Yves Montand tending to horses, Catherine Deneuve moving through rooms like a woman who’s mastered silence. But that calm fractures fast. Alain Corneau’s final entry in the Hardboiled trilogy swaps the sweat and grit of Serie Noire for a restrained, moody crime drama. It’s less interested in shootouts than in the slow erosion of dignity. And it’s all the more unsettling for it.

Gérard Depardieu bursts into this world like a pipe bomb. His character, Mickey, is reckless, erratic, and magnetically self-destructive. There’s no off switch — just escalating chaos in a denim jacket. Depardieu commits hard, but the performance starts to fray the nerves. Not because it’s wrong, but because it’s relentless. Every scene he enters tilts toward disaster, and after a while, it becomes less suspenseful and more exhausting. You feel it in your gut — just not always in a good way.

Montand, by contrast, is all controlled tension. He barely raises his voice, but you sense the violence coiled beneath every word. Deneuve, though given less to do, anchors the film with sheer presence. Together, they exude a kind of fragile class — the kind that knows it can’t keep the outside world at bay forever. Corneau leans into this emotional standoff, letting quiet moments stretch out until they hum with dread. When the violence comes, it lands like a slap in a cathedral.

Choice of Arms is the most elegant of the three films in the Radiance box set, but also the most restrained — by design. Corneau isn’t aiming for thrills here. He’s staging a slow, inevitable reckoning between past sins and present denial. It might not hit as hard as Police Python 357, or leave you gutted like Serie Noire, but it lingers. Quietly, and coldly, it lingers.

Video 

NOTE: Stills are provided for promotional use only and are not from the Blu-ray.

Encoding: MPEG-4 AVC

Resolution: 1080p

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1

Region: A, B

HDR: N/A

Layers: BD-50

Clarity and Detail: Fine textures come through clearly — horse stables, tailored suits, and weathered skin all register with natural sharpness. The image doesn’t scream “remastered,” but it feels true to the film’s quiet style.

Depth: There’s a measured depth to the image, especially in wide shots of the countryside and long corridors within Montand’s estate. Nothing pops artificially, but the spatial layering is convincing and stable.

Black Levels: Solid and well-balanced. Shadows are deep but never crushed, allowing interior night scenes and dark clothing to retain definition without swallowing detail.

Color: The palette leans earthy and desaturated, matching the film’s muted tone. Greens, browns, and cold blues dominate, rendered with a natural softness that avoids oversaturation.

Flesh Tones: Skin tones remain consistent across various lighting setups. There’s a lived-in realism to the complexion — slightly pale, slightly sun-worn — perfect for the melancholic atmosphere.

Noise and Artifacts: Grain is present and well-resolved. There are no distracting compression artifacts, edge enhancement, or DNR issues. The image stays filmic from start to finish.

 

Audio 

Audio Format(s): French LPCM Mono 2.0

Subtitles: English

Dynamics: Dialogue, ambient effects, and Phillipe Sarde’s subtle score are all handled with balance. The track isn’t flashy, but it’s clean and stable throughout.

Height: N/A

Low Frequency Extension: N/A

Surround Sound: N/A

Dialogue: Clear and upfront, with no distortion or background hiss. The emotional restraint in Montand’s voice and the volatility in Depardieu’s both come through without issue. Subtitles are well-timed and tastefully translated.

Extras 

Radiance Films includes a well-rounded slate of extras that add context without overstaying their welcome. A French TV documentary, Shooting Choice of Arms, offers a vintage look behind the scenes, while On Set Interviews bring candid moments with Corneau, Montand, Deneuve, and Depardieu — each reflecting on the project during production. A new featurette by Manuela Lazic delivers an engaging biography of Yves Montand, tracing his career with care. There’s also a short introduction by Jérôme Wybon, accessible through the Play Menu, that sets the mood before the film even begins. The HD theatrical trailer rounds out the package with a final hit of atmosphere.

SPECIAL FEATURES

• Shooting Choice of Arms
• On Set Interviews
• Manuela Lazic
• Theatrical Trailer
• Introduction by Jérôme Wybon

Summary

The Choice of Arms Blu-ray may be the most restrained film in Radiance’s Hardboiled box set, but it’s also the most introspective. What it lacks in explosive energy, it makes up for in quiet tension and nuanced performances — especially from Yves Montand and Catherine Deneuve. While Depardieu’s character might test your patience, the film’s slow, calculated unraveling has its own kind of impact. Backed by a strong HD transfer and thoughtful extras, the Choice of Arms Blu-ray gives this understated crime drama a worthy presentation that fans of French noir and Alain Corneau won’t want to overlook. To see where Corneau’s crime saga kicks off, check out Police Python 357 Blu-ray, a film dripping with paranoia and precision. Then get punched in the soul by Serie Noire Blu-ray, a nihilistic spiral into noir madness.

 

 

Hardboiled: Three Pulp Thrillers by Alain Corneau is available on Blu-ray!

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