proud_luddite
Christina (Véra Clouzot) is the owner of a private boys boarding school and is one its teachers. Despite her ownership of the school, her abusive husband Michel (Paul Meurisse) is the headmaster. He is also abusive to the boys and the staff including his mistress Nicole (Simone Signoret), another teacher. Christina and Nicole devise a plot to kill Michel. From then on, everything goes awry.I believe that every film buff remembers how they felt during the last fifteen minutes of this brilliant thriller during the first viewing. This segment has to be one of the most frightening, nail-biting sequence in film history. As if this wasn't enough, it is followed by a shocking plot twist.The thrill of seeing this film the first time cannot be matched. But even knowing its conclusion, there is still much tension and suspense seeing it again. (This was my third viewing.) Director Henri-Georges Clouzot pays perfect attention to detail and from one second to the next, each moment seems to have the potential to veer into chaos. Whether it does so or not is the mystery.And of course, H-G Clouzot brings out the best in his cast. Signoret is at her signature best but it is Véra Clouzot who stands out especially in the climactic scene."Diabolique" (aka "Les Diaboliques") was written by director Clouzot and Jérôme Géronomi and based on the novel "Celle qui n'était plus" by Boileau-Narcejac.Unforgettable.OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT: Directing by Henri-Georges Clouzot
wpkrip
There are three particularly striking things about ' Diaboique '.First, it is a masterpiece of black and white cinematography.I have never seen another film that made such good use of luminescence, reflections and shadows and which dared so much to use such dim lighting in some scenes but very effectively.Secondly, the acting is superb all round. Everyone plays their role so convincingly it is as if they were born to play these particular roles.Simone Signouret does an especially good job.She exudes brazenness simply with subtle facial expressions and the way she moves.Finally, the plot never bogs down.The tension is kept up at all times and you keep wanting to see what happens next. A great thriller and an intriguing time capsule of 1950's France.
happytrigger-64-390517
Since the age of 6, I've lived in the village where the school scenes were shot (that castle was at the time abandoned and Clouzot wanted to buy it to get his studios inside, but it was too expensive, now it's the Town Hall since 1968). Each time I went to school (not the movie's one), I kept thinking of that horrific movie and when I saw it at 15, I was quite impressed, discovering Clouzot's Noir filmography.Like the townspeople watching at the shooting and how the beautiful castle had become sinister, full of mud all around. During the shooting since three weeks, all the team was completely sad and sinister, shooting night and day. They got more joyful when eating in the local restaurants. A lot of villagers came at the gate to watch with excitement all the famous team shooting one of the most well known classic thrillers. Clouzot never shot again in that village, and no other movie was shot there.
Hitchcoc
If there is a better psychological thriller, I'd like to see it. Michel is a nasty master at a school where two young women work. They despise him. He is cruel to them. He is cruel to the students. When the have had enough they decide to kill him. They invite him to their place and drug him, later drowning him in a bathtub. The body is easily gotten rid of. I won't say any more because it would ruin everything. This will keep you on the edge of your seat. This has incredible pacing and atmosphere. There is that plotting where one wonders when the next shoe will fall. This is so Hitchcock-like. Amazing.
AD
