Delicatessen is a 1991 French sci-fi comedy film directed by Jean Pierre Jeunet (Amelie, Alien Resurrection and City of Lost Children) and Marc Caro (City of Lost Children, Astroboy in Roboland and Dante 01), and starring Dominique Pinon (Amelie, Alien Resurrection and City of Lost Children), Marie-Laure Dougnac (Alice, Au Petit Marguery and The Good Son) and Jean-Claude Dreyfus (The City of Lost Children, Fitzcarraldo and Two Brothers).

The film is set in a dystopian future where food is scarce and is now used as a form of currency. Clapet (Dreyfus) runs the butcher's shop below the rundown apartment building he owns. Unbeknownst to those who live around him, Clapet has been luring victims into his shop with the promise of work, only for them to be murdered and used as a cheap alternative to other more traditional meats. The latest applicant for the job is Louison (Pinon), a circus performer who Clapet intends to use for a while before killing him for meat, however, Louison has drawn the attention of Clapet’s daughter, Julie (Dougnac) and the couple falls in love with one another. Julie is aware of her father’s intention to kill Louison and use him to feed the tenants in his building, and the couple hatches a plan to contact the Troglodistes, an underground vegetarian society to stop Clapet and his meat-sourcing practices for good.

Delicatessen is a classic of 90s French cinema and one of my personal favourites in Jeunet’s catalogue. The performances are excellent across the board, particularly Pinon and Dougnac who are immensely believable as the lovers and Dreyfus, whose larger-than-life performance as the sleazy butcher steals the show. The film itself is well scripted and the story is wonderfully surreal. At times unsettling and at others genuinely funny, it’s a fairly typical Jeunet movie. What I mean by that is that Jeunet always manages to people his worlds with an interesting cast of characters and his films never look like anyone else’s. The use of colour and the style of cinematography ensure that his work is instantly recognisable, whether that is his biggest film, Amelie, City of Lost Children, Delicatessen or any of his other films. Co-director, Marc Caro, I know very little about, and I have to be honest, I am not too sure how much of an influence he had on Delicatessen, as it has all the hallmarks of a very good Jeunet movie.

This UHD/Blu-ray set features a gorgeous new print of the movie on the UHD restored in 4k from the original camera negatives, that looks absolutely stunning. The colours are vibrant and the picture is crystal clear, whilst the UHD only features an audio commentary by directors Jeunet and Caro and a trailer as well as the film, the Blu-ray disc is where all the bonus material is stashed. There is an interview with both directors, a making-of documentary, another interview with Caro and an interview with Terry Gilliam, who loved the film so much he presented the movie to American audiences. 

Overall, this is an excellent set for a classic cult dystopian sci-fi/ horror/ comedy. Fans of Jeunet will obviously dig this one out along with anyone with a love of the surreal in cinema. Once again, Severin have come up with the goods on yet another beloved cult classic.