The Bride Wore Black is a steadily unfurling revenge thriller from the late ’60s. The French film nicely balances detailed storytelling, some neat twists, and interesting/ creative shot use. Here From Radiance Films is a new Blu-Ray release of the film, taking in a bold new scan of the picture, as well as a selection of new & archive extras.

The Bride Wore Black (aka La mariée était en noir) is from the year 1968. It was directed/ co-written by Paris-born François Truffaut, who is seen as one of the defining figures in the French New Wave movement.  Between the mid ’50s & early ’80s, he had twenty-three feature films to his name- these went from Juvenile crime drama The Four Hundred Blows (1959), love triangle drama Jules And Jim (1962). Through to dystopian Sci-fi Fahrenheit 451 (1966), onto gloomy & dark drama The Green Room (1978).

After its credits, the film introduces us to our lead Julie Kohler (Jeanne Moreau) a glamorous, but clearly troubled in her late twenties woman. When we first meet Julie she is trying to jump out of a window, being just stopped by an older woman before she falls to her death. As the film unfolds, we find out she has five men she needs to take out, and via flashback snapshots, we find the reasoning for her revenge- with the whole thing carefully, and moodily unfolding its plot.

Surprisingly for a revenge-focused film- each of Julie’s targets is given time & depth to their character, as she moves from one to the next. Cunningly & carefully settling herself into each man's life, before doing her deadly deed- and once again surprisingly for this type of thing, the focus is not on the killing, but on the build-up to each murder.

Each of the five victims is played with great clarity, detail and difference. Each man is very much captured & engaged by the female form/ beauty- hence Julie fairly easily finds her way into each life.  I won’t detail each of the five stories- but we go from a flirting gigolo who likes to record the sound of women crossing their tight covered legs, through to a smug later obsessive painter.

To begin with, Julie seems very focused & cold in her actions, but as things unfold, she shows chinks of humanity & emotion. Moreau gives a very nuanced & skilled performance. Each of the surrounding cast is chosen for their ability for great characterization. With the script having both depth & effective twists. The film runs at the one hour and forty-seven-minute mark, and really this is a perfectly cut cinematic cloth- as each character gets its time, but equally, the whole thing remains steady, but involving in its intent.

This new region B blu ray features an HD scan of the film, which is even & well-balanced in its quality. On the extras side, we get a fair/worthy selection of both new & archive material. On the new side we have filmmaker Kent Jones appreciation of the film (15.31) he starts off by discussing the Cornell Woolrich book the films based on - how it’s rather cheesy, and how Truffaut really elevated the story.  We find out the film wasn’t the happiest of production, though it did well in the box office, and the director was not wholly satisfied with the film. He discusses the films clever use of detail, and this pulls the viewer in, and briefly touches on the directors' other notable films. Next, we have Barry Forshaw on Cornell Woolrich (9.11) he talks about the pulp writer's rather unhappy/ unfortunate life- he lived in a hotel with his mother, he was a closet homosexual, was antisocial, and later in his life his leg was amputated- due to untreated diabetes. We find out the author had at least thirty-six of his books made into film. He finishes by talking about the differences between the novel & the film. On the archive side, we have a 1968 TV interview with François Truffaut (11.37), and a 1969 TV interview with actress Jeanne Moreau (4.01)- in both the focus is largely on the film to hand.  We have Les surmenés (24.37) this is a 1958 short written by Truffaut- this details a naive country girl typist who goes to Paris. Lastly, we have a trailer. The finished release comes with a booklet taking in archival writing by Truffaut and Moreau, and a contemporary article on the film by Penelope Houston.

The Bride Wore Black is one of the more filled out & detailed takes on the revenge thriller form- which is more often than not a fairly on-the-surface/ sallow genre. So, another interesting & distinctive release from the folks at Radiance Films.