Other Titles • The Crimson Rivers • Les Rivières pourpres
Synopses for The Crimson Rivers (2000)
1.
Legendary police commissioner Niémans (Jean Reno) travels to a remote university village in the Alps to solve a grisly murder while hotheaded Lieutenant Kerkerian (Hate's Vincent Cassel) is investigating the desecration of the tomb of a young girl killed in an auto accident 20 years ago. When the detectives discover that the incidents are related, they reluctantly join forces. The Crimson Rivers looks French but feels American. If it doesn't hit the heights of The Silence of the Lambs or Seven, it bests many of the thrillers that have followed in their wake. Mathieu Kassovitz directs as if this were high art, which is actually to the film's benefit: the cast is terrific (including Jean-Pierre Cassel, Vincent's father), the cinematography is stunning, and the classy score evokes The Exorcist. Although the mountaintop showdown at the end doesn't quite work, The Crimson Rivers is still a superior entrant into an increasingly overcrowded genre. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
2.
Two criminal investigations. The same day. Two detectives are assigned two very peculiar cases...
An action thriller set in against the breathtaking backdrop of the French Alps, "The Crimson Rivers" stars Jean Reno and Vincent Cassel in a gripping who-dunnit involving a series of grisly murders, a child's death twenty years earlier, and the secret history of a small town.
Veteran cop Pierre Niemans (Jean Reno) is sent to Guernon to investigate a bizarre murder near a legendary private school isolated in the Alps. And it's no ordinary murder; the killer has been very methodical, leaving twisted, inexplicable clues to his motive. Complicating matters are the university administrators who are uncooperative and somewhat defiant to Niemans' questioning. Meanwhile Max Kerkerian (Vincent Cassel), an impetuous young cop and former car thief, arrives at a desecrated graveyard 180 miles away. Someone has disturbed the grave of a child who died twenty years ago.
These two seemingly random events are about to collide as the separate investigations lead the detectives right to one another. The more experienced Niemans begrudgingly joins forces with the brash Max to track down the killer. Despite his constant ribbing and sarcastic banter, Max respects the older cop. The two crimes are most assuredly linked - but how? And what do they have to do with the genetic research department at this legendary university and its odd inhabitants? What could the prestigious school possibly have to hide?
As the two men begin to work together they realize that charisma isn't the only trait they share. With sharp instincts, professional cunning and a willingness to risk everything to solve the case, Niemans and Max are more alike than either would care to admit - a fact they come to rely on as the investigation continues. As the killer leaves increasingly gruesome clues and they near the terrible truth, the dangers multiply - along with the human cost. The men are led to a final showdown on the deadly mountain, trapped between icy heights and death's door.
Based on the novel by Jean Christophe Grange, "The Crimson Rivers" is directed by Matthieu Kassovitz and produced by Alain Goldman. The script is written by Grange and Kassovitz. Tristar will release the film in New York and Los Angeles on June 29th.
When Commissaire Pierre Niemans (Jean Reno), France's leading serial killer investigator, is called to investigate a grisly murder, he enters a world of secrets, lies and unthinkable horrors. The dead, whose hands and eyes have been removed, are clues to a terrible tradition the killer can no longer bear. Each murder means something more; each victim, a guilty conspirator in a grand immoral experiment.
Filled with blood-chilling suspense, twisted turns and breathtaking locations, this tense thriller has the style, action and intelligence to keep you wondering what's really happening right up until the shocking conclusion.
4.
The Crimson Rivers is an openly acknowledged French attempt to make a big Hollywood-style serial-killer thriller. Jean--Ronin(1997)--Reno is Niemans, who while investigating the case of a horrifically mutilated body finds himself partnered with Kerkerian, a younger detective played by Vincent Cassell, (La Haine). Set in beautiful mountain country and shot in CinemaScope by Thierry Arbogast (Leon), it looks fabulous. Kassovitz packs the frame with stylish flourishes from a breathtaking helicopter shot in homage to The Shining (1980), to a lavish stairwell tracking shot inspired by Vertigo (1958). With a sumptuously layered score and some superbly achieved special effects The Crimson Rivers has all the expensive sheen of the American movies it imitates. Unfortunately it also proves Europeans can make films as technically accomplished but ludicrously plotted as Hollywood can: for what begins as a tense and unsettling police procedural, mutates into an action movie where the details make no sense. Even the Boys From Brazil inspired plot is ludicrous. Demonstrating Kassovitz has seen plenty of Brian De Palma and Dario Argento movies, The Crimson Rivers entertains despite its own absurdity, and should see the director following Luc Besson to Hollywood to make even bigger and dumber blockbusters.
On the DVD: Despite not being labelled a special edition this two disc set is one of the most impressive releases on DVD this year; all the more remarkable for being a French film barely seen in UK cinemas. The 2.35-1 anamorphically enhanced transfer is virtually flawless while the Dolby Digital 5.1 sound is superb. Apart from the original French soundtrack there are English and Spanish dubbed versions, and subtitles in 20 languages (including English and French). The first disc includes three trailers, plus three more for other Columbia releases, and two commentary tracks. The first features Reno, Cassel and Kassovitz--all talking at full speed providing a wealth of information. The second--a commentary by composer Bruno Coulais--offers a real insight into the use of music in film as he explains his approach to specific scenes and his overall philosophy of film scoring. This track also features the score isolated in Dolby Digital 5.1, though Colais does talk over the beginning of some cues.
The second disc contains over two hours of documentary material. First is a serious 52-minute making-of, in which cast and director explain how the film was constantly re-written, going so far as to admit it makes no sense. Further documentaries are on "The Scalpel Scene" (26 min) and the "making of the corpse" (9 min) used in the opening scenes. There is seven minutes on shooting the martial arts fight, with or without commentary, nine minutes on shooting the car chase and a section playing the chase alongside the original storyboards, with or without commentary. A documentary on filming the mountain climax (10 min) and a further documentary on creating a digital avalanche (15 min), plus a multi-angle feature presenting the scene as storyboards, edited rushes, special effects or outtakes. The Production Designer archives (13 min) covers the sets. Additionally there is footage from the Far East promotional tour, a poster gallery, filmographies of Cassel, Reno and Kassovitz, the complete storyboards for four sequences, including the never-filmed originally planned opening and a gallery of on-set still photographs. It's a veritable "how to make a blockbuster" on two shiny discs. --Gary S Dalkin
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