8/10
Back when THE OUTSIDE MAN (112 mins., 1972, PG; Kino Lorber) was released, its straightforward study of a French assassin (Jean-Louis Trntignant) who comes to Los Angeles to execute a hit for a mob boss’ son and his wife (Angie Dickinson) was as much interested in serving as a depiction of time and place as it was a crime thriller. An American-shot, French-made picture, director Jacques Deray’s film – long forgotten but thankfully restored here in a Gaumont 4K scan – is packed with scenes of a Los Angeles marked by roller derbies, public “TV viewing chairs” where quarters could be used either there or for a quick shave (via an “auto sterilized” public razor) in a nearby rest room, and murders could be carried out while turning up the sound on an episode of “Zoom!” airing on afterschool TV. Not only will this world seem as foreign to any contemporary viewer but add in a fascinating cast and you have a must-view that marks Kino Lorber’s most exciting release of the new year to date.
Admittedly, Deray’s picture isn’t an edge-of-your-seat thrill ride – “The Outside Man” is cool and laid back in the French tradition, with the director’s observational eye capturing the environment of then-modern day Los Angeles brilliantly. Infrequent blasts of Michel Legrand’s background score add to the mood, but much of the film is unscored, following Trintignant as he finds himself pursued by another hit man (Roy Scheider) while getting help from a waitress (Ann-Margret) who’s his last resort. It’s mostly a chase picture with Scheider, fresh from “The French Connection,” embodying an icy, sly killer while Trintignant navigates through unfamiliar terrain – one that, again, will seem as alien to the average viewer today, an attribute that enhances the film’s appeal.
So, too, does the casting: Ann-Margret is sultry and superb, with the script (credited to Deray, Jean-Claude Carriere and Ian McLellan Hunter) providing her with the material’s meatiest dramatic turn, while other familiar faces abound. The housewife Trintignant meets outside a supermarket is future “Mary Tyler Moore” star Georgia Engel, her son soon-to-be “Bad News Bears” hero Jackie Earle Haley. Alex Rocco, meanwhile, shows up as one of the goons working for Dickinson, while John Hillerman and a late appearance from Talia Shire as a funeral home worker will add a great deal of fun for movie buffs.
Through it all, there’s a remarkable economy in the storytelling – a lack of heavy exposition and dialogue, likely in order to sell the film as much overseas as the U.S. -- that makes “The Outside Man” so entertaining. A delectable mixture of American genre elements and authentic early ‘70s L.A. surroundings presented through a distinctively French lens, this confident, leisurely yet engrossing film is one of those pictures you’ll be surprised hasn’t been talked a lot before. Certainly it’s a movie a lot of viewers may never have had a chance to watch – myself included – since the film, once distributed by UA domestically, doesn’t seem to have circulated much at all on home video in the U.S.
Kino Lorber’s new double-disc Blu-Ray is hopefully going to rectify that, presenting restored 4K scans of the 35mm original camera negative with both the movie’s English and French versions presented here. The 1080p (1.85, mono) transfer is superb with lots of detail and grain present, so clear you can make out store signage and other markings of the era; it’s a great looking disc, though I did note two sections where French dialogue should’ve been subtitled (you’ll need to manually turn on the subtitle track, particularly vital since a major plot element is part of the first exchange Trintignant has with his associates back in France). Extra features include a solid commentary from historian trio Howard S. Berger, Steve Mitchell and Nathaniel Thompson, trailers, and the French version on a separate platter (framed at 1.66 and subtitled in English).
It’s a blast of the ‘70s -- from its depiction of the environment and its people through to a fitting "crime doesn't pay" nihilistic end -- that could only have been made thorough a collaboration between unique French and American cinematic sensibilities, the type we just don’t see any more. Highly recommended!
