Jean-Paul Belmondo is Ho! Race car driver turn getaway driver turned Prisoner turned Escapee. New to Blu-ray from Kino Lorber.
The Film
You can tell from the opening moments of Robert Enrico’s Ho!, François Holin (Jean-Paul Belmondo) will do anything and everything to get ahead. The car crash that ends with a fellow racer dying in an explosion merely causes a nudge from Ho who’s more concerned with the Guinea pig he’s found. Its these types of moments that Enrico focuses on through Ho’s ascend to infamy that makes this an uncommon crime film.
Ho after the crash has been pushed out of Formula 1 racing and now is a getaway driver for a gang that gives him little to no respect. After one of their bank heists, Ho comes under the gaze of the police who put him in prison in the hopes of sweating him out of a confession. Ho manages a crafty escape that makes him infamous and public enemy number one – because of the brazen nature of the escape. Ho continues to try to prove himself not just to the public but to his old gang – leading to a crisscross of egos and revenge.
The film is a methodical character piece that takes its star’s power and magnetism and subverts it to the point of critique of the genre itself. Enrico isn’t making a luxurious crime drama or a piercing thrilling detailed piece ala Jean-Pierre Melville. The director is showing a character, and the cyclical nature of crime is an egocentric mess that can only end one way, in violence. The film gives us fleeting moments of joy but their always tinged with some sort or respite – the girlfriend (Joanna Shimkus) being the moral center that attempts to show Ho his efforts are in vain.
Ho! may be a character study in the minutia of just how fruitless crime is the film’s central performance by Belmondo elevates it to an almost electric compelling crime drama. It isn’t that you are rooting for Belmondo’s Ho who is a peacock and a buffoon, to say the least, but the charm the star radiates makes one compelled to continue on this reckless journey and see where it ends. Even if we know that the end is inevitably a sobering violent one.
The Transfer
The 4K Restoration by TF1 is an excellent representation of the film’s 35mm origins. There isn’t a scratch or blemish throughout the runtime of the film. The clean sharp image’s colors pop in this noirish French crime thriller. This is another winning French genre film from TF1 and Kino Lorber.
The Extras
They include the following;
- NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historians Howard S. Berger, Steve Mitchell, and Nathaniel Thompson
- Theatrical Trailer
The all-new Audio Commentary by Film Historians Howard S. Berger, Steve Mitchell, and Nathaniel Thompson begins with introductions before discussing this very different Jean-Paul Belmondo crime film. Some of the details include a discussion of director Robert Enrico’s short film An Incident at Owl Creek – which became a Twilight Zone episode; a discussion of the rise of the super star Belmondo – including a discussion of where he was professionally and personally before this film and why it was so important; novelist and screenwriter José Giovanni part in WW2 as a part of the French Gestapo – which was not known at the time and only discovered much later; Belmondo’s disappointment with the film’s final form; the work of Robert Enrico and how truly great it is upon reappraisal – and his work against Giovanni’s initial vision; this film being very different than what Belmondo would want to do as a star – which is darker than his want; the work and career of co-star Joanna Shimkus – who eventually retired from acting after marrying Sydney Potier; a great side conversation about director John Frankenheimer and this being a favorite of his; the critical response upon its release; the score and work of composer François de Roubaix; a great discussion about William Friedkin and the influence of World genre films and filmmakers and how that occurred; the visual style and visual language of the film that Enrico and cinematographer Jean Boffety employed; and much more. Berger, Mitchell, and Thompson provide a truly fascinating and informative commentary track about this transitional film for Belmondo.
Rounding out the special features are trailers for Ho! (3:46); Leon Morin, Priest (3:16); Le Doulos (2:25); Cartouche (3:32); Mississippi Mermaid (1:39); The Body of My Enemy (4:29); The Hunter Will Get You (2:28); Le Professionnel (2:12); The Outsider (2:43)
The Final Thought
Another win for Kino Lorber. They are curating some truly wonderful Euro Genre films recently with great transfers and special features. Recommended!!