Rider on the Rain - aka La passager de la pluie [Blu-ray]

Director Rene Clement's top quality thriller, "Rider on the Rain" (1969) (I don't know where this "Rider in the Rain" keeps popping up!), is based on a Sebastien Japrisot story, probably one of his best if they all are not ("Trap for Cinderella" (never filmed) and "Lady in the Car with Glasses and a Gun" with Samantha Eggar (NOT on video) were exceptional) and should be viewed as the re-start of his career as we all sat back in 1969 and waited for his "next film" which turned out to be "The Deadly Trap" with Faye Dunaway and Frank Langella, also very good and not available on video. The old pro, Clement ("Purple Noon," "Joy House" and "Forbidden Games" (just a few)) had become a new "auteur" with "Rider ON the Rain" never mistaken for "in the rain" as with this DVD pressing the movie sounds like it is "under water." Marlene Jobert as "Melancoly" steals the film from Charles Bronson in this his comeback picture. It ceases to amaze me "what people will do" and this DVD printing is one of the worst I've ever bought. (I have a feeling "Rider in the Rain" is a catch-all for the relentlessly poor DVD pressing and they wouldn't even bother to make the title certain). Am I supposed to be thankful for such a poor quality DVD pressing? Is it asking too much? Actually, the picture is a masterpiece. It makes the blending of the Hitchcock/Japrisot that there will never be as close as possible. Honors to Clement, Jobert for the exquisite performance as "Melancoly" and Bronson.

I here from people often who like Charles Bronson movies, however, except for maybe Once Upon A Time In the West, they seem to be only familiar with his state side films, such as of course Death Wish and The Mechanic, you ask them about his other European films they don't seem to really know, and what really got me was when some people have there top ten Bronson films, they don't seem to know about this one.What Death Wish did for Bronson in 1974, Rider On The Rain did for him in 1970 in France, and the rest of Europe. and that some ten films or so earlier. The following year he was voted by the Golden Globe people as the most popular actor in the world, though he was not in the top ten in the USA. Rider On the Rain strangely did win best foreign film in 1971 at the Golden Globes, but did not propel Bronson to any stardom in the US. Here he shows that he could be a real romantic lead, though he is really not in a romance. It is also sad that he could not be in many other films like this, or that of all people, Alfred Hitchcock, though winding down his career, really did not team up with Bronson, as this film is somewhat like a Hitchcock film.the disc itself in okey. There is the English language version, 114 minutes, and the French version 118 minutes. the French version is a lot better picture wise, as some on the picture wise seem to be a bit faded occasionally. Sadly, though it is mentioned, the filmed two versions when we see them speaking, once in English and once in French, with Bronson actually learning his words phonetically. Sad though they could not use his voice in French, perhaps it would have been embarrassing for him. A big laugh is when on the French version, we do here his character speaking English, and of course it is not Bronson's voice.the audio commentary is informative, and surprising with which American actor they were thinking of having in the movie besides Bronson, and certainly not as machine who is still alive today and on television, and in his 80's. Sadly though I would like to have learned a bit more about the shoot, and how Bronson got along with people on this movie, as I have heard some found him odd, and not very friendly. Too bad also he did not do another movie with Rene Clement the director, or Marlene Joubert the female lead. It would be also great if the film had some more extras, hearing Bronson speak French, or other possible interviews with people who worked on the movie. I believe Joubert did something like that earlier during the making of this film in France. Recommended, but I maybe some one out there like Powerhouse.UK could make a better Blue ray.

Back in the day when America only knew Charles Bronson as a supporting character, I was riding my bike past a local theater and saw a curious thing on the marquee:Rider on the RainCharles BronsonWhat's this? The STAR is Charles Bronson? What's going on here? It was rated R so I was too young to satisfy my curiosity. Also this was a little theater known for showing offbeat films (not hard to find in the late 60s) Little did I know that Europe had found lightning in a bottle with this man and France was undergoing Bronsonmania. So it took the USA a while to catch up.Fast forward a few years to a tv broadcast of the movie and I discovered the most mesmerizing movie of Mr Bronson's career. Long have I wanted a decent complete copy of this!Its a haunting thriller with a superb soundtrack. Kind of like a Hitchcock film with a foreign flavor. But I really want to focus on Mr. Bronson. If ever there was a perfect archtype of masculinity, he nails it here. Its not flaunted, its not excessive, its just there: pure, unadultered Manhood. I'm a Clint Eastwood, Steve McQueen, and Duke Wayne fan and I've never seen anything like this. No wonder the testosterone depleted postwar Europeans adored him. Maybe it helped give them back their mojo. So if you ever want to know what was the big deal about Charles Bronson, take a look at this film.