Review of Nada

Introduction

Claude Chabrol is probably the lesser known of the 3 main "nouvelle vague" (new wave) directors of French cinema in the 1950s/60s/70s. Truffaut and Godard are the ones that most people associate with nouvelle vague. Chabrol ranks alongside with them, and is also associated with Cahiers du Cinéma, the famous French group of film critics.

Claude Chabrol is not known for his thrillers, political or otherwise, so Nada is not your run of the mill thriller.

The Nada gang decide to kidnap the American ambassador at a brothel in Paris (politicians caught in brothels eh? - some things don`t change). However, as with so many of these things, the kidnapping goes a bit pear shaped and a gendarme gets shot. This sends the police force into overdrive - is there anything they won`t stoop to to clear up this crime? Do they want to rescue the ambassador or just get revenge on the terrorists?

Video

A 1.66:1 anamorphic transfer (one of the few I`ve seen on DVD, so many 1.66:1 films tend to be non-anamorphic). It`s not the greatest transfer in the world, displaying quite a bit of print damage and some very hazy and grainy scenes at times. It`s the sort of transfer you`d expect from 1970s French cinema, and just a shame that it didn`t get cleaned up a bit more. It`s still very watchable despite all of this.

Audio

A DD2.0 stereo soundtrack, which is the original French mono soundtrack replayed over both channels. It`s reasonably clear and audible most of the time, and is again what you would expect from 1970s French cinema.

Features

Nada, which is Spanish for nothing.

Conclusion

Nada is a not-at-all disguised attack on the French government from Chabrol. The government is corrupt, the police are their uncompromising, brutal, ruthless enforcers out to make everyone else look bad and punish them as harshly as possible. Often dismissed by Chabrol fanatics, this is a film that`s worth watching simply because it`s so different from all of his other work.

A good political thriller, well directed and well put together. There are some good action scenes, some of the character stuff does drag slightly at times, but overall this is a film worth watching.

The DVD itself is ok, with reasonable picture, reasonable sound, and it is only let down by the complete lack of extras.