OSS 117: LE CAIRE NID d'ESPIONS + OSS 117: RIO NE RÉPOND PLUS . . . [2006 / 2009] [Special Double Edition] [Blu-ray] [French Release] The Pride of the French Intelligence! Possibly the 2nd Funniest Spy Spoof Ever!
‘OSS 117: LE CAIRE NID d'ESPIONS’ [‘OSS 117: Cairo: Nest of Spies’] [2006] In this spy movie parody, it is 1955 and OSS 117 [Jean Dujardin] is sent to the Egyptian capital to execute a whole shopping list of items for the French Secret Service, including investigating the death of his friend and erstwhile Cairo-based spy, controlling the Suez Canal and establishing peace in the Middle East. OSS 177 is just the man for these missions: he does not have a clue but is very lucky in getting what he wants. He meets his contact, Mossad agent Larmina El Akmar Betouche [Bérénice Bejo], but then comically stumbles upon an international conspiracy.
FILM FACT: Awards and Nominations: 2006 Seattle International Film Festival: Win: Golden Space Needle Award for Best Film for Michel Hazanavicius. 2006 Tokyo International Film Festival: Win: Tokyo Grand Prix. 2007 César Awards, France: Win: Best Production Design (Meilleurs décors) for Maamar Ech-Cheikh. Nominated: Best Actor (Meilleur acteur) for Jean Dujardin. Nominated: Best Adapted Screenplay (Meilleure adaptation) for Jean-François Halin and Michel Hazanavicius. Nominated: Best Cinematography (Meilleure photographie) for Guillaume Schiffman. Nominated: Best Costume Design (Meilleurs costumes) for Charlotte David. 2007 Globes de Cristal Awards, France: Nominated: Best Film (Meilleur film) for Michel Hazanavicius. Nominated: Best Actor (Meilleur acteur) for Jean Dujardin. 2007 Étoiles d'Or, France: Win: Étoile d'Or Award for Best Actor (Premier rôle masculin) for Jean Dujardin. 2009 Chlotrudis Awards: Nominated: Best Adapted Screenplay for Jean-François Halin and Michel Hazanavicius.
Cast: Jean Dujardin, François Damiens, Khalid Maadour, Youssef Hamid, Arsène Mosca, Constantin Alexandrov, Claude Brosset, Laurent Bateau, Saïd Amadis, Eric Prat, Abdellah Moundy, Philippe Lefebvre, Richard Sammel, Aure Atika, Bérénice Bejo, Michael Hofland, Jean-François Halin, Marc Bodnar, Bernard Nissile, Alain Kouhani, Diego Dieng, Mouloud Ikhaddelene, Chouki Gtari, Hafid F. Benamar, Hassan Chabaki, Johannes Oliver Hamm, Hedi Naili, Jean-Marie Paris, Laura Schiffman, Roger To Thanh Hien, Ludovic Bource (uncredited), Kamel Ech-Cheik (uncredited) and Alexandra Schamis (uncredited)
Director: Michel Hazanavicius
Producers: André Logie, Bertrand Maheux, Christophe Riandee, Eric Altmayer, Franck Chorot, Gaëtan David, Nicolas Altmayer, Manuel Alduy, Nicolas Seydoux, Patrick Quinet, Patrick Vandenbosch, Sarim Fassi and Sidonie Dumas,
Screenplay: Jean-François Halin (scenario), Jean Bruce (novel), Jean-François Halin (adaptation) and Michel Hazanavicius (adaptation)
Composers: Ludovic Bource and Kamel Ech-Cheikh
Cinematography: Guillaume Schiffman (Director of Photography)
* * * * *
‘OSS 117: RIO NE RÉPOND PLUS . . .’ [‘OSS 117: Lost in Rio’] [2009] The film follows the exploits of the French secret agent OSS 117, in Brazil in 1967 to retrieve a microfilm containing the names of Frenchmen who assisted the Nazi regime, OSS 117 joins forces with sexy lieutenant Dolores to track down an underground group of escaped Nazis. This film is a sequel to the 2006 film OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies. As with Nest of Spies, the film is inspired by the novels written by Jean Bruce, and the humour is based in part on the prejudices of de La Bath, especially his clumsiness in dealing with matters of race, religion, and gender roles.
FILM FACT: Awards and Nominations: 2009 Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival: Nominated: Best of Puchon Award for Michel Hazanavicius. 2010 César Awards, France: Nominated: Best Production Design (Meilleurs décors) for Maamar Ech-Cheikh. Nominated: Best Costume Design (Meilleurs costumes) for Charlotte David. 2010 Globes de Cristal Awards, France: Nominated: Best Film (Meilleur film) for Michel Hazanavicius. Nominated: Best Actor (Meilleur acteur) for Jean Dujardin. 2011 Magritte Awards, Belgium: Nominated: Best Supporting Actor (Meilleur acteur dans un second rôle) for Laurent Capelluto.
Cast: Jean Dujardin, Louise Monot, Rüdiger Vogler, Alex Lutz, Reem Kherici, Pierre Bellemare, Ken Samuels, Serge Hazanavicius, Laurent Capelluto, Cirillo Luna, Moon Dailly, Walter Shnorkell, Philippe Hérisson, Nicky Marbot, Christelle Cornil, Jean-Marie Paris, Alexandre Porfirio, Vincent Haquin, Alexandre Goncalves, Adriana Sallès, Joseph Chanet, Patrick Vo, Pascal Parmentier, Franck Beckmann, Jean-Claude Tran, Yin Bing, Chao Chen, Gérald Nguyen Ngoc, Yi-Rhe Chen, Sabrine Vin, Alvaro Correia, Emmanuel Pasqualini, Sébastien Mingam, Jean-Louis Barcelona, Gérard Couchet, Donna Flandrin, Guillaume Schiffman, Olé Erdmann, Ludovic Bource, Arthur Bispo Coutinho, Naiara Amorim Da Silva, Yoda Bono, Horst Tappert (archive footage), Fritz Wepper (archive footage), Laurent Larrieu, Robert Hoehn, Grégory Loffredo and Jan Oliver Schroeder
Director: Michel Hazanavicius
Producers: Clara Machado, Éric Altmayer and Nicolas Altmeyer
Screenplay: Jean Bruce (character), Jean-François Halin (screenplay) and Michel Hazanavicius (screenplay)
Composer: Ludovic Bource
Cinematography: Guillaume Schiffman (Director of Photography)
* * * * *
Audio: French: 5.1 LPCM [non compressed] Master Audio French: 5.1 DTS-HD HR Audio
French: 2.0 Dolby Digital Stereo Audio
Subtitles: English
Image Resolution: 1080p
Aspect Ratio: 2.35.1 (CinemaScope)
Running Time: 90 minutes and 101 minutes
Region: All Regions
Number of discs: 2
Studio: Gaumont
* * * * *
Andrew's Blu-ray Review: Director Michel Hazanavicius's ‘OSS 117: LE CAIRE NID d'ESPIONS’ [‘OSS 117: Cairo Nest of Spies’] resurrects novelist Jean Bruce’s title hero as a comedic version of himself, as well as of James Bond and countless other Eurospy types. As played by Jean Dujardin, OSS 117 aka Hubert Bonisseur de la Bath, comes off as a slightly more competent version of The Pink Panther’s Inspector Clouseau. OSS 117 competence comes in his fighting abilities, though, not in deductive reasoning. He represents everything that’s worst about the West and about colonialism, primarily in his total ignorance to other cultures. He laughs at the Arabic language and dismisses Islam as "a fad" that will never catch on. OSS 117’s hopelessly patriotic, believing his own government can do no wrong at all; and OSS 117 carries around pictures of French President Rene Coty and distributes them to various Egyptians he meets. Jean Dujardin’s version of OSS 117 is a clever comedic creation, smoothly sending up the annoying smugness and utter arrogance of all the Eurospy heroes of the Sixties. And he's got the crucial "spy eyebrows" down to a fine art!
OSS 117 mission takes him to Cairo, Egypt, to investigate the disappearance of his predecessor and childhood friend, Jack Jefferson [Philippe Lefebvre]. In Cairo his cultural obliviousness side-tracks him again and again, and it’s only with the aid of his beautiful local contact Larmina El Akmar Betouche [Bérénice Bejo] that he manages to get anything done. Despite Larmina El Akmar Betouche help, OSS 117 still manages to offend her, her people and her religion time and again.
On one level, the French film is a sharp satire on global politics and Western ignorance, sending up the culture of the "Ugly American," even if it does so with a Frenchman instead. But on another level, it’s a rather silly slapstick spy farce. This may slightly impede its success as a biting satire, because it dulls the blows with pratfalls, but the lighter tone is nevertheless to the film’s overall advantage. It comes off as a daft, enjoyable comedy that actually makes a few good points if you stop and think about it, but certainly doesn’t hit you over the head with them. It's the perfect cocktail of slapstick and satire, really.
The biggest laughs come from those moments of sheer silliness. OSS 117 becomes obsessed with the poultry business that serves as his French Secret Service cover. When the lights go on, the chickens all start clucking madly. When the lights go off, they shut up. Fascinated by this behaviour, he amuses himself over and over again by flipping the light switch on and off, on and off. It doesn’t sound like much on paper, but it’s a very effective gag, especially as punctuation to another character’s remark that OSS 117 is either "very stupid or very smart."
The production values are very impressive all around, and the filmmakers do an excellent job mimicking Technicolor films of the Fifties and Sixties. They incorporate grainy stock footage and obvious models, as well as rear projection, plenty of Brill cream, a suitably retro score, though not as good as Michel Magne's original OSS 117 composed music themes, and cool studio-bound sets. The best of those sets is a Neo-Nazi enclave hidden inside a pyramid and decked out with the requisite swastika flags, as well as an array of security monitors that use a new technology to record their feeds onto magnetic tape. Appropriate, since Eurospies were always on the cutting edge of technology. We may still not have a disintegration ray, but at least VCRs have come and gone! I love the attention to period detail, it's used very successfully to add another layer of amusement, but I would still love to one day see a spy film shot in such a retro style, but played straight and implementing modern action and pacing.
If the retro recreation idea particularly appeals to you, or if you are a big fan of the original Pink Panther films then you should definitely check out ‘OSS 117: Cairo Nest of Spies.’ It's a perfectly crafted love letter to the films of that era and a damning send up of them at the same time and just a really hilarious comedy. I liked this film plenty the first time I saw it, but on (frequent) subsequent viewings, it's really become one of my very favourite spy comedies–and one of my favourite spy films, period. It ranks with ‘Casino Royale’ and ‘The Bourne Ultimatum’ as one of the best of this past decade, for sure.
* * * * *
Blu-ray Image Quality – Gaumont presents ‘OSS 117: LE CAIRE NID d'ESPIONS’ Blu-ray discs in a stunning 1080p image and is enhanced with an equally impressive 2.35.1 (CinemaScope) aspect ratio that really makes these films look even more stunning, and it brings you an image that is totally awesome and stunning! Colours, contrasts, blacks, definition, image sharpness and everything is just perfect from beginning to end of both films.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – Gaumont brings you ‘OSS 117: LE CAIRE NID d'ESPIONS’ Blu-ray discs with two audio choices which are 5.1 LPCM [non compressed] Master Audio and 5.1 DTS-HD HR Audio. Dialogues and music stand perfectly opens the front with incredible potential. While the OSS 117 films are not really the kind of film that lends itself to an acoustic demo and therefore the use of low frequencies as well as surround channels is not as prominent as other titles, but overall the effect is again a real delight at all times. The DTS-HD soundtrack will envelop you so much so, to make you feel you are actually in Cairo. Change of scenery guaranteed!
* * * * *
OSS 117: LE CAIRE NID d'ESPIONS: Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
Audio Commentary with Director Michel Hazanavicius and Jean Dujardin [French Audio only]: Director Michel Hazanavicius and star Jean Dujardin may have some entertaining or enlightening things to say about the film, but I only know a handful of phrases in the French language and they didn't use any of them. In ‘OSS 117: Le Caire, nid D'Espions’ director Michel Hazanavicius points out, the whole world (of the late 1950s, in the waning days of European Colonialism) was racist and backwards; now, in the sequel (set a decade later), things have changed radically and it’s just the character, Hubert, who’s racist and backwards. Instead of being representative of his society, OSS 117 is a fish out of water, a relic of a generation whose old road is rapidly aging, surrounded by a more progressive younger generation primarily embodied by the highly capable female Mossad agent Dolores Kuleshov [Louise Monot], who OSS 117 first assumes to be a secretary. Michel Hazanavicius reveals that after satirizing Western views of Arab culture in the first film, the choice for the second was between Jews and blacks, and they chose Jews. He shares that they knew they were walking a fine line, though, and had to be very careful when making (or rather having their lead character make) anti-Semitic jokes. “We can show a racist and make fun of him. But if we’re going to show a racist, we have to show his racist jokes.” Fortunately, they had Jean Dujardin’s voice in mind this time around, since they were writing the sequel specifically for their original leading man, and that aided them immeasurably in concocting jokes they knew they could get away with.
Special Feature: Deleted Scenes Présentation [2006] [1080p] [1.78:1] [00:55] Here Director Michel Hazanavicius and star Jean Dujardin give a quick introduction to the following three deleted scenes. No English Subtitles.
Special Feature: Dans Le Cockpit [2006] [1080p] [2.35:1] [1:06] This alternate deleted black-and-white scene is set in the cockpit of the plane similar to what you saw at the start of the film, but is a much longer scene and was probably wisely cut for pacing. There is a brief scene set up with French text introduction explaining the situating in the context of the film, which is helpful if you can read French. No English Subtitles.
Special Feature: Le Coucher D’OOS [2006] [1080p] [2.35:1] [00:47] Here is my favourite is an extension of the light switch/chicken joke, in which OSS 117 tries to recreate the experiment in his hotel room by making his own clucking noises as he toggles his light switch. There is a brief scene set up with French text introduction explaining the situating in the context of the film, which is helpful if you can read French. No English Subtitles.
Special Feature: Avec Le Porte Parole Égyptien [2006] [1080p] [2.35:1] [00:47] This is a long scene with actor Jean Dujardin and an Egyptian Government Representative and slowly gets more embarrassing and gets deeper into hot water and the Egyptian Government Representative gets more and more angry. There is a brief scene set up with French text introduction explaining the situating in the context of the film, which is helpful if you can read French. No English Subtitles.
Special Feature: OSS 117: Boulettes Et Pataquès [2006] [1080p] [2.35:1] [2:26] Here we get to view some typical blooper outtakes for the film ‘OSS 117: LE CAIRE NID d'ESPIONS’ and the gag reel definitely outstays its welcome. It consists mostly of Jean Dujardin cracking himself up with the other actors, which is amusing for the first few times. We also see actor Jean Dujardin and other actors swearing, and line flubs that probably lose some of their humour in translation. No English Subtitles.
Special Feature: Réclame [2006] [1080p] [2.35:1] [1:46] This is the Original Theatrical Trailer for the film ‘OSS 117: LE CAIRE NID d'ESPIONS.’ No English Subtitles.
Special Feature: Bande-Announce [2006] [1080p] [2.35:1] [2:06] This is a Gaumont Columbia TriStar presentation of a much longer trailer for the film ‘OSS 117: LE CAIRE NID d'ESPIONS.’ No English Subtitles.
Finally, ever since I first viewed ‘OSS 117: LE CAIRE NID d'ESPIONS’ [‘OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies’] I have loved this film ever since, as it makes a change from the slick American Spy Films and is such a refreshing change and I never get bored watching this film, despite having to read the subtitles, which I wish they had put in the Cinemascope frame. Arguably one of the best feature-length spy spoofs ever, and the hilarious ‘OSS 117: LE CAIRE NID d'ESPIONS’ [‘OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies’] successfully embraces and parodies the `50s/60s spy films and feature a pitch-perfect performance from dashing leading man Jean Dujardin. So all in all a total honour to add this to my ever increasing Blu-ray Collection and if you want something tongue in cheek and quirky comedy, then this Blu-ray is for you and you will not be disappointed. Very Highly Recommended!
* * * * *
Andrew's Blu-ray Review: ‘OSS 117: RIO NE RÉPOND PLUS . . .’ [‘OSS 117: Lost in Rio’] In this sequel to the first OSS 117 parody film, French Secret Service super-agent Hubert Bonisseur de La Bath [Jean Dujardin], alias OSS 117, is sent to Brazil on assignment to deliver a blackmail payment to treacherous Nazi Professor Von Zimmel [Rudiger Vogler], who is in the possession of a microfilm list of French Nazi sympathizers. Along the way, Hubert Bonisseur de La Bath is assisted by Israeli Army Officer Delores [Louise Monot] and Von Zimmel's own hippie son Heinrich [Alex Lutz].
The character of French Secret Serviceman OSS 117, the codename for agent Hubert Bonisseur de La Bath, was created by author Jean Bruce in a series of books that began in 1949 and also made the live action transition in a somewhat less popular film series that began in 1957, both predating the James Bond books and films, which respectively began in 1953 and 1962. Although the OSS 117 films had faded out by the early seventies, but the books continued under different authors until 1992, then the franchise was dusted off in 2006 following the publicity of the Daniel Craig starring as James Bond reboot ‘Casino Royale,’ which was then in pre-production. Realizing that the France-based film company Gaumont would not be able to seriously compete with the multimillion dollar budget of United Artist-produced ‘Casino Royale’ is action and thrills, it was wisely decided to play the antics as an Our Man Flint/Matt Helm like parody for 2006 audiences. The resulting film ‘OSS 117: Le Caire Nid d'Espions,’ which made it to theatres a full eight months before ‘Casino Royale,’ was unarguably one of the best feature-length spy spoofs ever and featured a pitch-perfect performance from dashing leading man Jean Dujardin [‘The Artist’ film].
Throughout the film the main character has two main romantic interests. The first is a mysterious beauty Carlotta [Reem Kherici]. The second is Israeli Army officer, Dolorès Koulechov, who spends most of the film exasperated at OSS 117's misogynistic, racist, colonial tendencies and has no interest in the main character, but warms up to him in the end. When asked by de La Bath why Dolorès Koulechov does not like the dictator of the Brazilian military government of the time, Dolorès Koulechov lists its examples of totalitarianism that the puzzled Hubert Bonisseur de La Bath finds the same as the France of Charles de Gaulle, which are as follows:
“Do you know what a dictatorship is? It's when people are communists, when they are cold with grey hats and boots with zippers. That's a dictatorship!”
“Then, what do you call a country with a military leader controlling everything, a secret police, a single TV channel with every information controlled by the state?”
“I call that "France", Miss. "General De Gaulle's France..."
Throughout the film, Hubert Bonisseur de La Bath is forced to engage with hippies, exploration of sexuality, and gender roles in different belief systems, and his personal convictions about society and prejudice.
With director/writer Michel Hazanavicius, additional screenwriter Jean-Francois Halin, and lead actor Jean Dujardin all returning in ‘OSS 117: RIO NE RÉPOND PLUS . . .’ is very much in the same mould as ‘OSS 117: Le Caire Nid d'Espions’ is only it naturally ups the ante from the first film, as most sequels attempt to do. The plot this time around is much skimpier than the first film, but Michel Hazanavicius and Jean-Francois Halin continue to delightfully skewer the whole spy genre without entirely disrespecting or condescending to the genre, which is perhaps why these two OSS 117 films are so much more enjoyable and feel so much fresher than the belaboured Austin Powers series and other such similar spy parodies. Pushing the film ahead 12 years to 1967 was also a smart movie, as it gives Michel Hazanavicius and Jean-Francois Halin a whole new decade of spy movie aesthetics and clichés to utilise including multiple split-screen imagery a la ‘The Thomas Crown Affair’ and even visual references to Alfred Hitchcock's ‘Vertigo’ and ‘North by Northwest’ thrown in, which also prevents the film from falling into the potential trap of repeating too many of the first film's jokes. Also, as with that first film's excellence at recapturing the look and feel of mid-fifties film, Hazanvicius and crew here perfectly recreate a 2009 vision of the late-sixties complete with the "modern-era" geometric urban architecture and contrasting flowery beach bum hippie culture. I truly thought that Jean Dujardin's performance as Hubert in the first film was about a perfect as possible for this genre, yet he seems impossibly even more assured and devilishly charming in this second outing. Obviously spoofing on Sean Connery's interpretation of James Bond with more than a little bit of Roger Moore thrown in, Jean Dujardin has the rare gift of being able to play a comically elitist, sexist, overconfident character and actually make it all seem adorable through sheer charm and a touching sense of humanity that escapes through the posturing.
Although the Jean Dejardin is the main attraction here, he is not acting in a vacuum as the rest of the cast all turn in consistently solid work. German-born Rudiger Vogler pulls off the difficult task of playing a comedic-yet-reasonably-intimidating villain with great success, and sultry Reem Kherici is marvellously vampy as the sensuous villainess. Plucky red-head Louise Monot favourably reminds one as a mixture of such Bond heroines as Jill St. John and Barbara Bach, and scruffily funny Alex Lutz seems to be a natural at playing the second banana sidekick. Much like the first film, the cast in ‘OSS 117: RIO NE RÉSPOND PLUS . . .’ all look and sound like they're in a real period spy picture, only they are very funny!
* * * * *
Blu-ray Image Quality – ‘OSS 117: RIO NE RÉPOND PLUS . . .’ Blu-ray disc is totally wonderful! The 1080p image is so well defined that it hints at all the lighting and staging efforts made by the director in order to achieve such a result, especially with the costumes, sets, makeup and beautiful landscapes of Rio and of course the 2.35:1 aspect ratio enhances the image so beautiful. The final scene of the Corcovado rightly deserves the extraordinary vison via this Blu-ray, and manages to deliver the immensity, especially when the two protagonists find themselves in the arms of the Christ the Redeemer statue overlooking Rio de Janeiro. The colours are also well balanced, and the grain is generally quite low. So all in all, Gaumont has done a really sterling job.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – ‘OSS 117: RIO NE RÉPOND PLUS . . .’ brings you once again the 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio experience that creates sparks with deadly accuracy because it provides an airy mix of the signal, which is never overloaded. The overall tone could not be more satisfying with its moods cut with a knife or funniest scenes (exchange of gunfire). The audio track keeps this unconventional side leading to effects that, in light of some recent productions may seem timid, but it is not so, the film is instead a marvel of balance and natural sound.
* * * * *
OSS 117: RIO NE RÉPOND PLUS . . .: Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
Audio Commentary with Michel Hazanvicious and Jean Dujardin [French Audio only]: Co-writers Michel Hazanavicius and Jean-Francois Halin offer some succinct comparisons of how they’ve approached the sequel. In the first film, they point out, the whole world (of the late 1950s, in the waning days of European Colonialism) was racist and backwards; now, in the sequel, that is set a decade later, things have changed radically and it’s just the character, Hubert, who’s racist and backwards. Instead of being representative of his society, OSS 117 is like a fish out of water, a relic of a generation whose old road is rapidly aging, surrounded by a more progressive younger generation primarily embodied by the highly capable female Mossad agent Dolores Kuleshov [Louise Monot], who OSS 117 first assumes to be a secretary. Michel Hazanavicius reveals that after satirising Western views of Arab culture in the first film, the choice for the second was between Jews and blacks, and they chose Jews. I really think he should have included Asians on his list, as they were probably the race most wronged by Euro spy films and a fact that certainly doesn’t go ignored in ‘OSS 117: Lost in Rio.’ He shares that they knew they were walking a fine line, though, and had to be very careful when making or rather having their lead character make anti-Semitic jokes. “We can show a racist and make fun of him. But if we’re going to show a racist, we have to show his racist jokes.” Fortunately, they had Jean Dujardin’s voice in mind this time around, since they were writing the sequel specifically for their original leading man, and that aided them immeasurably in concocting jokes they knew they could get away with. Even so, they seem to have pushed the boundaries of good taste as any proper satire ought to. At a screening I attended followed by a director Q & A, one elderly Jewish gentleman engaged Michel Hazanavicius in a rigorous and awkward debate that sometimes verged on a shouting match. He wanted to know if the writers were Jewish. Michel Hazanavicius insisted that that shouldn’t matter one bit, but eventually conceded that “I wrote it and I am Jewish, so yes.” This satisfied the old man, who then congratulated him on writing a hilarious script. Michel Hazanavicius seemed understandably uncomfortable, and wondered if the complement came just because he was Jewish. The implication certainly seemed to be that it did.
Special Feature: Scène Coupees [Scenes Cut]: Here we get to view seven deleted scenes from the film ‘OSS 117: RIO NE RÉSPOND PLUS . . .’ that director Michel Hazanavicius deemed not suitable for the film. But first we get to view the following:
Présentation De Michel Hazanavicius and Jean Dujardin [2009] [1080p] [1.78:1] [1:36] Here the two discuss their work on the film and talk about what they enjoyed being involved with the film and explain what you are about to view with the following scenes that were cut from the film. No English Subtitles. Now here are the following deleted scenes:
Il N’Y A Pas De Danse Plus Ragaillardissante Que Le Yéyé! [2009] [1080p] [1.37:1] [0:19]
Un Nazi, C’Est Une Chance [2009] [1080p] [1.37:1] [0:57]
Si J’ai Envie, Moi, D’être Sous-Ex? [2009] [1080p] [1.37:1] [0:36]
J’ai Oublié Ma Guitare [2009] [1080p] [1.37:1] [1:31]
Je Ne Réfléchio Pas, Moi, J’Agis [2009] [1080p] [1.37:1] [0:15]
Des Glaces À La Banane! [2009] [1080p] [1.37:1] [0:52]
Ce Dernier Mot Sera Votre Dernier Mot [2009] [1080p] [1.37:1] [0:52]
Special Feature: Making of: Here we get to view two behind-the-scenes special features relating to the film ‘OSS 117: RIO NE RÉSPOND PLUS . . .’ and they are as follows:
OSS 117: Cavalcade Á Rio [2009] [1080p] [1.78:1] [24:20] It is a well slick and well put together in-depth documentary and is more insightful than your typical Behind-the-Scene look at the film and involving lots of clips. I suspect, given its length, that it was conceived as a promotional tool when the film came out, and it is no fluff piece. We get to view the exotic film location of Rio de Janeiro. The people involved with the film who talk about the film and how they wanted the film to look a certain style. Also inform us how they enjoyed filming in Rio de Janeiro. No English Subtitles. Contributors include: Jean Dujardin [OOS 117], Michel Hazanavicius [Réalisateur], Louise Monot [Dolores], Guillaume Schiffman [Director de la Photographie], Rudiger Vogler [Heinrich] and Maamar Ech-Cheikh [Chef Décorateur].
Special Feature: Jean Dujardin Fait Son Show [2009] [1080p] [1.78:1] [3:03] Here we get to view more madcap behind-the-scene filming of ‘OSS 117: RIO NE RÉPOND PLUS . . .’ and viewing all the antics that went on while filming and especially viewing lots of the actor Jean Dujardin being a bit silly while showing of his muscular physic as much as possible, like a peacock. No English Subtitles.
Special Feature: Téléphones: Here we get to view ten short deleted scenes from the film ‘OSS 117: RIO NE RÉPOND PLUS . . .’ that includes lots of the actors talking on the telephone and there is no English Subtitles and they are as follows:
Dolorès Koulechov to Statman [2009] [1080p] [1.37:1] [0:52]
OSS 117 to Bill Trumendous [2009] [1080p] [1.37:1] [0:34]
OOS 117 to Armand Lesignac [2009] [1080p] [1.37:1] [0:57]
Bill Trumendous to Colonel [2009] [1080p] [1.37:1] [0:24]
Dolorès Koulechov to Kutner [2009] [1080p] [1.37:1] [0:25]
Statman to Commandant Schifman [2009] [1080p] [1.37:1] [0:58]
Armand Lesignac to Premier Ministre [2009] [1080p] [1.37:1] [0:58]
Bill Trumendous to Linda [2009] [1080p] [1.37:1] [0:31]
Colonel to Sa Femme [2009] [1080p] [1.37:1] [0:39]
OSS 117 to Pichard [2009] [1080p] [1.37:1] [0:56]
Special Feature: Bétisier [Bloopers] [2009] [1080p] [1.37:1] [11:06] At just over eleven minutes, this gag reel definitely outstays its welcome. It consists mostly of Jean Dujardin cracking himself up, which is amusing the first few times you view this, Jean Dujardin and other actors you hear strong swearing, and you hear Jean Dujardin a plethora of line flubs that probably and definitely lose some of their humour in translation. No English Subtitles.
Special Feature: La Province Ne ‘OSS 117: RIO NE RÉPOND PLUS . . .’ De Rein! [2009] [1080p] [1.78:1] [11:06] Here we get to view the Film Premiere of ‘OSS 117: RIO NE RÉPOND PLUS . . .’ at different cinema locations and of course we get the usual Q&A sessions from the audiences to the director, cast and crew who are up in front of the screen and a jolly fine time was had by all. When the director, cast and crew arrive each time, the crowds go wild with excitement. The cinemas they visit are in France and they are Cinemas Forum, Gaumont in Rennes, UGC Ciné Cité Lille, Kinepolis in Lomme, Méga Cinéma CGR Colmar and Cinéma Casino du Lac à Gérardmer. Contributors include: Jean Dujardin, Michel Hazanavicius, Louise Monot, Reem Kherici, Ken Samuels and Alex Lutz. No English Subtitles.
Teasers [2009] [1080p] [2.35:1] [3:05] Here we get to view four Original Theatrical Trailers for the film ‘OSS 117: RIO NE RÉPOND PLUS . . .’ No English Subtitles.
Bande-Annonce [2009] [1080p] [2.35:1] [2:16] Here we get to view the much longer Original Theatrical Trailer for the film ‘OSS 117: RIO NE RÉPOND PLUS . . .’ No English Subtitles.
Finally, ‘OSS 117: RIO NE RÉPOND PLUS . . .’ [‘OSS 117: Lost in Rio’] delivers such absurdities; the film creates and sustains its own limited world. Expecting much more, especially the plot coherence or strong character development, would miss the point. OSS 117, like James Bond, is more a concept than an actual person: he's an incarnation of self-absorbed suavity, played to comic effect. Even when he's only intermittently funny, it's hard not to wonder what he'll do next. The film's humour remains hit-and-miss, and he often lets a scene drift awkwardly before cutting away, undermining the big laughs he has developed within it. Still, let us be grateful that there are big laughs to be had, and Lost in Riom with scenes like the crocodile barbecue or a painfully slow hospital chase and is occasionally inspired. ‘OSS 117: RIO NE RÉPOND PLUS . . .’ is an even more goofier film and pushes the envelope even further than the original, with is one of the best feature-length spy spoofs ever no less, which makes you really yearn for a third OSS 117 parody film to complete the trilogy, maybe this time set in the seventies, especially as long as the gorgeous Jean Dujardin is involved. So all in all a total honour to add this Double Feature to my ever increasing Blu-ray Collection, on top of all that the discs are held in 2 beautiful designed printed Blu-ray Case and if you want something very tongue in cheek and quirky comedy to boot, then this brilliant Blu-ray is for you and you will not be at all disappointed. Overall, despite both Blu-ray discs are in French, you will still have a brilliant time viewing these very unique and different spy spoof type, especially as you get English Subtitles. Very Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
