THE CRIMSON RIVERS is one of my favorite movies (starring Jean Reno). It is an intense crime thriller that keeps moving with all the clues in plain sight with a twist at the end of the movie (not dwelled on too much because the director wanted to keep the movie moving forward). The novel is based on the novel by Jean-Christophe Grange (who also co-wrote the screenplay). THE CRIMSON RIVERS spawned a sequel and a TV series. The movie has some beautiful locations mixed with some great cinematography (some done with a happy accident due to the camera lens getting foggy due to how cold it was at night which adds to one of the scenes).

The story follows Comissaire Pierre Niemans (Jean Reno) who is called to a remote French Alps university town to investigate a grisly murder. He uncovers secrets and lies as more murders happen. His case collides with another case being investigated in the nearby town of Sarzac by Detective Inspector Max Kerkerian (Vincent Cassel). The two must work together to solve the crimes before it is too late when both Niemans and Max like to work alone (and Niemans doesn't care to share information on the case). THE CRIMSON RIVERS still stands up after all of these years since I last watched it. I hope Kino Lorber does release the sequel THE CRIMSON RIVERS: ANGELS OF THE APOCALYPSE.

SPECIAL FEATURES:
Audio commentary by Director Mathieu Kassovitz, and stars Jean Reno and Vincent Cassel

THE INVESTIGATOR- 52 minute making-of documentary about the making of THE CRIMSON RIVERS about how they changed things from the book and regretfully cut a character out while rewriting the script as they filmed the movie

Featurettes:
THE CORPSE (26:42)- behind-the-scenes look at how the corpse sequence was created and filmed.
THE CAR CHASE (9:17)- find out how they created the car chase late in the movie
MOUNTAIN SEQUENCE (10:42)- a look at the locations used for the mountain sequences and the unsafe conditions that kept the actors on their toes.

Theatrical trailer for THE CRIMSON RIVERS
Previews for NARROW MARGIN, THE UNDERNEATH, EASTERN PROMISES, THE HOT SPOT

The things that didn't port over from the Sony Pictures DVD are the filmographies, the production notes, and the DVD insert interview with director Mathieu Kassovitz

FINAL ANALYSIS: It was great rewatching THE CRIMSON RIVERS after so many years. I hope Kino Lorber gets (or already has) the rights to the sequel because I also want THE CRIMSON RIVERS: ANGELS OF THE APOCALPYSE on blu-ray. And speaking of Gaumont produced movies starring Jean Reno, I wonder if WASABI or EMPIRE OF THE WOLVES is coming soon on blu-ray from Kino Lorber.

This review is ©3-23-2023 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission. Send all comments to feedback@enterline-media.com