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IMDb > Que la bête meure (1969)

Que la bête meure (1969) More at IMDbPro »

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Overview

User Rating:
7.9/10   898 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 16% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Claude Chabrol
Writers:
Nicholas Blake (novel)
Claude Chabrol (dialogue)
(more)
Contact:
View company contact information for Que la bête meure on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
20 October 1970 (USA) more
Genre:
Drama | Crime | Thriller more
User Comments:
Multi-layered and intelligent revenge drama more

Cast

  (in credits order) (verified as complete)
Michel Duchaussoy ... Charles Thenier
Caroline Cellier ... Helene Lanson
Jean Yanne ... Paul Decourt
Anouk Ferjac ... Jeanne Decourt
Marc Di Napoli ... Phillippe Decourt
Louise Chevalier ... Madame Levenes
Guy Marly ... Jacques Ferrand
Lorraine Rainer ... Anna Ferrand
Dominique Zardi ... Police inspector
Stéphane Di Napoli ... Michel Thenier
Raymone ... La mère de Paul
Michel Charrel ... Le casseur
France Girard
Bernard Papineau
Robert Rondo ... Le garagiste
Jacques Masson ... Le fils du paysan
Georges Charrier ... Le chauffeur de taxi
Maurice Pialat ... Police Inspector
Jean-Louis Maury ... Le paysan
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Directed by
Claude Chabrol 
 
Writing credits
(in alphabetical order)
Nicholas Blake  novel "The Beast Must Die"
Claude Chabrol  dialogue
Claude Chabrol  screenplay
Paul Gégauff  dialogue
Paul Gégauff  screenplay

Produced by
André Génovès .... producer
 
Original Music by
Pierre Jansen 
 
Cinematography by
Jean Rabier 
 
Film Editing by
Jacques Gaillard 
 
Production Design by
Guy Littaye 
 
Makeup Department
Louis Bonnemaison .... makeup artist
 
Production Management
Georges Casati .... production manager
 
Sound Department
Guy Chichignoud .... sound engineer
Monique Fardoulis .... sound editor
 
Camera and Electrical Department
Claude Zidi .... camera operator
 
Music Department
André Girard .... musical director
Dominique Zardi .... composer: song "La Terre"
 

Production CompaniesDistributors
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Killer!
The Beast Must Die
This Man Must Die
Ucciderò un uomo (Italy)
Accidente sin huella (Spain) [es]
Das Biest muß sterben (West Germany) [de]
Na pethanei to ktinos (Greece) (festival title) [el]
Que la bestia muera (Argentina) [es]
Requiem para Um Desconhecido (Portugal) [pt]
Tämän miehen on kuoltava (Finland) [fi]
more
Runtime:
110 min
Country:
France | Italy
Language:
French
Color:
Color (Eastmancolor)
Sound Mix:
Mono
Certification:
Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 | Sweden:11 | USA:GP | Argentina:13 | UK:15 (original rating) | UK:12 (DVD rating) (2005)
Filming Locations:
Brittany, France more

Fun Stuff

Movie Connections:
Featured in Le cinéma passe à table (2005) (TV) more
Soundtrack:
Vier ernste Gesänge more

FAQ

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3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful:-
Multi-layered and intelligent revenge drama, 12 August 2008
Author: AdnanZ from thecinemajournal.blogspot.com

Following a number of fairly mediocre efforts from the early to late sixties, Chabrol got right back on track with the excellent "Le Biches", and followed that film with "Que la bête meure", an intensely involving revenge drama with the emphasis on psychology and character over action and violence.

The film opens like any revenge thriller would (albeit probably better-shot and acted than most of them), with a child being killed in a hit and run and his father vowing to track down and kill the perpetrator. The tale slowly becomes more and more psychological, however, and ends up being a variation on a Greek tragedy, as others have noted. Chabrol is rarely content with following the expected routine (when he is his films can be dismal), and "Que la bête meure" is far from routine, as we end up spending more than an hour with the all the main characters in place and even together most of the time. The script is carefully written to avoid plot issues (outside of the contrived and silly first clue the main character gets, I can't think of any major issues I had with the script), and the dialogue is as deliberately orchestrated as Chabrol's direction is, building the suspense and drama gradually.

After the nearly continuous camera motion in "Les Biches", Chabrol takes a different approach to this film. It's less stylized and more natural, with the shot composition never feeling contrived as it sometimes did in Chabrol's immediately preceding effort, although there is some very good and very deliberate work around when we first meet the villain. Chabrol also uses close-ups to great effect, particularly in the scene late in the film with Paul and Charles on a sail boat.

What is striking about "Que la bête meure" is that while it deliberately builds suspense it also refuses to work as a thriller, and this is most clearly seen towards the end of the film when we get the standard twists but they're so subtle and low-key that one barely pays attention to them. The plot doesn't really matter here, the film is about much more, about the moral implications of revenge, about the nature of man, and it does well to apply these preoccupations to its characters so that we are never far removed from the emotions they are going through, in particular the main character Charles, played by Michel Duchaussoy.

After a string of disappointing features the last two years of the sixties saw two strong efforts from Claude Chabrol which helped keep him as relevant to cinema as he is. "Que la bête meure" is not a perfect film, and it may not even necessarily be a great film (although I think it qualifies), but it is engaging and enjoyable and far from empty. It leaves one thinking about it well after it has finished playing.

8.5/10

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