Blood Relatives
1977
A homicide investigator must bring all his faculties to this case. A family that has grown too close must pay the price of sin when the most intimate act becomes an act of murder. Read more
| Starring | Donald Sutherland, David Hemmings, Donald Pleasence, Aude Landry |
|---|---|
| Director | Claude Chabrol |
| Genres | Drama |
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Blood Relatives
A homicide investigator must bring all his faculties to this case. A family that has grown too close must pay the price of sin when the most intimate act becomes an act of murder.
| Starring | Donald Sutherland, David Hemmings, Donald Pleasence, Aude Landry, Lisa Langlois, Stephane Audran |
|---|---|
| Director | Claude Chabrol |
| Studio | ITV DVD |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 31 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Drama |
| Language | English |
| Hearing-impaired | English |
| Released | DVD: 31 Jan 2000 Production year: 1977 |
| Format | DVD |
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Critics' reviews (3)
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Adapted from an Ed McBain novel, this is directed by the French master Claude Chabrol with a sharp eye for the middle-class hypocrisies of a Canadian community. Donald Sutherland is the detective investigating the assault and murder of a young Montreal girl, with accusations and confessions flying thick and fast, though it's only in the film's final section that there's any real tension. For the rest — astonishingly for Chabrol — it's actually a little wooden and flat.
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Dull psychological thriller, with stock characters and showing none of the flair that Chabrol has exhibited when examining the French middle classes under pressure.
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Most helpful member's review
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5 out of 7 people found this review helpful
Good viewing for people who enjoy television
This is an enjoyable TV-grade murder mystery, possibly of interest to people who like programs like Law & Order. It's tempting to say the acting is poor, but to be fair to the actors, it's hard to judge since most of the voices have been dubbed over (despite the fact that the original mouthwork was obviously performed in English)and this could very well be creating the illusion of poor acting. The voice of the girl at the centre of the mystery is particularly bad. She's 14 years old and her voice sounds like a middle-aged woman trying to sound like a young girl. Not only that, the voice over-acts while the body doesn't, and it's all very distracting. It isn't up to Chabrol's usual standard, to say the least. Some European directors seem unable to access their talent when working on an English language production. Have you seen Bergman's 'The Touch'? How embarrassing. It was like a moment of delirium in the middle of an otherwise exemplary career.
I recommend this film only as a decent murder mystery for people who enjoy that genre on TV.
If it is measured against Chabrol's other films, it is nothing less than a disaster. -
Most recent members' review
View all -
5 out of 7 people found this review helpful
Good viewing for people who enjoy television
This is an enjoyable TV-grade murder mystery, possibly of interest to people who like programs like Law & Order. It's tempting to say the acting is poor, but to be fair to the actors, it's hard to judge since most of the voices have been dubbed over (despite the fact that the original mouthwork was obviously performed in English)and this could very well be creating the illusion of poor acting. The voice of the girl at the centre of the mystery is particularly bad. She's 14 years old and her voice sounds like a middle-aged woman trying to sound like a young girl. Not only that, the voice over-acts while the body doesn't, and it's all very distracting. It isn't up to Chabrol's usual standard, to say the least. Some European directors seem unable to access their talent when working on an English language production. Have you seen Bergman's 'The Touch'? How embarrassing. It was like a moment of delirium in the middle of an otherwise exemplary career.
I recommend this film only as a decent murder mystery for people who enjoy that genre on TV.
If it is measured against Chabrol's other films, it is nothing less than a disaster. -
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A homicide investigator must bring all his faculties to this case. A family that has grown too close must pay the price of sin when the most intimate act becomes an act of murder.... -