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Les Diaboliques Reviews

1954

70
from 6483 members

The greatest film that Alfred Hitchcock never made, Henri-Georges Clouzot's Diabolique is set in a provincial boarding school run by headmaster Michel Delasalle (Paul Meurisse). A ruthless lothario, he becomes the target of a murder plot concocted by his long-suffering invalid wife Christina (Vera Clouzot, the director's own .. Read more

Starring	Simone Signoret, Vera Clouzot, Jean Brochard, Charles Vanel
Director	Henri-Georges Clouzot
Genres	Drama, World Cinema

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Most helpful member's review of Les Diaboliques
View all members' reviews (81)
- - 31
  - 2
  Clouzot's Best?
  
  The wife and mistress of a bullying headmaster of a private school plot together to murder their tormentor by drowning him in a bath. They hide the body where ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 2552
- [Highly rated reviewer]
  - a customer
  - Leamington Spa
  - 26 Feb 2004 at 20:06
Most recent members' reviews of Les Diaboliques
View all members' reviews (81)
- - 0
  - 0
  No doubt a benchmark in cinematic creation
  
  Make no mistake, in the context of when it was made this is a great film, although inevitably it has dated and the plot does contain discrepancies within its ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 1049675
- - Retto
  - 9 reviews
  - 10 Oct 2011 at 00:19
- - 0
  - 0
  Quelle Horreur!
  
  The film begins boldly - can it live up to this scariest of music (it does) but ends too quickly and neatly. But the ending is its only flaw. The plot is ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 1036540
- - canininity
  - 6 reviews
  - 03 Sep 2011 at 15:53
- - 0
  - 0
  Far from diabolical film
  
  Had read the good reports so this film had a lot to live up to ansd beleive me it didn't let me down. The scene is perfectly set, the atmosphere the acting ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 1031983
- - gothic
  - 71 reviews
  - Craigavon
  - 21 Aug 2011 at 18:53
- - 1
  - 0
  Murder Most Horrid
  
  If you went back 10 years and told my former self that I would watch and enjoy a slice of French film noir from the 1950s, I would have looked upon you with ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 1021521
- - Samoza
  - 171 reviews
  - Reading
  - 25 Jul 2011 at 15:54
- - 0
  - 0
  Not as Good as the Remake
  
  I finally got around to seeing the original, after watching the remake, 'Diabolique', about a hundred times (it's one of my favorite films). I must ... read more »
  
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- 1019738
- - a customer
  - 20 Jul 2011 at 20:34
- - 0
  - 0
  Brilliant
  
  I loved this movie. It's rich in detail and character and the story is more Hitchcockian than Hitchcock but sexier.
  
  Report this review
- 1016438
- - a customer
  - Pimlico
  - 12 Jul 2011 at 21:03
- - 0
  - 0
  Darker than Hitchcock
  
  Set in a seedy boy's boarding school outside Paris in the 1950s, les Diaboliques ('The Fiends') is a thriller with a truly shocking finale. Even ... read more »
  
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- 1012676
- - Electricvic
  - 66 reviews
  - London
  - 03 Jul 2011 at 22:11
- - 0
  - 0
  Definitely worth seeing
  
  THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS | Show review anywayHide
  
  This may be nearly 60 years old but it is a top suspense movie. Most modern films have guessable endings but this one keeps you in suspenders til the end. Well ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 969435
- - a customer
  - Nottingham
  - 02 Mar 2011 at 18:22
- - 0
  - 0
  Original Diabolique
  
  Seemed to start slowly with what I felt wasn't the best acting but gradually snowballed into a dark thriller with great acting and characterisations ... read more »
  
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- 954659
- [Highly rated reviewer]
  - ShaunOShaun
  - 3 reviews
  - London
  - 17 Jan 2011 at 19:33
- - 0
  - 0
  Wicked french in the mid 20thC
  
  Enjoyed the twist, always love a good twist that I havent seen coming.
  
  Acting from this era always seems a bit melodramatic or overdone, but the wife... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 952978
- - rabbit1969
  - 42 reviews
  - Cambridge, England
  - 12 Jan 2011 at 12:15
View all members' reviews (81)

- - 31
  - 2
  Clouzot's Best?
  
  The wife and mistress of a bullying headmaster of a private school plot together to murder their tormentor by drowning him in a bath. They hide the body where ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 2552
- [Highly rated reviewer]
  - a customer
  - Leamington Spa
  - 26 Feb 2004 at 20:06
- - 14
  - 1
  Forget Hollywood Horror
  
  This is the scariest film ever made, and not a blood-spurting decapitated head or gore of any kind in sight. This film brilliantly creates a sense of menace and... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 300275
- - sam19661
  - South Yorkshire
  - 26 Feb 2004 at 16:22
- - 11
  - 1
  A classic French Movie!
  
  Simone Signoret (of French acting Royalty!) and Vera Clouzot star in this brilliant French movie of love and betrayal. It's a dark, incredibly shot and ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 296078
- - JKmoviebuff
  - London
  - 03 Dec 2003 at 11:37
- - 10
  - 2
  I now know why they say the original was so much better
  
  I have seen the 90's remake with Sharon Stone and saw why they cast her but it just didn't work as well.
  
  I found it amazing that despite its ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 5789
- - a customer
  - Belfast, Northern Ireland
  - 12 May 2004 at 18:50
- - 7
  - 0
  The best thriller ever
  
  As a person for whom black and white french movies hold little allure (I thought jules et jim was deathly dull) I first watched les diabolique with a mixture ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 309827
- - SteveyGee
  - South Yorkshire
  - 20 Sep 2004 at 20:23
- - 9
  - 6
  Foreign Film Noir
  
  This film is often copied but never equaled. Forget the horrible Sharon Stone, Kathy Bates remake in the 90's. This is the true classic. The acting and ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 2228
- - K Chawgo
  - London England
  - 21 Feb 2004 at 12:27
- - 6
  - 0
  Columbo Wins Again
  
  This is a beautiful film. It is striking, original and it engages you from the beginning with Gallic panache and confidence. That is, until you reach the ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 7047
- - a customer
  - Chichester
  - 04 Jun 2004 at 09:23
- - 4
  - 0
  It was a good film and...
  
  It was a good film and obviously a classic of the genre. I guessed the twist pretty early on but the performances are good and I could imagine it being ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 42113
- - Duncan#5
  - EDINBURGH
  - 25 Jul 2004 at 14:06
- - 4
  - 0
  Classic terror
  
  This film, much copied since, is a classic of suspense and terror.
  
  The viewer is swept along with the fear of the principal character, Madame ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 310880
- - Dagobert
  - London
  - 06 Oct 2004 at 17:05
- - 2
  - 0
  A gripping film
  
  I first saw this film many years ago when it fascinated me to the extent that I felt I had to see it again. I was not disappointed especially as I had ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 17927
- - Hugh Craig
  - Leicester UK
  - 12 Sep 2004 at 15:45

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Buy from Amazon.co.uk

- - Buy
- Les Diaboliques - Blu-ray
  
  In this heralded French terror classic by director-screenwriter Henri-Georges Clouzot, the wife (Vera Clouzot) of a boys-school headmaster (Paul Merisse) tires of his violent treatment of her, along with his philandering, and teams up with his mistress (Simone Signoret) to drown him and make it ...

- - Buy
- Les Diaboliques
  
  The greatest film that Alfred Hitchcock never made, Henri-Georges Clouzot's Diabolique is set in a provincial boarding school run by headmaster Michel Delasalle (Paul Meurisse). A ruthless lothario, he becomes the target of a murder plot concocted by his long-suffering invalid wife Christina (Vera ...