Le Quai Des Brumes (Port of Shadows)

There’s something magical about the process of discovering a great new movie. Sometimes it comes from simple exposure, channel surfing to see what is on TCM or another movie channel. Sometimes it’s a simple recommendation. Other times, you encounter a magnetic actor in a wonderful film and want to see more of their work. My discovery of Port of Shadows some twenty-plus years ago falls into the latter camp.

In college, I discovered one of my all-time favorite films, La Grande Ilusion, and I saw Jean Gabin deliver an impeccable performance. Interested in finding more of this intense actor's work, I eventually found my way to Marcel Carné’s 1938 noir Port of Shadows. It’s so mysterious and atmospheric that it immediately commands your attention. Then it takes you on quite the emotional journey.

Jean Gabin is Jean, a deserter who hitches a ride into the port city of Le Havre. Followed by a stray dog, he’s simply looking for a way out of service and to take control of his own destiny. But even as he evades serving his country, he has a penchant for helping those in need, even if it gets him into trouble. Thus, he finds himself drawn into the sordid and deadly world of young and beautiful Nelly (Michèlle Morgan), her “guardian” Zabel (the ever-gravely Michel Simon), and an upstart wannabe gangster Lucian (Pierre Brasseur). 

So I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with Film Noir as a genre. I love so many of the films; there are so many iconic, genuine classics that populate that field that it’s nearly impossible to single out a favorite. The list would be long. I love these films. But, where I have a little bit of hate for them comes from the understanding that very rarely do these films turn out with anything resembling a happy ending. A character might come out alive or morally in the right, but there’s often an intense amount of tragedy in their journey. 

That’s where I rest on Port of Shadows. While not strictly a dedicated Film Noir feature, it should be considered an early entry in the subgenre; its influence is certainly felt. I discovered this film some twenty years ago in that quest to experience more Jean Gabin films, and I don’t think I’ve revisited it since. That’s not a statement on the film’s quality; it’s just how emotionally gutting it was. Jean Gabin is at his most affable here. One moment, he’s ready to pick a fight; the next, he’s ready to make friends. One moment, he’s ready to skip town and start a new life free from the responsibility of service; the next, he’s ready to go to war for the honor of a young woman. It’s a film that celebrates these little joys of freedom and human kindness, but is also keenly aware of life’s cruel little tragedies. But not every film needs to have a full-on happy ending to be great. And this is a great film, make no mistake. 

Vital Disc Stats: The Blu-ray
Port of Shadows (Le Quai Des Brumes) earns a fully restored Blu-ray release as part of StudioCanal’s growing Vintage World Cinema collection. The film is pressed on a Region B BD50 disc, which means that for those of us in the States who want to add this film to their collections, you’ll need a Region Free player. We were only issued a review check disc for this coverage, but packaging should include a standard case and slipcover; that’s been the scheme with a number of these releases. The disc loads to a language menu before arriving at a static image main menu with basic navigation options. 

Before I get into the specifics of what I thought of this transfer, here’s the note we got with the Press Release about the restoration: “The new 4K restoration was carried out at the Transperfect laboratory using a combination of the film’s incomplete original negative and a 1938 standard nitrate fine grain. Colour grading referenced a vintage 35mm nitrate print to faithfully capture Eugène Schüfftan’s haunting cinematography and honour Alexandre Trauner’s iconic set design.” 

And for a film that’s nearly 90 years old, this is an incredible restoration effort. Outside of a few spots that are a tad softer or appear to have other elements added to complete the film, it looks immaculate. Details are sharp and clear, there’s a nice veneer of tightly rendered film grain. There’s minimal print damage or age-related issues to distract you. The grayscale is gorgeous, with rich, deep blacks and brilliant whites, and is a true example of Film Noir and how lighting can visually buttress the film's themes. 

On the audio front, we have a solid French DTS-HD MA 2.0 mono track with English subtitles. Overall, the dialog is clear, the music cues are on point, and the key sound effects and ambiance are well-appointed. Throughout the vast majority of the film, everything sounds pretty damn great, again, for a nearly ninety-year-old feature. My only slight issue is that there can be a bit of sibilant hiss during some of the dialog exchanges, but these moments are not distracting. 

While I would have been happy with a simple upgrade in A/V quality for a lovely film, StudioCanal added their grace to the disc with a fine selection of extras. At the top of the pack is a terrific hour-long look at the making of the film from its origins as a novel to the production to the rather spicy reception by censors and reedits. The Alternate Credits is a notable moment in that regard, as an opening scrolling text details the restoration effort, and the history of the film’s multiple edits and releases, because at the time, they were trying to appease both French and German censors and regulators. There’s a nice, brief piece with author Ginette Vincendeau. Rounding out the extras package is a terrific appreciation piece featuring various French cinema luminaries and their reflections on the film.

• The Poetry of Misfortune (HD 58:12)
• Alternate Credits (HD 3:50)
• Introduction by Ginette Vincendeau (HD 6:24)
• On the Dock (HD 44:09)

Port of Shadows is just damned good filmmaking. You have a great director mining the talents of a great cast, working with an impressive multi-dimensional script, all captured with brilliantly atmospheric cinematography. I often worry about over-praising films of a certain vintage, as many film viewers of a certain age sadly just don’t go in for films that are over thirty years old, let alone nearly ninety. It’s not that I see that effort fatalistically; it’s more that I don’t want to risk overselling a film and have someone’s expectations not live up to the hype I generated. If anything, I want to undersell so that an individual might be excited to check out more films by a certain director or featuring a certain actor. 

Port of Shadows is an example of that. I don’t want to oversell it as a signature example of French cinema or the Film Noir genre, but it is both. I’m glad to have revisited this one again. Truthfully, I should have had the review out a week ago, but Port of Shadows is one that just stuck in my brain, and I needed some days to think about how the hell I was even going to approach it. In that time, I watched it again, not as part of an assignment or to take notes, but just to absorb it. I needed to connect back to the feeling of that first time I saw this film so many years ago, so I could try to impart to newcomers just how rich the film was. I hope to some degree I did that. Thanks to StudioCanal, the film earns a new Blu-ray release that is positively immaculate. It’s not often we get to see films from this era return to disc looking and sounding this good. Usually, there are a number of age-related faults or things to point out, but watching through this check disc twice now, all I can note are mild quibbles that are barely worth mentioning. If you love great filmmaking, if you love world cinema, if you love early Film Noir features, check out Port of Shadows. Highly Recommended

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