View Full Version : The Sicilian Clan (Les Clan des Siciliens)
Anyone here seen this movie?
I was fascinated for years by Ennio Morricone's score long before I managed to track it down and was impressed immensely upon watching it. I managed to catch a rare theatrical showing at the beginning of 2002 (I believe in tribute to the director who'd recently died).
Anyway. I've been aching to see it again but still no sniff of a DVD release, not even sure if it's ever been released on P&S VHS.
Alain Delon, Jean Gabin, 'scope photography, great score, great dubbing. It’s a classic euro thriller in all respects. From the opening 'jail' break to the ingenious diamond robbery. I only wish I'd wrote more stuff about it when the cinema screening was still fresh in my mind.
So...
Anyone know anything about this movie. Which studio owns it, for one?! Has it ever been release on VHS retail or screened on TV?
Excellent film with a fantastic score. It will be released in France in june along with a lot of other Delon classics, most likely in the correct aspect ratio but i couldn't find any other specifications yet, so i assume they might be all french only without english subtitles.
This was released by Fox in (I think) 1988 as part of "gangster films" collection, although for the life of me I can't recall any of the other films (IIRC there were four in total). I remember that the vid was pan&scan and dubbed.
I've just checked on BlackStar and it appears that Fox re-released it again 1990 on video. To my surprise this video is still available at a price £9.99 or for just under £20 if you purchase it with Melville's 'Un Flic'.
Rex Trueform
29-05-2003, 13:30
As mentioned, the film was afforded a British release on tape. I have a feeling that I may have a dupe of this salted away somewhere, and my memory is inclined to agree on the cropping and the dubbing. No doubt the market would have tolerated nothing more at the time.
The film, of which I also have fond memories (and I do agree on that wonderful music), has been broadcast on British television at least once, as that is where I first saw it. This would also have been years ago, and I am certain that it was courtesy of the good old Beeb.
Gary Couzens
29-05-2003, 18:59
Yes it has been on TV, Rex - I was in secondary school at the time, so this would have been prior to 1983. And it was on the BBC - I'm fairly certain Channel 4 didn't exist then, so that would make it before November 1982.
http://www.cityonfire.com/gZa/sc.jpg http://www.cityonfire.com/gZa/scb.jpg
Region 2 PAL Anamorphic 2.35:1 :thumbs:
Alas the great English dub is not included. Yet they include Italian and German dubs! :suspect:
And there's subtitles ahoy APART from English. :oh-hum:
How ironic that my first (and only) viewing of this was in a French funded cinema that actually apologised that they were screening the English dubbed print when I bought my ticket! :mad:
Only for me to be pleasant surprised by the high quality of it.
Sigh... So English monoglots get the shaft! http://www.thedvdforums.com/forums/images/icons/cry[1].gif
Jurassic Park !! :clap:
I ordered it together with 7 other Delon releases from amazon.fr without knowing any details (subs, aspect ration, dubs) as they were only €15 each. Glad to see the gamble paid off because i can read german subtitles much better than french ones :D
Rex Trueform
20-06-2003, 11:55
Originally posted by Garry Cowell
Sigh... So English monoglots get the shaft! http://www.thedvdforums.com/forums/images/icons/cry[1].gif
On pourrait dire que c'est exactement ce qu'ils méritent, mon vieux haricot! ;)
However, those French johnnies do make a nasty habit of this practice. I believe that rights issues may play a part in certain cases, with English dubs and/or subtitles being the preserve of rights-holders in other territories.
Glenn Erickson, in passing, touched on this very matter in a footnote to a recent review (http://www.dvdtalk.com/dvdsavant/s854paris.html) in his DVD Savant column.
If Fox ever gets down to doing a DVD of The Sicilian Clan, I hope they use the original French track. It leaves Italians, French and Canadians speaking their correct tongues or trying their best in non-native languages. Language differences, bad communication and talking about people right in front of them are important plot points in the film. When dubbed all into English, a lot of it just doesn't make sense.
It is many year since I saw the film (and then, I suspect, in an English dub, with any nuances probably lost on me), but could the chap have a point here?
Originally posted by Rex Trueform
It is many year since I saw the film (and then, I suspect, in an English dub, with any nuances probably lost on me), but could the chap have a point here? Hmmm... Now I think about it...maybe...but not to an extent to which I honestly noticed. As one cannot help to...with say... something like the horrendously stupid English dub of <i>Way of the Dragon</i>. :gag:
And when I mention excellent English dubbing, I say in the sense it was more <I>For A Few Dollars More</i> than <I>Django</i>. :D
Lip sync was surprisingly good (I'd swear they were mouthing English) and more importantly voices sounded <b>right</b>.
Anyhow I'd still have bought this DVD if it had English subs. Alas we'll have to wait and hope the UK release is wise enough to include French and English dubs & subs.
Well it you wait around for 5 years for an English friendly release and three come along at once!!!
I've just spotted a HK release here (http://global.yesasia.com/assocred.asp?LU83C65N+http://global.yesasia.com/en/PrdDept.aspx/code-w/section-videos/pid-1004694920/), the Russians have a version out here (http://www.thedvdforums.com/jump2.php?url=http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000E1E2JA/thedvdforums-20) and Play (http://www.thedvdforums.com/jump2.php?url=http://playcom.at/thedvdforums?DURL=http://www.play.com/DVD/DVD/4-/3336798/-/Product.html) have it listed in R2 (UK) land for the 18th June 2007. :clap: :D
I think I'll hang on for the UK release unless I find out it only got the English dub and not French Dub with English Subs.
Moving to World Cinema & DVD Forum
Gary Couzens
03-04-2007, 18:53
And according to the BFI database that TV showing I referred to above and four years ago was on BBC1 on 3 February 1980.
Now let's hope we get more Verneuil, "I comme... Icare" for example.
Pherlygwen
06-04-2007, 15:14
This is excellent news! I have known about the Russian release for a while but have decided to wait and hope for a newer one to come along, preferably from the UK. :)
I just hope it won't be a dubbed in English only release - now that would be a major let down.
JoelCairo
18-04-2007, 17:38
It is many year since I saw the film (and then, I suspect, in an English dub, with any nuances probably lost on me), but could the chap have a point here?
I saw the film twice when it was on general release. (I also bought the LP and I still have it.) The dialogue was entirely English language and I did not sense I was missing anything. Ideally we need a DVD with twin soundtracks to enable us to compare! I hope the various Internet vendors specify both the aspect ratio and language details as soon as possible.
Any definitive info on the language (and subs) details yet?
Hm, this doesn't look good.
http://www.discshop.se/shop/coverview.php?id=62449&side=back
Hmmmm it states this over at Amazon..
# DVD Features:
* Main Language: French
* Available Audio Tracks: Dolby Digital
* Sub Titles: English
* Interactive menu
I can't say if I'm happy or sad, the purist in me tells me the French with English Subs is the way to go but the version I fell in love with at the cinema was the English dub and unless I was on crack at the time, I thought it was a really good dub, more along the lines with the English dubbing of For A Few Dollars More than say Django.
EDIT: Just realised I've repeated exactly what I said (regarding the quality of the dubbing) back in the post above from 2003. :nuts:
mrwilson
17-08-2007, 17:46
I bought this version, but sadly haven't had time to watch it yet. The listing says English. If it turns out to be wrong I'll post back.
http://www.dddhouse.com/v3/product_details.php?ProductID=6634
mrwilson
21-08-2007, 00:05
Ok, I watched this dvd last night. PQ is pretty good. A touch of EE noticable on my 106" screen. But overall very nice. IMBD lists OSL as Italian, French and English. I concur. Some actors were obviously speaking English and in their own voice. Alain Delon being one of them. Some were obviously dubbed over in English. Jean Gabin probably was dubbed. Some lines looked like he was speaking english but most didn't. Much like most of the Leone films. Very enjoyable and highly recommended, especially at the cheap HK price tag.
derek cassidy
21-08-2007, 02:45
You can "find" The Sicilian Clan on avaxhome.ru, without eng subs...but you can d/load a .sub file from the net.
I found this film disappointing...after the effective titles sequence, exciting but unlikely escape from a police van using a dremel tool & the chase from the hotel it all becomes very ordinary sub Jean Pierre Melville fare in the Vernueil tradition.
As good as Morricone's score is, it finally irritates, so repetitively is it used. It's almost as if the film relies on the theme to lend it the emotional drive it lacks.
The story was too basic to justify its length & it gets pretty humdrum watching Delon & Gabin out poker face each other. The airport/aeroplane scenes are tedious and the ending is weak and cheap. In truth, it's an overlong, formulaic "style over substance" would be gangster thriller that needed either violence or a great script...some nice photography by Henri Decae though.
Pherlygwen
01-09-2007, 15:58
Hmmmm it states this over at Amazon..
I can't say if I'm happy or sad, the purist in me tells me the French with English Subs is the way to go but the version I fell in love with at the cinema was the English dub and unless I was on crack at the time, I thought it was a really good dub, more along the lines with the English dubbing of For A Few Dollars More than say Django.
It doesn't have French language. I bought this from Amazon, and although I haven't watched it yet, it states English language, not French, on the DVD. It's not the first time I have made a purchase from Amazon that's been advertised with the wrong language, so never blindly trust what they write there.
Finally found this (got sick of hoping to pick it up in a retail store - it was never in stock - so ordered it online).
Have to say it still holds up, the english dub is fine. There are no dual language scenes that were mentioned earlier in the thread, and all the principles are mouthing English so I'd say the english dub is the preferred audio.
EDIT: I've since learnt that scenes were shot multiple times with the principles mouthing in English, Italian & French. So all versions are probably valid.
I highly recommmend this DVD to anyone with a passing interest in heist thrillers, it's got a lot going for it. Great performances, great music, great use of locations, the heist itself is hugely ambitious and the less you know about it going in, the better (so avoid reading the back of the box). :thumbs:
JoelCairo
05-11-2007, 18:04
Finally found this (got sick of hoping to pick it up in a retail store - it was never in stock - so ordered it online).
Have to say it still holds up, the english dub is fine. There are no dual language scenes that were mentioned earlier in the thread, and all the principles are mouthing English so I'd say the english dub is the preferred audio.
EDIT: I've since learnt that scenes were shot multiple times with the principles mouthing in English, Italian & French. So all versions are probably valid.
I highly recommmend this DVD to anyone with a passing interest in heist thrillers, it's got a lot going for it. Great performances, great music, great use of locations, the heist itself is hugely ambitious and the less you know about it going in, the better (so avoid reading the back of the box). :thumbs:
Which version did you buy, and from whom?
UK (R2) from Play.com (http://www.thedvdforums.com/jump2.php?url=http://playcom.at/thedvdforums?DURL=http://www.play.com/DVD/DVD/4-/3336798/The-Sicilian-Clan/Product.html)
JoelCairo
05-11-2007, 22:07
UK (R2) from Play.com (http://www.thedvdforums.com/jump2.php?url=http://playcom.at/thedvdforums?DURL=http://www.play.com/DVD/DVD/4-/3336798/The-Sicilian-Clan/Product.html)
Aah! Many thanks. I've held off buying this because Play's "blurb" indicates no English soundtrack.
JoelCairo
18-11-2007, 16:50
I found this film disappointing...after the effective titles sequence, exciting but unlikely escape from a police van using a dremel tool & the chase from the hotel it all becomes very ordinary sub Jean Pierre Melville fare in the Vernueil tradition.
As good as Morricone's score is, it finally irritates, so repetitively is it used. It's almost as if the film relies on the theme to lend it the emotional drive it lacks.
The story was too basic to justify its length & it gets pretty humdrum watching Delon & Gabin out poker face each other. The airport/aeroplane scenes are tedious and the ending is weak and cheap. In truth, it's an overlong, formulaic "style over substance" would be gangster thriller that needed either violence or a great script...some nice photography by Henri Decae though.
Rather harsh judgement, I feel.
I enjoyed the movie. I agree about Henri Decae's contribution though: excellent control of light and colour, well presented in this DVD's good picture quality. I thought the ending was a very traditional shoot-out which tied up all the loose ends. I didn't find it weak and cheap.
I am glad we have an English language soundtrack. I am very much a Hitchcock man regarding sub-titles: I do not watch movies in order to catch up on my reading! I have always found that reading sub-titles "takes me out of the movie" by reminding me constantly that "Ingrid, it's only a movie!" (Hitchcock again, of course).
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