Hotel du Nord – Blu-ray

Directed by Marcel Carne, the master of poetic realism, Hotel du Nord is a haunting, fatalistic melodrama which sits alongside Le Quai des brumes and Le Jour se leve as one of the auteur s greatest pre-war works.

Adapted from an acclaimed novel by Eugene Dabit, the son the proprietors of the real Hotel du Nord (situated on the banks of the Canal St. Martin in Paris), Carne s film tells of Renee (Annabella) and Pierre (Jean-Pierre Aumont, Day for Night), doomed lovers who plan to end their lives at the humble guesthouse. When Pierre shoots Renee but can t pull the trigger on himself, he flees with help of a seedy criminal, Edmond (Louis Jouvet, Quai des Orfevres) and his mistress Raymonde (Arletty, Les Enfants du paradis). Renee makes a surprise recovery and returns to the hotel to work as a maid, but when Edmond falls in love with her and Pierre returns from prison, the stage is set for tragedy.

Hotel du Nord is noteworthy for its assured ensemble performances, remarkably authentic studio sets and compelling Bastille Day street-celebration finale. Now, looking and sounding better than ever before.