Three French crime thrillers from noted filmmakers on Blu-ray from Indicator in July
On 20 July in the UK, and 21 July in the USA and Canada, Indicator begins a new journey into some of the darker regions of the French cinematic landscape.
Over coming months, it will be turning our attention to a number of exceptional crime thrillers from noted filmmakers, such as Jacques Becker, Étienne Périer, and Edmond T Gréville, and some under-appreciated works by celebrated auteurs, including Claude Chabrol, Bertrand Blier, and Nadine Trintignant.
The first three titles in July will be director Henri Verneuil’s Full House, Alain Resnais’ Stavisky…, and Yves Boisset’s La Travestie. Full details below.
FULL HOUSE [BRELAN D’AS] (France 1952)
Limited Edition Blu-ray | 20 July 2026 | £17.99
Three of France’s most beloved fictional detectives are on the case in Full House [Brelan d’as], a portmanteau policier from director Henri Verneuil (The Sicilian Clan).
First, Monsieur Wens (Raymond Rouleau, Falbalas), created by Stanislas-André Steeman (Quai des Orfèvres), is puzzled by a case in which the chief suspect seems to have the perfect alibi – he was with Wens at the time of the murder. Secondly, Peter Cheyney’s Lemmy Caution (John van Dreelan, 13 Ghosts) becomes entangled with a femme fatale as he tackles a jewel robbery. The final segment focuses on Georges Simenon’s Inspector Maigret, as Michel Simon (L’Atalante) solves a murder from his sickbed with the aid of an altar boy.
Verneuil’s masterful triple-helping of post-war Gallic noir boasts a screenplay co-written by Jacques Companéez (Casque d’or) and André Tabet (Witness in the City).
INDICATOR LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY FEATURES:
- 4K restoration from the original nitrate negative
- Original mono audio
- Michel Simon (1964): Ole Roos’ award-winning short film portrait of the great French actor
- Image gallery: promotional and publicity materials
- New and improved English translation subtitles
- Limited edition exclusive booklet with a new essay by Eric Smoodin, archival profiles of director Henri Verneuil and writers Georges Simenon, Stanislas-André Steeman, and Peter Cheyney, and film credits
- UK premiere on Blu-ray
- Limited edition of 4,000 copies for the UK and US
- More to be announced
All features subject to change,
STAVISKY… (France 1974)
Limited Edition Blu-ray | 20 July 2026 | £17.99
Who was Serge Alexandre Stavisky?
In this characteristically fragmented drama, celebrated auteur Alain Resnais (Last Year in Marienbad) explores the months leading up to, and examines the consequences of, the death of historical figure and political enigma, Serge Alexandre Stavisky (Jean-Paul Belmondo, Breathless).
Stavisky… follows its subject as he tries to hold on to the illusion of control when his financial crimes come under intense scrutiny from the French police. Friends and foe alike circle him like vultures, all leading to an inevitably violent political flashpoint.
Featuring a supporting cast of French cinematic icons, including Charles Boyer (When Tomorrow Comes), Anny Duperey (Two or Three Things I Know About Her), Michel Lonsdale (Behold a Pale Horse), and Gérard Depardieu (Buffet froid), Stavisky… is both criminally underseen and a wonderfully enigmatic take on the convention of the cinematic biopic.
INDICATOR LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY FEATURES:
- 4K restoration from the original negative
- Original mono audio
- The Guardian Interview with Alain Resnais (1982): archival audio recording of the celebrated filmmaker in conversation at the National Film Theatre, London
- The Guardian Interview with Stephen Sondheim (1988): archival audio recording of the much-loved composer and lyricist in conversation at the National Film Theatre, London
- Original theatrical trailer
- Image gallery: promotional and publicity materials
- New and improved English translation subtitles
- Limited edition exclusive booklet with contemporary production reports by Jonathan Rosenbaum, an analysis of Stephen Sondheim’s score, an overview of critical responses, and film credits
- UK premiere on Blu-ray
- Limited edition of 4,000 copies for the UK and US
- More to be announced
All features subject to change,
LA TRAVESTIE (France 1988)
Limited Edition Blu-ray | 20 July 2026 | £17.99
A stark departure from his other works, Yves Boisset’s La Travestie is a tactically abrasive look at patriarchy and identity. Lawyer Nicole (Zabou Breitman, La Crise) is driven by frustration and male hypocrisy in both her personal and professional lives to leave her law firm and her hometown, and to reinvent herself as a man.
Arriving in Paris, Nicole makes friends, and soon those friends turn to lovers, and lovers turn to enemies. She suffocates in the identities she creates and lets rejection make a villain of her, until insecurities turn to tragedy and she has nowhere to turn.
Centring on female psychosexuality, without demonisation, the film presents challenging gender dynamics and trans imagery at a time when neither was common within mainstream cinema. It also utilises genre tropes to complex ends, never losing sight that it is, first and foremost, a character study with much to say about the plight of women in contemporary France in the late 1980s.
INDICATOR LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY FEATURES:
- 4K restoration from the original negative
- Original mono audio
- Girls and Boys Come Out to Play (2026): video essay by film critic and historian Alexandra Heller-Nicholas exploring the film’s themes of gender and power
- Image gallery: promotional and publicity materials
- Script gallery: complete dialogue and continuity script
- New and improved English translation subtitles
- Limited edition exclusive booklet with a new essay by Georgia Humphreys, excerpts from the film’s press kit, an overview of critical responses, and film credits
- UK premiere on Blu-ray
- Limited edition of 4,000 copies for the UK and US
- More to be announced
All features subject to change,