Julien Duvivier

Panique

Panique

Proud, eccentric, and antisocial, Monsieur Hire (Michel Simon) has always kept to himself. But after a woman turns up dead in the Paris suburb where he lives, he feels drawn to a pretty young newcomer to town (Viviane Romance), discovers that his neighbors are only too ready to suspect the worst of him, and is framed for the murder. Based on a novel by Georges Simenon, Julien Duvivier’s first film after his return to France from Hollywood finds the acclaimed poetic realist applying his consummate craft to darker, moodier ends. Propelled by its two deeply nuanced lead performances, the tensely noirish Panique exposes the dangers of the knives-out mob mentality, delivering as well a pointed allegory for the behavior of Duvivier’s countrymen during the war.

Film Info

  • France
  • 1946
  • 98 minutes
  • Black & White
  • 1.37:1
  • French
  • Spine #955

Special Features

  • New 2K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural sound­­track on the Blu-ray
  • The Art of Subtitling, a new short documentary by Bruce Goldstein, founder and copresident of Rialto Pictures, about the history of subtitles
  • New interview with author Pierre Simenon, the son of novelist Georges Simenon
  • Conversation from 2015 between critics Guillemette Odicino and Eric Libiot about director Julien Duvivier and the film’s production history
  • Rialto Pictures rerelease trailer
  • New English subtitle translation by Duvivier expert Lenny Borger
  • PLUS: Essays by film scholar James Quandt and Borger

New cover by Katherine Lam

Purchase Options

Special Features

  • New 2K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural sound­­track on the Blu-ray
  • The Art of Subtitling, a new short documentary by Bruce Goldstein, founder and copresident of Rialto Pictures, about the history of subtitles
  • New interview with author Pierre Simenon, the son of novelist Georges Simenon
  • Conversation from 2015 between critics Guillemette Odicino and Eric Libiot about director Julien Duvivier and the film’s production history
  • Rialto Pictures rerelease trailer
  • New English subtitle translation by Duvivier expert Lenny Borger
  • PLUS: Essays by film scholar James Quandt and Borger

New cover by Katherine Lam

Panique
Cast
Michel Simon
Monsieur Hire
Viviane Romance
Alice
Paul Bernard
Alfred Chartier
Charles Dorat
L’inspecteur Michelet
Lucas Gridoux
Monsieur Fortin
Max Dalban
Capoulade
Émile Drain
Monsieur Breteuil
Guy Favières
Monsieur Sauvage
Louis Florencie
L’inspecteur Marcelin
Credits
Director
Julien Duvivier
Screenplay by
Julien Duvivier
Screenplay by
Charles Spaak
Based on the novel Les fiançailles de M. Hire by
Georges Simenon
Producer
Pierre O’Connell
Director of photography
Nicolas Hayer
Sets
Serge Piménoff
Special effects
W. Percy Day
Editor
Marthe Poncin
Music
Jean Wiener
Music
Jacques Ibert
Sound
Joseph De Bretagne
Production manager
Pierre Duvivier
English subtitles (2016)
Lenny Borger

Current

Panique: Panic Attack
Panique: Panic Attack

Upon returning to France after a period of self-exile in Hollywood, Julien Duvivier adapted a Georges Simenon novel into this noirish critique of the dangers of mob mentality during wartime.

By James Quandt