Husbands: Dr. Phil might not recommend this, but if you want to put some spice back into your marriage, nothing shows a wife you care more than killing her lover, and then shielding her from the police. This 1969 psychological thriller, written and directed with a fine, Hitchcockian eye by legendary French director Claude Chabrol, was the inspiration for last year's Unfaithful. Here, the focus is more on the husband, Charles (Michel Bouquet), a mild-mannered insurance broker who suspects his ravishing wife Helene (Stephane Audran) is cheating on him. When his suspicions are confirmed, he visits her lover, and during the course of their civilized conversation (Charles convinces the man that he and his wife have an understanding), jealousy gets the better of him and he kills his rival and disposes of the body. As the police investigate, Charles and Helene endeavor to keep from each other what he or she knows about the affair and the murder. More taut than the more explicit remake, this classic film--presented here in a handsome DVD transfer on this otherwise extra-less disc--is an affair to remember. [Note: The Unfaithful Wife is also available in the eight-disc boxed set The Claude Chabrol Collection, priced at $109.98, which also includes: Ten Days' Wonder, Les Biches (Bad Girls), Innocents with Dirty Hands, The Butcher (Le Boucher), This Man Must Die, La Rupture (The Breach), and Nada.] Highly recommended. (K. Lee Benson)
The Unfaithful Wife
Pathfinder, 94 min., in French w/English subtitles, not rated, DVD: $19.98 Volume 18, Issue 3
The Unfaithful Wife
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