History
The film created a sensation upon its original release. It has often been likened to the films of Alfred Hitchcock; some sources say that Alfred Hitchcock missed out on purchasing the rights to the Boileau and Narcejac novel by just a few hours, Clouzot getting to the authors first. The end credit contains an early example of an "anti-spoiler message". The film was a success at the box office, with 3,674,380 admissions in France alone.
The film gained additional press when, only five years after its release, Véra Clouzot died of a heart attack at age 46, somewhat mirroring her character in the film, who also had heart problems.
While Les Diaboliques was often shown on Turner Classic Movies channel, it had limited availability for home entertainment purchase. The film was released on DVD in the Criterion Collection in January 1999, marking the film's first major home video release, did not fill a widescreen television. It was subsequently released on DVD in various other countries.
The digitally-restored reissue of the film on DVD and Blu-ray was released by the Criterion Collection on May 17, 2011 with a new package designed and illustrated by David Plunkert.
Read more about this topic: Les Diaboliques (film)
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