Review: Even Alain Delon Can't Salvage 'Armageddon'

The tricky relationship between French actor Alain Delon and director Alain Jessua that began with "Shock Treatment" in 1973, ended with their second collaboration, "Armageddon," in 1977. Of course, Delon was also a producer on the latter film, which had a confused narrative where the actions of the villain make less and less sense as things unfold, when it should really be the opposite.

Delon plays Dr. Michel Ambrose, a highly regarded criminal psychologist who is contacted to help find a lunatic who calls himself Armageddon, but is really Louis Carrier (Jean Yanne), former repairman who came into money and has been threatening terrorist acts against the police, government agencies, and even Mick Jagger! This maniac has a Sancho Panza-like side-kick accomplice (Renato Salvatori) – although it often feels like there's a twisted love story going on there.

What could have been seen as a film about class struggle is overwhelmed by the insanity of its madman character and a gruesome, point-of-no-return homophobic/misogynistic double murder that truly makes no sense, even contextualizing. If the mentally ill Carrier is really bent on leaving some kind of grand violent mark, it wouldn't be electrocuting two escorts while forcing them to have sex.

Of course, later, a much bigger plot is revealed, and a potent moment arrives near the end of the plodding film when a panicked mob runs screaming over one another in "Day of the Locust"-light fashion. This sequence makes a much more powerful statement about humanity than anything in the rest of the film.

Yanne is deliciously insane but, as the film progresses, he has nowhere to go but even more bonkers.

Delon, superbly suave, peppers it here with concern and genuine pathos. Usually, I would offer him up as the reason to see a film, but in this case, even his presence isn't enough.

The Blu-ray preserves the films dark, grim look nicely. The audio is fine.

Audio commentary with enthusiastic film historians Howard S. Berger, Steve Mitchell and Nathaniel Thompson provide context and info, if you're interested.

This "Armageddon" should only be confused with the 1998 Ben Affleck/Bruce Willis American travesty if you're making a list of films to avoid.

Blu-ray Extras Include: