Taking a rather daring approach, Dridi actually filmed Pigalle on location in the same streets it purports to represent. Unfortunately, the film just comes across as a cold, heartless study in nihilism. In the Production Notes, included as extras on the DVD, I discovered that many of the scenes took place with real people in the background or interacting with the Actors. While I approve of this Cinema Verité style, the aura of danger Dridi was trying to show was never apparent.

The doomed romance between beautiful hustler, Fifi (Francis Renaud), and peepshow star, Vera (Véra Briole), could have been compelling on it's own, but Dridi didn't seem to be satisfied with that, instead opting to put a veritable Rogue's Gallery of unsavory types into the mix. The two lovers find themselves caught between rival crime lords L'Empereur, a malicious dwarf in a motorized chair, and Malfait, who is so evil that he lives in what can only be described as an Opium Den. To complicate matters further, Fifi enjoys spending as much time with the two Transvestites, Divine and Ferdinand, as he does with Vera.

You'd think that a neo-noir set in a seedy crime district would at least be good for some wholesome sex and violence, but you'd be wrong. Dridi's overly artistic style of direction robs any of the eroticism from his sex scenes and the visceral punch of his violence. In fact, the director's style coupled with the rather poor transfer had me replaying scenes over and over to figure out what was going on. I'm all for a movie that uses darkness to convey its mood, but not to the detriment of its story. What you're left with is passionless sex, senseless violence and a feeling of thankfulness when it's over.

The DVD:

Picture: The movie is presented in a full screen 4x3 aspect ratio. I can truly say that the transfer left a lot to be desired. I understand that it may have been the intention of the director for the way a majority of the film was shot, but with visible damage to the print and a picture that appears to be cropped from a 1.85:1 master, I can't imagine that he would have wanted it to be seen this way.

Audio: There is a Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround track, which sounds fine, although my French is rusty and the majority of scenes take place in open urban locations.

Extras: This DVD includes some Production Notes and the Theatrical Trailer as Extras.

Conclusion: Before anyone says that I "don't get it", let me just point out that I am a huge fan of Lynch, and as evidenced by much of Pigalle's content, so is Mr. Dridi. If nothing else, that is probably my biggest problem with the film. He lets too much of the story be dictated by the location, as though that's enough. What he ends up with is no different than a Polaroid of one of Toulouse-Lautrec's (who found his Muse in the real-life Pigalle) paintings, all surface and no depth.