BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

Abbigail Bush what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Neive Bellamy Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Beulah Bram A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

GManfred It's all been said about "Port Of Shadows", and better than I could say it, so just a few observations on this picture. I really enjoy Jean Gabin in almost everything he is in, and this was no exception. It could be a prototype of the film noir genre, as all the elements are there. But I have to say that I had some issues with the film and I do not hold it in as high regard as most contributors seem to.I thought the character played by Pierre Brasseur, a small-time hoodlum, was too ineffectual and lacking in toughness to lead a band of crooks. Who would follow such a cream puff? Hence, the climactic scene does not ring true, as he would be incapable of an act of such finality and violence.I thought the love scenes with Gabin and Michele Morgan were startlingly heartfelt and genuine. A great deal of chemistry in these scenes, particularly the final scene. Made me wish I understood French.I can't recall if anyone attached any significance to the dog, but I did not. The dog disappears toward the end of the film and Gabin does not seem to have a great attachment to it, and, in fact, seems to lose interest in the dog midway through the picture.Finally, I enjoyed the film but I do not feel it is a timeless classic and that many viewers comments are overwrought. It is a good but not a great film, one in which the feeling of doom hangs too heavily over the proceedings, and from a great director who went on to direct better pictures (Le Jour Se Leve, Enfants Du Paradis). My rating is six.

Tim Kidner This is the newly digitally restored release, available from June 2012.Director Marcel Carne, here in just pre-war 1938, made many notable films but for many World Cinema devotees, he is an unknown, or in my case, a newcomer. His Les Enfants de Paradis (1946) is one of the most enchanting and beautiful of all French films, from any period and remains one of my all-time favourites.However, I find his feature films with Jean Gabin a rather jagged little pill. In both his later Le Jour Se Leve and here, Gabin plays rather unlikeable lead roles and I find him difficult to warm to. Though in this case, assisted by screenwriter Jacques Prévert, as army deserter "Jean", he certainly is a complex fellow, whose psyche snaps back and fore as his bewildered despondency on life puts up barriers and communication to others.There's a visual semblance in Gabin of a cross between Spencer Tracey and James Cagney (to my eyes) and also almost in their usual characters - the caring, humane Tracey and the snarling Cagney. Michelle Morgan plays the dark and beautiful Nelly and the two floating into love seems as fleeting and ephemeral as the shifting mists of the title - translated as 'Port Of Shadows'.That Port is Le Havre and the evocative cinematography is the film's finest feature, a real mood-piece that eschews a clammy emptiness. The tonal range of Eugen Schüfftan's black & white camera-work is superb and is fully realised by this digital restoration, without blemish or flaw.The dog that tags on is a nice touch and suits Gabin's character - restless, looking for both company and opportunity but I'm afraid I couldn't settle with the false-bearded Michel Simon, with that hair- piece visibly having gaps in it. A small point to moan about, if one is totally content with the rest of the film but when one isn't totally, these little things stick out like a sore thumb and become annoying.There is no doubt that Le Quai des Brumes is a very good film, that is loved by many and this release is the one to get, unless one goes for the blu-ray, of course. That it didn't totally do "it" for me is down to personal choice, though.

blanche-2 Jean Gabin and Michelle Morgan star in the stylish Marcel Carne film, "Port of Shadows," made in 1938. There is simply no one like Jean Gabin - Hollywood had no idea what to do with him - here he was, this amazing leading man who looked like a character actor. Thankfully, the French knew what they had and kept him busy for 48 years.Gabin plays Jean, a military deserter who comes into the French port of Le Havre, intending to leave aboard ship for Venezuela. He meets the beautiful Nelly and is adopted by a small dog. Nelly is a real man magnet; she has a boyfriend Maurice, a father figure who is in love with her named Zabel, and Lucien, a hood in love with her. She and Jean fall in love, even though in her heart she knows that he has to leave Le Havre.These French films out-noir American film noirs, and this is a stylish, dark film filled with sadness, with a depressing ambiance throughout. If you were miserable when you started watching it, you'll be a mess when it's over. What I've gone through for Gabin - he was in so many dark, depressing films! If you're a fan of film noir (and/or Gabin), this is for you.

cutsman-2 I'm a rather big fan of noir. Outside of westerns it is my preferred genre of film. Maybe it's the hardboiled detective stories or the damsel in distress, Port of Shadows is a film that fills my carnal need for the darkness of cinema. The film follows Jean, a deserter from the military who arrives in a sleepy town La Havre. His goal is to leave the country but first he needs to find some civilian clothes among other things. Along the way he meets Nelly, a beautiful young woman whom he seems to fall in love with rather quick. Which is his biggest downfall and sort of a typical theme running through noir films, men who love too much too fast. Nelly is completely surrounded by men in her life. She has a boyfriend, a protector, and has interest from a local gangster. Well Jean has a something to say to all of them and doesn't waste time. Jean gets rid of the boyfriend, he hilariously rids her of the local gangster through a few slapping fights. This is a noir, but don't get me wrong, try not to laugh when Jean slaps Lucien the Gangster like a little girl. They come up with a plan to leave the country together. But of course this is noir, so the likely hood of this film ending happy isn't much of a spoiler. The visual look of the film is really what makes it so memorable. It is a beautiful dreary port town, the fog hovers over the city with weight. The fog hides the sins of Jean and Nelly alike but adds to the mystery. Jean's character is one who is easy to sympathize with but is also quite unique from the norm noir character. He like I mentioned is quick to love. He buys a gift for Nelly shortly after meeting her and wants to be with her enough to leave asking her to escape with him. But he also is quite a tough man ready to defend her a moment's notice. His strange psyche and personality really elevates the movie to something extraordinary.