French director Henri-Georges Clouzot (The Wages of Fear) taught Alfred Hitchcock a thing or two about suspense with Diabolique, the 1955 thriller which still induces goosebumps more than five decades later. Vera Clouzot (the director’s wife) and the va-va-voomy Simone Signoret star as, respectively, the wife and mistress of a boarding-school headmaster who meets his end at the hands of the two vengeance-minded women. Or does he? This suspense classic is a deliciously labyrinthine journey. The Criterion Collection Blu-ray debut (out May 17), a typically stunning transfer, features an essay by film critic Terrence Rafferty along with commentary, interviews, and an introduction from some of the film’s many contemporary fans.
