BY FRED BLOSSER

Stories about domineering fathers and neglected offspring are at least as old as the Bible and Shakespeare.  Gilles Legrand’s “You Will Be My Son” (2012) is a worthy addition to the genre.

Paul de Marseul (Niels Arestrup) is distressed to learn that his friend Francois Amelot (Patrick Chesnais) has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Paul is the wealthy owner of a French vineyard, and Francois has served for more than 30 years as his estate manager: “a fancy name for winemaker,” Francois comments. When Francois announces that he’s too weak from his illness to begin the new production season, Paul’s son Martin (Lorant Deutsch) steps up, eager to take on the responsibility. He handles sales for the company, and he knows Francois’ routine through years of observation. But Paul has no faith in Martin’s abilities as a vintner, and the two men moreover have a strained personal relationship. Paul instead gravitates to Francois’ son Philippe (Nicolas Bridet), who has returned from America after hearing of his father’s illness. To Paul, Philippe is everything that his own son isn’t -- charming, self-confident, and by instinct and experience, a promising winemaker. As Paul begins to displace Martin with Philippe, symbolically at first and then with the idea of making Philippe his son through legal action, resentments seethe and eventually explode.

In an American version 50 or 60 years ago, Paul would have been played by a powerhouse like Rod Steiger, Lee J. Cobb, Karl Malden, or Spencer Tracy. Niels Arestrup (who may be familiar to U.S. audiences from roles in “War Horse” and “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”) invests the role with comparable ferocity. Deutsch and Bridet (who would have been Anthony Perkins and Ben Gazzara opposite Steiger or Cobb back in the day) offer solid support. The scenes between Arestrup and Deutsch are so raw and real that the confrontations are almost as painful for the viewer as for the emotionally starved Martin. Equally fine performances are provided by Chesnais as the ailing Francois and Valérie Mairesse as his outspoken spouse Madeleine, who watch the situation with growing dismay, and Anne Marivin as Martin’s supportive wife Alice.

As Paul confronts Martin, Martin confronts Philippe, and Alice confronts Paul, you’re initially inclined to regard Paul and Philippe as the villains and Martin as the victim with whom you should sympathize. However, as the story progresses, Legrand begins to paint the characters in more ambiguous shades. A development late in the movie seems like a macabre twist out of a Guy de Maupassant tale, setting up what would appear to be a happy ending for some of the characters. But is it a happy ending?

Cohen Media Group’s classy Blu-ray includes a sharp transfer in French with English subtitles, deleted scenes, interviews with Deutsch and Legrand, the theatrical trailer, and a handsome inset booklet with credits and stills from the movie.

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BY ADRIAN SMITH

When Dr. Mark Davidson (John Neville) comes back to the Space research lab with a new wife, his government superiors want to know more about her. And why are scientists all over the world who are also working on the same equation as his collegues - the ability to use mental projection to travel to the other side of the galaxy - dying in the exact same way? Could the fact that his wife appears impervious to pain and unable to blink be a clue as to her potential extra-terrestrial origins? These are the questions Unearthly Stranger raises and then sets out to answer in a fairly breathless fashion. Although a considerable amount of time is spent on men in suits talking to each other in offices, the film represents the power of a good idea. As Dr. Davidson gradually comes to learn the truth about his wife it is truly heartbreaking. Great performances and excellent black and white cinematography give the film a power it may have lacked in the hands of a more pedestrian filmmaker.

Director John Krish was best known for his work on 1960s British television including The Saint and The Avengers, and he packs a lot of plot into the film's brief running time. Unearthly Stranger most closely resembles an episode of The Twilight Zone or The Outer Limits, if it was scripted by John Wyndham (author of 'The Midwich Cuckoos' and 'Day of the Triffids'). In actual fact the film was written by Rex Carlton, whose best known credit is the infamous The Brain That Wouldn't Die (1962). Where that film fails on virtually every level, Unearthly Stranger was produced by Albert Fennel who was also responsible for The Innocents (1961), Night of the Eagle (1962), and later on Legend of Hell House (1973), all now considered classics of British horror cinema. His experience, also honed in television, helped Unearthly Stranger share a similar level of quality.

Like many other black and white British science fiction films of the period, this film depicts a 'cosy apocalypse'. The world could potentially come to an end, but we can be damned civilized about it. As such it would make a good companion film to The Earth Dies Screaming (1964) or Invasion (1965), the latter also shortly receiving a DVD release from Network.

'The British Film' collection was launched by Network Distributing last year and they plan to release over 450 vintage films on blu ray or DVD over a five-year period. From classics such as Victim (1961) and Countess Dracula (1971) to long-unavailable shockers like Baby Love (1968) and The Nightcomers (1971), and with plenty of other rarities in-between, it is a project for retro movie fans to keep a close eye on.

Unearthly Stranger can be ordered from Network Distributing here.