Delicatessen, arriving in a sumptuous new 4K restoration and making its UHD debut, is a wonderfully dark, critically acclaimed surreal comedy from directors Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro, whose dazzling fantasy adventure The City of Lost Children was released earlier this year by Studiocanal.

Delicatessen is set in a distant, apocalyptic future, conventional society has reached a state of collapse. Grain is now used as currency and meat has become a rare commodity. Meanwhile an unemployed clown finds work as a maintenance man in a squalid apartment block situated above a butcher’s shop. Having fallen in love with the owner’s daughter he soon discovers the sinister truth behind the ominous landlord’s unsavoury intentions. Between blossoming romance and disappearing tenants his only hope for survival could be the members of a subterranean militia of vegetarian freedom fighters. Or is it too late already?

With its surreal imagery, gallows humour and its cast of warped characters, Delicatessen marked the breakthrough collaboration between celebrated directors Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Amelie, A Very Long Engagement, Micmacs) and Marc Caro (Dante 01). Equal parts horror, comedy and dystopian fantasia, Delicatessen is still one of the most original and influential films of its time. 

Winner of two César Awards, for Best Debut and Best Screenplay, and nominated for the Best Foreign Film BAFTA, the film stars Dominique Pinon, who would go on to appear in Amélie and The City of Lost Children. Co-director Jeunet went on to make Alien: Resurrection (1997) and the sensational Amélie (2001), which was nominated for five Oscars, winner of two BAFTAs and winner of four French Césars. He also made A Very Long Engagement with Tautou, which was nominated for two Oscars.

Delicatessen is a deliciously dark one-of-a-kind black comedy, beautifully and intricately filmed, featuring uproarious slapstick, an endlessly inventive script, and it even manages to add a sweet romance to the mix. Variety calls it a ‘startling and clever debut’, and Empire says it is a ‘delightfully original picture, poised perfectly between farce and horror’.

Delicatessen will be release on 4K UHD, Blu-ray, DVD & Digital by Studiocanal on 16 October 2023 at yet-to-be-confirmed RRPs, although Amazon has the UHD for £24.99, the Blu-ray for £14.99, and the DVD for £9.99.

UHD, BLU-RAY & DVD SPECIAL FEATURES:

• Audio commentary with director Jean-Pierre Jeunet 
• Making of: Fine Cooked Pork Meats
• Main Course Pieces
• Jean-Pierre Jeunet Archive
• Interview with Jeunet and Caro