Essential Claude Chabrol Vol 2 (3 DVD)

The Colour of Lies (1999): Valeria Bruni Tedeschi stars as a Lesage, a police inspector on the hunt for a young girl's murderer in a small Brittany town. The prime suspect is the last person to have seen her alive, artist René (Jacques Gamblin), but the course of her investigations also brings her into contact with his protective wife (Sandrine Bonnaire), and an eccentric television journalist (Antoine de Caunes). Featuring standout performances from its star cast, Chabrol's film is a compelling and suspenseful psychological thriller.

Masks (1987): Chabrol's mystery thriller centres on the investigation a by writer, Roland Wolf (Robin Renucci), into the unsolved murder of his sister. His quest leads him to the door of TV show host Legagneur (Philippe Noiret) whose affable public persona may conceal some rather more unpleasant qualities. As he becomes acquainted with the people in Legagneur's world, Wolf discovers that no-one is as they first seem...

The Story Of Women (1988): Set in Nazi-occupied France, this compelling drama stars Isabelle Huppert in a role that won her the award for Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival. Based on a true story, Huppert plays Marie, an illegal abortionist who risks the terrible consequences of discovery by the Nazis and Vichy government so that she can save her young family from the oppression of extreme poverty. Chabrol's haunting and engrossing film confronts its controversial subject matter with honesty and compassion.