When it comes to combustible relationships on screen, no one does it quite like the French. But long before the likes of Betty Blue made an appearance, there was Casque D'Or, released here on Blu-ray for the very first time to celebrate its 60th anniversary.

The beautiful Marie (Simone Signoret) finds herself in a relationship with a Parisian gangster, Roland (William Sabatier); she may well be swept up in the energy of being part of the gang, but she's not happy with her man.

During a dance, carpenter Georges Manda (Serge Reggiani) enters the bar, and as soon as their eyes meet, there's a connection. But he's not the only one who has eyes for her; wine merchant Felix (Claude Dauphin) – who also happens to be the boss of the gang – has noticed Marie's reluctance to be with Roland, and decides he wants a piece of her himself.

Felix is a cunning fellow, who views the arrival of George as a way of manipulating the situation to his own benefit. Marie and Georges may have an instant attraction, but Felix is more than happy to stir the pot and make trouble for all concerned.

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One of the most striking elements of this 1952 film is the lack of dialogue between its star-crossed lovers. Marie and Georges spend most of the time simply gazing deeply into one another's eyes – that's how madly in love they are. And instead of placing a rousing romantic score under their scenes together, director Jacques Becker simply lets their relationship on screen describe their obvious passion. It's remarkably understated and is incredibly effective because of it.

In fact Becker is resistant to using hardly any music at all throughout the film, deciding instead to rely on ambient noises and sounds within the scenes.

The whole film contains a distant echo of Film Noir about it, as femme fatale Marie unintentionally leads the new love of her life into a truly dark and dangerous world, with little by means of escape for either of them.

This Blu-ray version beautifully shows off Becker's vision in all of its stunning glory. It also contains a fascinating featurette At the Heart of Emotions – the Legend of Golden Marie, on how the film made it to the screen.

It may well be a simple story, but it's told by all concerned remarkably well. And it's no surprise that Signoret won a BAFTA for Best Foreign Actress for her sizzling performance.