It’s always been a favorite of mine. I enjoy all of Melville’s films. Criterion needs to get Un Flic on there roster-it’s available elsewhere. Most other French crime films pale in comparision to Melville’s altho I remember liking one called La Balance a lot but haven’t seen it for years.
Hands down one of my favorite films, Criterion or otherwise.
Do you know this great film, made in 1967, didn’t get an American release until 1972, and then it was marketed only to Drive-Ins and B-houses, badly dubbed, and under the title of “The Godson,” trying to claim some of the lustre from The Godfather.
Think about that. It doesn’t even make sense!
Scandalous creeps.
Adore this movie. Alain Delon’s cold thousand-yard stare is too cool.
I enjoy the hell out of it, but it’s not even my favorite Melville film (Bob le Flambeur), let alone stack up well against a long list of top French noir/crime titles (Touchez Pas Au Grisbi, Rififi, Band of Outsiders, Le Trou, Wages of Fear, etc.). Perhaps it’s my negative reaction to a style focus especially with this subject matter (though same could be said for Outsiders). I certainly suspect (and this may be an American thing) there’s an emotional bridge I’ve yet to cross with Le Samourai that’s also my issue with Breathless (I know, I know).
i think i need to re-watch this film, because it is so loved and i really didn’t think it was too great the first time i saw it. its only the second Melville film i’ve seen and so far i’m not a huge fan of his. but i’m more than happy to re-watch a movie and try to get more out of it a second time around, so i think i’ll have to add this to the list of “need to get a better look at” films.
i certainly agree with Christopher that marketing it to B-movie audiences, dubbing it, and make money off the Godfather crowd was in poor taste, but what can you expect from Americans?
…and yes, i am American.
Le Samourai was my introduction to Melville. I would have to say that yes, I loved and was as excited about the film as you were the first time you saw it.
Personally, I think Army Of Shadows is a better film, and one of my favorites.
Le Samourai was my introduction to Melville. I would have to say that yes, I loved and was as excited about the film as you were the first time you saw it.
Personally, I think Army Of Shadows is a better film, and one of my favorites.
Marq-Altho I loath the dubbing of foreign films to appeal to Americans most American films are dubbed for foreign audiences so it’s a two way street. When I was living in Amsterdam English lang films were run in English but that was the exception. Most Dutch are fluent in English. But when I saw American films elsewhere in Europe they were dubbed.
I’ve heard a lot about this film. I like what I’m reading. I’m going to check it out ASAP. Sounds like mandatory film study as well.
Yeah I remember reading about the whole “Godson” thing. I’m sure that was way out of Melville’s control, he doesn’t seem like the type to do something like that. So far it’s still my favorite Melville film. I liked Army of Shadows a lot but it seemed a bit drawn out and lacked the instant punch of Le Samourai that continued on for the whole movie. Honestly, I think my 2nd favorite Melville film would be Le Doulos.
I should also mention how awesome Alain Delon is in this movie. He reminds me of a French version of Steve McQueen. He has decent acting chops but his facial expressions and just overall coolness is something you will never be able to match with a different actor.
Marq – Rewatch the movie but do it on a Saturday evening when its gloomy outside and raining a lot. Then turn off all of the lights and watch the movie (and make sure nobody is there to interupt you)
Great, great movie without parallel or equal. Has influenced an entire generation of criminal-oriented filmmakers ranging from Michael Mann to Jim Jarmusch although unfortunately none of these directors can quite top the stylized perfection of this film.
This movie was too subtle for me, I think. I just kept waiting for more to happen. I liked the scenes in the lounge; the black piano player was an interesting character. But the rest of it — I don’t know, didn’t do much for me. Stylish, yes. But I think there’s essentially two kinds of people — Delon fans and Belmondo fans. I’m a Belmondo fan. I like his Michel Simon-inflected comedy. Delon doesn’t give enough — “just lays there.”
its a great film, but nothing that blew me out of the water. i think i actually prefer john woo’s remake!
for me, it doesnt hold a candle to “army of shadows”, which seems to be the clear summit of melville’s work. he’s got about 5 films in his ouevre that are extremely repetitive. honestly, when i think back on a lot of them, i have a hard time separating them in my memory. not saying “le samourai” is one of them, just saying.
No, come on, this is one of the greatest films ever! Maybe it is too cold.
Alain Delon gets the job done and seems like a swell guy to know in person, but I would have to agree with Justin regarding “lying there.” I’ve looked at that face of his a lot and am still waiting to see what lies behind those eyes – he may be shallow and we’re only convinced he is deep.
I love Le Samourai.
Certainly, John Woo’s favorite movie of all time—I agree with Dan wholeheartedly.
I don’t think subtlety is this movie’s issue. The problem is that it’s icy facade cannot hide its utter ridiculousness.
When I think of this film the first scene that leaps to mind is when the police break into Delon’s apartment and plant their bug somewhere where Delon would NEVER find it: on his windowframe, perfectly hidden by A CURTAIN. Utter professionals, they proceed to hammer a two-inch nail into the wood, and hang a microphone THE SIZE OF A LUNCHBOX there. And then they leave, seeming supremely confident of the plausible efficacity of what they’ve done.
Can anyone watch this scene without exploding in laughter? What an absurd, wildly overrated film.
haaa! thats absolutely hilarious the way you described it! and its true. i guess i was so caught up in the film, i didnt pay attention to this. either that, or the icy cool mood was so deep that it rendered it a moot point. suspension of disbelief at its finest.
It’s no Bob le flambeur. Pretty good, though. That one lady in Le Samurai is a babe.
Opheus M… the size of a lunchbox? get it right. box of matches maybe, watch it again and you’ll see your mistake…. either way that was cutting edge technology then and to judge it harshly from the age of the microchip is to do it an injustice. I found it a mesmerising, trance like meditation on obsession and dettachment, easily the equal of Army of Shadows for me.
I like this film a lot, but even I was surprised to see ‘surveillance experts’ banging a nail into a window frame. I’m prepared to accept there were limitations of the time etc but damn…
Maybe Weisler from The Lives of Others could teach them a thing or two…
Army of Shadows is on my to watch list, I’m going to try and catch it at the next available opportunity.
I just watched this yesterday and it sorta blew my mind. I love Delon’s chillingly restrained performance and Melville’s minimalistic and rather suspenseful composition. It’s actually quite a complex story for a movie with so little dialogue.
I also really liked the interviews on the Criterion disc. That Melville interview was pretty fascinating. He seemed like a cool guy who knew a lot about cinema and could talk to anyone about it all day long…I wished I had the privilege.
The film’s minimalistic style also reminded me of Coppola’s (less amazing, and rather um, boring) The Conversation. It doesn’t seem surprising that Coppola would be inspired by Le Samourai and Melville’s direction.
I think Orpheus M was joking that it was “the size of a lunchbox,” not meaning it literally.
Maybe… I thought he assumed the first thing placed there, which is a large transmitter, was the thing left there…. but he swapped it for a much smaller unit. We’ll see. :)
However big the damn thing was, have these cops never heard of a WIRETAP?!?!
Wow… you’re giving forensic advise to 1967 Paris coppers now? I guess you are an expert on wiretaps in paris then?
My point being if the size matters you missed the point. It’s obviously not a film for you, but to call it ridiculous because of that is cheap.
“Bob le Flambeur” is truly wonderful, but it’s the opposite of “Le Samourai” temperamentally. “Bob” centers on a warm, sympathetic figure. In fact I’d say he’s one of the warmest and most sympathetic in all of cinema. “Le Samoura” is cold as ice. “Bob” takes place in a very real Paris, specifically Pigalle. It’s wonderfully romantic, and Melville’s use of real locales jump-started the New Wave, as is obvious from “Breathless” where he makes a cameo appearance. “La Samourai” takes place in a kind of abstraction of Paris — and the crime film genre as a whole.
This movie made me develop a man-crush on Alain Delon.
No, actually, I was giving advice to Melville about how to make a policier at least remotely plausible and dramatically compelling.
Look, that scene is not THE ONE problem with the movie, it’s just the giveaway that the entire film is ludicrous farrago.
But apparently some people watch a clumsily-executed dolly-out/zoom-in swiped from “Marnie” and are immediately led into this movie’s supposed “atmosphere” of zenlike cool.
Ryan Estabrooks
Hands down my favorite Criterion film. This movie made me fall in love with French crime movies and instantly I had to learn more about Melville and got the rest of his stuff that has been released on Criterion so far. I love the fact that there is such a coolness to it and that even though they’re killers and gangsters they are very gentlemanly. I think the writing still holds up today, I thought the police procedure scenes were incredibly interesting as well, its hard to take scenes like that and keep the viewer glued. Top all of that off with the amazing soundtrack, man that main theme is menacing! When I’m introducing new people to the Criterion collection I usually pull this one out first. Did anyone else like this movie the first time they saw it as much as me?