SINS OF OMISSION - Entry #70: Le cercle rouge (1970)

Running Time:140 minutes
Directed By: Jean-Pierre Melville
Written By: Jean-Pierre Melville
Main Cast: Alain Delon, Bourvil, Gian Maria Volonte, Yves Montand, Paul Crauchet

BEEN TOO LONG, MY FRIENDS

Not here to write much. I know, I know, it's been forever since I've poked my head in to say hello. I want everyone to know, however, that I still think about this journey often and often times, I'll find myself re-reading my old blog posts and feeling nostalgic to be knee deep in this thing all over again. I miss hearing from you and at times, I miss writing about movies. I don't get around to watching a lot of movies these days. It typically takes me about a full year to even squeeze out 100 films. However, I'm on vacation this week and I figured I'd swing in and try to catch up on some favs I've watched over the last year or two.

RATING: 8.5/10

466. Le Samourai/The Godson (1967)

Running Time: 105 minutes
Directed By: Jean-Pierre Melville
Written By: Jean-Pierre Melville, Georges Pellegrin, from the novel The Ronin by Joan McLeod
Main Cast: Alain Delon, Nathalie Delon, Caty Rosier, Francois Perier, Jean-Pierre Posier

A DOUBLE SHOT OF MELVILLE: 2 of 2

I mentioned in my "Bob the Gambler" post that I had previously seen "Le Samourai" and gave it a score of '10/10' and I can confirm that not much changed during my second go around.

Jef Costello (A. Delon) is a killer for hire. As the film opens we watch as Jef lays on the bed, in his grungy, grey apartment, puffing on a cigarette and probably thinking about his next caper. When the credits stop rolling, Jef applies his trademark trench coat and fedora and heads out. Carrying a massive ring of keys, Jef hops into a car that doesn't belong to him and tries his keys, one by one, until one of them finally starts the engine and he takes off to an out of the way garage, where a man changes the license plates and provides him with the appropriate paper work. Later that night, Jef goes to his apparent girlfriend Jane's (N. Delon) apartment and tells her that if anyone asks he was there from 7:15 to 1:45 - he then leaves. Jef then goes to Martey's nightclub, where he surveys the scene, applies a pair of white gloves and makes his way to the back office, where he shoots and kills Martey. Jef is seen by the pianist (Rosier), but slips away. He is later picked up by police because he fits the description of the man, that approximately six people (including the pianist), recounted to police. However, with Jane's alibi, Jef is released. We then find out that Jef's homicide on Martey was a contracted job and when he goes to pickup his payoff he is nearly killed by the go-between. The people that hired Jef to do the job, now want to take him out because he's been fingered and the police superintendent isn't buying Jef's alibi, citing that it's too airtight.

SPOILER ALERT!

For my money, everything about "Le Samourai" is perfect. The tone of the film is set right away, when we're given an opening scene with no dialogue and we're simply forced to sit and view the actions of Jef. As he leaves his apartment, the soles of his shoes clicking and clacking against the floor are enough to make you relax and simply enjoy the ride from the word go. I like how Jef is given a very limited amount of dialogue throughout the film, as he's meant to be a cold blooded, calculated person, who is really never given any human emotion. Despite that fact, the film doesn't work unless we're on Jef's side and you can't help but route for the guy, especially when everyone and their brother are seemingly out to get him. The score, at times, is almost that of a horror movie score, as it skulks in the background, reminding us that trouble could present itself at the turn of any corner. The film is sexy, stylish and flows along at an incredibly smooth pace. Some might call the movie boring, because many times we're left to simply observe the situations and there's not an overwhelming amount of action.

However, this is the kind of pacing that I like in my movies. I love movies that don't trip over themselves getting into a rush. This film just lets everything unfold and is very methodical in it's direction. Unlike "Bob the Gambler" this film is given distinct characteristics and to me, it's a one of a kind picture. From behind my eyes, there aren't a whole lot of movies where everything...and I mean everything, just clicks. From the acting to the music to the atmosphere to the pacing to the plot, everything is handled with care and the combination of all those things make "Le Samourai" a perfect movie. If I HAD to pick SOMETHING to gripe about, I'd wish that the police superintendent was a little more likeable. To me the film doesn't work if we're not on Jef's side. So naturally, if we're on Jef's side then the ending is a bit of a downer. Had the superintendent been a little more likable and we were just left to kind of hold our allegiances in the middle, then the ending wouldn't have been such of a downer and at least you could call it a good day for the police. The guy was such an unlikeable jerk, that when the ending comes and he gets the upper hand, it's a bit of a letdown.

But that's just me making up things to pick about and honestly, I think you'll have a hard time finding problems with "Le Samourai". Alain Delon and Jean-Pierre Melville just shot to the top of my favorite actor and favorite director list respectively, with the viewing of this classic!

RATING: 10/10 I wish there were more Melville flicks in the book, because I'm really jonesing to watch "Le cercle rouge" now.

MOVIES WATCHED: 321
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 680

COMING SOON:
Roman Holiday (1953 - William Wyler)
Mondo cane (1962 - Gualtiero Jacopetti)
The Hustler (1961 - Robert Rossen)

August 12, 2011 2:47am

293. Bob le flambeur/Bob the Gambler (1955)

Running Time: 102 minutes
Directed By: Jean-Pierre Melville
Written By: Auguste Le Breton, Jean-Pierre Melville
Main Cast: Roger Duchesne, Isabelle Corey, Daniel Cauchy, Guy Decomble, Andre Garet

A DOUBLE SHOT OF MELVILLE: 1 of 2

Noticing that "Le Samourai" was nearing the top of my Netflix queue as one of my next 60s films to watch, I decided to turn to the streaming portion of Netflix and knock out Melville with a one, two punch, watching "Bob the Gambler" last night.

Bob (Duchesne) is an aging, ex-convict who just happens to be a compulsive gambler. In fact, among his circles in Paris, Bob is knows as "Bob the Gambler", as he spends all hours of the night trying to double his money, playing cards or betting on race horses. Bob is also a very generous man. This is shown when he gives young Anne (Corey) money for a hotel and later offers her his place to stay and a bed to sleep in. Bob wins some money gambling and loses some money gambling, but for the most part, he finds himself counting his losses. When a race horse that Bob bets big on comes in, Bob's first instinct is to go to the Deauville Casino and ride his wave of luck. While at the casino, Bob loses everything, but a pal of his strikes up a conversation with one of the croupiers, who tells him that on the morning of the Grand Prix, the casino safe will house about 800 million francs. With losing still fresh in his mind, Bob can't help but revert to his old ways of thinking and it doesn't take him long to hatch a scheme to burgle the casino and make off with the loot. Bob puts together a team, including Paolo (Cauchy), his partner in crime, pays off the croupier for floor plans to the casino, gathers safe cracking equipment and goes to work!

SPOILER ALERT!

I was watching the director's commentary on "Hard Eight" (P.T. Anderson's first feature) about three years ago and heard Anderson cite "Bob the Gambler" as an influence on that film. I've wanted to see it since then, but just got around to it last night. I know - procrastination at it's finest! Anyway, my advice on that topic is never wait to see a picture that you can see today. The longer you wait, the more you're going to build it up in your head and the bigger chance there will be for disappointment. I really liked "Bob the Gambler", but there was still a smidgen of disappointment because I was expecting a surefire '10/10', no questions asked. While I wouldn't go so far as to call it a perfect movie, it was still damn good. The film had melancholy tones and didn't force itself upon you. It just allowed itself to be and slowly brought to the surface the relevant points, as we needed them. It captured the city of Paris in beautiful black and white and flowed like a jazz music, showing off qualities that were crisp, sexy and smooth.

The whole cast did a fine job in the pre-French New Wave, film noir. Roger Duchesne and Isabelle Corey fit right into the mildly dark, but often melancholy atmosphere. The film speaks on several different points, including loneliness and fate. Bob seemed to be insecure about his future and felt a need to surround himself with people and money, so that he could age comfortably and with companionship. I wondered if Bob gambled so that he'd have the money to give to lonely drifters on the street, or so that he could buy a bigger house and offer it to young girls like Anne. When the film boils down to the last thirty minutes or so, so many combustible elements have been put into play that the film becomes unpredictable. Will Bob and his crew pull of a successful heist? Will they get caught? Will Bob get gunned down in the heat of crime? I thought for sure Bob was going to die at the end. The whole film just had such a somber tone, that I couldn't imagine it ending with Bob still breathing. But it ended and Bob didn't die and it ended with my seal of approval.

Give "Bob the Gambler" a chance and you may just be surprised. My word of advice, however, would be to stick with it. It starts out just a tad slow, but definitely picks up and I think that by the time Bob is being ushered into the back of a police car, you'll be pleased.

RATING: 8/10 By the way, the last time I watched "Le Samourai" (which was several years ago), I gave it a '10/10'. We'll see what it gets this go around...in a few days.

MOVIES WATCHED: 319
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 682

Coming Soon:
Roman Holiday (1953 - William Wyler)
Le Samourai (1967 - Jean-Pierre Melville)

August 10, 2011 1:12pm