Le samouraï (1967)
(The Samurai)
Country: FR
Technical: col 105m
Director: Jean-Pierre Melville
Cast: Alain Delon, François Périer, Nathalie Delon
Synopsis:
A killer for hire carries out a contract but is seen by a musician employee of the victim, who then declines to identify him during the police line-up that follows. Double-crossed by his own employers and hounded by the police, he outwits all while he uncovers the truth.
Review:
Melville's first colour film is a classic contract killer policier, with Delon perfectly cast as the handsome, laconic Costello, barely speaking for the first twenty minutes but in any case doing so without expression and showing more concern over the welfare of his pet bird and the line of his fedora than spending time with his attractive girlfriend (Mrs Delon). His scrupulous professional code and practices, together with his ruthless efficiency, justify the analogy with the Japanese ronin enshrined in the title. Melville deploys his customarily clinical mise en scène to underscore the high stakes of his characters' world: every move of the actors or camera meticulously planned; props, costumes and decor carefully chosen and attentively shot.
(The Samurai)
Country: FR
Technical: col 105m
Director: Jean-Pierre Melville
Cast: Alain Delon, François Périer, Nathalie Delon
Synopsis:
A killer for hire carries out a contract but is seen by a musician employee of the victim, who then declines to identify him during the police line-up that follows. Double-crossed by his own employers and hounded by the police, he outwits all while he uncovers the truth.
Review:
Melville's first colour film is a classic contract killer policier, with Delon perfectly cast as the handsome, laconic Costello, barely speaking for the first twenty minutes but in any case doing so without expression and showing more concern over the welfare of his pet bird and the line of his fedora than spending time with his attractive girlfriend (Mrs Delon). His scrupulous professional code and practices, together with his ruthless efficiency, justify the analogy with the Japanese ronin enshrined in the title. Melville deploys his customarily clinical mise en scène to underscore the high stakes of his characters' world: every move of the actors or camera meticulously planned; props, costumes and decor carefully chosen and attentively shot.
(The Samurai)
Country: FR
Technical: col 105m
Director: Jean-Pierre Melville
Cast: Alain Delon, François Périer, Nathalie Delon
Synopsis:
A killer for hire carries out a contract but is seen by a musician employee of the victim, who then declines to identify him during the police line-up that follows. Double-crossed by his own employers and hounded by the police, he outwits all while he uncovers the truth.
Review:
Melville's first colour film is a classic contract killer policier, with Delon perfectly cast as the handsome, laconic Costello, barely speaking for the first twenty minutes but in any case doing so without expression and showing more concern over the welfare of his pet bird and the line of his fedora than spending time with his attractive girlfriend (Mrs Delon). His scrupulous professional code and practices, together with his ruthless efficiency, justify the analogy with the Japanese ronin enshrined in the title. Melville deploys his customarily clinical mise en scène to underscore the high stakes of his characters' world: every move of the actors or camera meticulously planned; props, costumes and decor carefully chosen and attentively shot.