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Film Description
Collection of six classic films from acclaimed French director, Jean-Pierre Melville.
'Army of Shadows' (1969) is based on the novel by Joseph Kessel. Drawing on the director's own experiences in World War II, the film follows a band of resistance fighters in German-controlled France. As the war continues, the grip of the occupying force tightens and friendships, loyalty and trust give way to suspicion, secrecy and loss.
'Le Doulos' (1962) is a gangster film starring Jean-Paul Belmondo as the duplicitous Silien, underworld criminal and police informer, and Serge Reggiani as the dogged villain Faugel.
'Leon Morin, Pretre' (1961) stars Emmanuele Riva and Belmondo and tells the story of an unfulfilled love affair set against the troubled backdrop of German-occupied France.
'Le Cercle Rouge' (1970) stars Alain Delon as a master thief, Yves Montand as an alcoholic ex-cop, and Italian star Gian-Maria Volonte as an escaped criminal. Together, they plot a daring heist of an upmarket Parisian jewellery story against impossible odds.
In 'Bob Le Flambeur' (1955), Bob the Gambler (Roger Duchesne) reverts to his old trade as a bank robber after several bad rolls of the dice. However, his plans to rip off a casino are thrown into chaos by an unforeseen murder and the duplicitous scheming of his criminal colleagues.
Finally, 'Un Flic' (1972) stars Delon as Police Commissioner Coleman who finds himself playing a game of cat and mouse with a gang of thieves after a bank robbery in a small Riviera town goes wrong.
"Classic French noir" -
Antony Brown on 8th February 2011
These are all great classic French noir films from a master of the genre. Underrated, even unknown, in the UK, Melville was admired by contemporaries and successors in... more >
These are all great classic French noir films from a master of the genre. Underrated, even unknown, in the UK, Melville was admired by contemporaries and successors in the nouvelle vague. I bought the films individually, so am pleased that others can now access them in this collection. Although Melville got inspiration from American cinema of the forties, his take on it is still very French.
One small point in the description of Un Flic: the robbery takes place in Saint-Jean-de-Monts, a town in the Vendee on the Atlantic coast, hence the awful weather which is part of the great scene setting of the film. It's a town reliant on summer tourism for its existence. I've been there in summer and it's easy to imagine how dead it is out of season which is when the robbery takes place. Not much like the Med! < less
