Le Deuxieme Souffle

A principled criminal (Lino Ventura) escapes from prison, returns to Paris, and reacquaints with old friends before being roped back into the life, taking part in an execution and a deadly heist while being pursued by a wily detective (Paul Meurisse). Harsh and violent, Jean-Pierre Melville's undemonstrative Le Deuxieme Souffle (Second Wind) is another of the director's takes on gangster ethics and boasting a strong performance from Ventura.

*** 1/2 out of ****

Le Doulos

A recently released low rent criminal (Serge Reggiani) shows up at a crime lord and friends resident, ostensibly to get filled in on a job, and shoots him dead in cold blooded, making out with the loot from a previous heist and stacks full of cash. He returns home and tells his live-in girlfriend and fellow con artist pal (Jean-Paul Belmondo) who may or may not be police informants. Jean-Pierre Melville's Le Doulos is a hard-bitten, tough talking tribute to film noir made with sudden, shocking violence and intricate, convoluted plotting. Reggiani and Belmondo and perfectly cast.

*** 1/2 out of ****

Le Silence de la Mer

During the German Occupation of France in a quiet village, a German officer (Howard Vernon) boards with an elderly man (Jean-Marie Robain) and his niece (Nicole Stephane) whose only form of resistance is utter silence in the face of their unwanted houseguest who responds with unrelenting courtesy, tales from back home and of love for his assumed country, and horror in response to Nazi atrocities. From Vercors inspirational Resistance short story, Jean-Pierre Melville's Le Silence de la Mer is unique and almost daring/high concept (which must have seemed extremely tedious on paper) with great cinematography and moments of tension and insight. Vernon's performance is delicate and wonderful.

*** 1/2 out of ****

Les Enfants Terribles

A fragile teen (Edouard Dermithe) is hit with a snow shrouded stone at school and nursed back to health by his sister (Nicole Stephane), with whom he has an unhealthy relationship, which turns tragic when a female who stokes his desire is introduced into their inner circle and jealousies are inflamed. From Jean Cocteau's popular novel, who worked closely with director Jean-Pierre Melville during the production, Les Enfants Terribles is a smarmy, obnoxious, and vapid translation though incredibly directed and with a fine performance from Stephane.

** 1/2 out of ****

Leon Morin, Priest

During the German Occupation, a repressed, recently widowed atheist (Emmanuelle Riva) strikes up a friendship with her attractive, impassioned local priest (Jean-Paul Belmondo) and finds herself being drawn both to the popular cleric but also unremittingly to the faith. Jean-Pierre Melville’s Leon Morin, Priest is offbeat, intellectual fare, expertly filmed in beautiful black and white, and always moving and involving with ardent performances from Riva and Belmondo.

**** out of ****

Army of Shadows

As German troops march on the Champs-Elysee (in one of the great movie openings), members of the French Resistance plot, traffic in contraband, bear torture, face death, escape confinement, and smoke out informants from their own cells. Jean-Pierre Melville's tense, gripping and personal Army of Shadows is a thriller told with meaning and purpose with no delusions of happy endings, false hope, and phony heroism, dealing instead with self-sacrifice in the face of an apparent losing battle. The film is, however, almost too murky and atmospheric and with a thriller of this sort, despite its realistic intentions, i don't think it would have hurt to have been plotted a little more deeply.

*** 1/2 out of ****

Bob le Flambeur

An aged noble gambling junkie (Roger Duchesne) assembles a motley team of underworld sorts to rob a casino and sees it through even as the police start to catch on. You can palpably feel the Hollywood noirish influences on Jeanne-Pierre Melville's Bob le Flambeur (Bob the Gambler) but you can also discern its impact, both the immediate one concerning style and substance on the French New Wave and also in the longer run on buddy crime pictures, Ocean's 11 coming foremost to mind. And though, much of Melville's film lies before it and in its wake, it is its own, creating a nostalgic, laconic feel, wonderfully incorporating irony, and offering a pious Duchesne in a very likable lead performance. Also, the finale is brilliant.

*** 1/2 out of ****

Le Samourai

11/18/11 I revisited this film, and again want to comment on its inspirational effect its had on subsequent films, most notably Nicolas Winding Refn's "Drive", whose lead character is clearly derived from Alain Delon's existential hitmen. I also once more appreciated the drab palette employed by Melville and the precise mechanics of the plot.

7/10/10 He is smoking in his bed, arises, and puts on his hat. We think he is a cop. It is clear that he has seen more than a few American gangster pictures and as he moves about his day from stealing a car to carrying out a professional hit, it also becomes clear that more than a few directors have seen this film. Le Samourai is a 1967 film from director Jean-Pierre Melville and it is a near perfect thriller with Alain Delon starring as a meticulous hit man who outsmarts the police and outguns the mob, but with both after him, who knows? This is a smartly constructed film, where all scenes eventually make sense. Also a sense of dread is consistently felt throughout the film. It clearly has influenced numerous filmmakers since its release and when watching it you can tell it was made with care by someone with smarts and style.

Le Cercle Rouge

After spending five years in prison, a thief is tipped off by a guard of a jewelry store that is ripe for the picking. The day after being released from custody, an escaped convict stows away in his trunk and after the fugitive saves the man's life, the two form a bond and the thief returns to his life of crime. The men enlist an alcoholic retired cop, who just so happens to be acquainted with the man chasing the escaped convict, and plot to take down the jewelry store, although their fates may have already been sealed. Le Cercle Rouge is a stylish and well executed thriller from masterful French New Wave director Jean-Pierre Melville, who is here reteamed with lead actor Alain Delon, whom both scored huge marks with the wonderful Le Samourai. In a film of coincidences, which have fallen in favor in modern day films, Melville focuses not so much on these happenings as he does on pure filmmaking. The crisp film looks great and the dialogue and the plotting are well handled. The dialogue free heist is also a highlight of the film. With Le Cercle Rouge and following Le Samourai, Melville further proves that action films can be intelligent as well as entertaining.