''Le Samouraï'' (; ), is a 1967
neo-noir
Neo-noir is a revival of film noir, a genre that had originally flourished during the post-World War II era in the United Statesroughly from 1940 to 1960. The French term, ''film noir'', translates literally to English as "black film", indicating ...
crime thriller film
Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...
written and directed by
Jean-Pierre Melville
Jean-Pierre Melville (; born Jean-Pierre Grumbach; 20 October 1917 – 2 August 1973) was a French filmmaker and actor. Among his films are ''Le Silence de la mer'' (1949), ''Bob le flambeur'' (1956), '' Le Doulos'' (1962), ''Le Samouraï'' (196 ...
. The film follows a professional hitman named Jef Costello who is identified by witnesses and his efforts to provide himself with an alibi that drive him further into a corner. The film stars
Alain Delon
Alain Fabien Maurice Marcel Delon (; born 8 November 1935) is a French actor and filmmaker. He was one of Europe's most prominent actors and screen sex symbols in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. In 1985, he won the César Award for Best Actor for h ...
,
François Périer
François Périer (born François Pillu; 10 November 1919 – 29 June 2002), was a French actor renowned for his expressiveness and diversity of roles.
He made over 110 film and TV appearances between 1938 and 1996, with notable excursion into ...
,
Nathalie Delon
Nathalie Delon (born Francine Canovas, also known as Nathalie Barthélémy; 1 August 194121 January 2021) was a French actress, model, film director and writer. In the 1960s, Nathalie was regarded as one of the most beautiful women in the world ...
and
Cathy Rosier.
The film was released on 25 October 1967 and received positive reviews praising Melville's screenwriting and atmospheric direction and Delon's performance. The film grossed over 1.9 million admissions in France.
An English-dubbed version was released in the U.S. in 1972 as ''The Godson'', apparently to capitalize on the success of ''
The Godfather
''The Godfather'' is a 1972 American crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling 1969 novel of the same title. The film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, ...
''.
Plot
Impassive
hitman
Contract killing is a form of murder or assassination in which one party hires another party to kill a targeted person or persons. It involves an illegal agreement which includes some form of payment, monetary or otherwise. Either party may be ...
Jef Costello lives in a single-room
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
apartment whose spartan furnishings include a small bird in a cage. Costello's methodical
modus operandi
A ''modus operandi'' (often shortened to M.O.) is someone's habits of working, particularly in the context of business or criminal investigations, but also more generally. It is a Latin phrase, approximately translated as "mode (or manner) of op ...
involves creating airtight
alibi
An alibi (from the Latin, '' alibī'', meaning "somewhere else") is a statement by a person, who is a possible perpetrator of a crime, of where they were at the time a particular offence was committed, which is somewhere other than where the crim ...
s, including ones provided by his lover, Jane. After carrying out a contract killing on a nightclub owner, Jef is seen leaving the scene by the club's piano player Valérie and several witnesses, but their testimonies are contradictory. After rounding up numerous suspects, including Jef, the police superintendent firmly believes Costello is the culprit.
Costello loses a police tail and goes to collect his fee from an intermediary sent by his employers. When the man shoots and wounds Costello, Jef realizes that the police investigation has compromised him with his employers. After treating his wound, Costello returns to the nightclub and meets Valérie, who takes him to her home. Though he is grateful, he wonders why she lied to the police when she clearly saw him after the murder. Meanwhile, police officers
bug his room, agitating the bird in its cage. Upon returning, Costello notices some loose feathers scattered around the cage and the bird acting strangely. Suspecting an intrusion, he searches his room, finds the bug and deactivates it.
The police search Jane's apartment and offer her a deal: withdraw her dubious alibi for Costello and they will leave her alone. She rejects the offer. Back in his apartment, Costello is ambushed by the intermediary, who pays him off and offers him another contract. Costello overpowers him and forces him to disclose the identity of his boss, Olivier Rey.
Several undercover officers attempt to tail Costello in the
Métro but he loses them. He visits Jane and assures her that everything will work out, then drives to Rey's home, which turns out to be where Valérie also lives. Costello kills Rey and returns to the nightclub, this time making no attempt to conceal his presence. He checks his hat but leaves his hat-check ticket on the counter and puts on white gloves, which he wears during his kills, in full view of everyone. He approaches the stage where Valérie plays organ. She quietly advises him to leave but he pulls out his gun and aims it at her. As she asks Costello why he is doing this, he responds that he is being paid for the job. Three policemen reveal themselves and shoot Costello dead. When the superintendent inspects Costello's gun, he finds it empty.
Cast
*
Alain Delon
Alain Fabien Maurice Marcel Delon (; born 8 November 1935) is a French actor and filmmaker. He was one of Europe's most prominent actors and screen sex symbols in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. In 1985, he won the César Award for Best Actor for h ...
as Jef Costello
*
François Périer
François Périer (born François Pillu; 10 November 1919 – 29 June 2002), was a French actor renowned for his expressiveness and diversity of roles.
He made over 110 film and TV appearances between 1938 and 1996, with notable excursion into ...
as the Superintendent
*
Nathalie Delon
Nathalie Delon (born Francine Canovas, also known as Nathalie Barthélémy; 1 August 194121 January 2021) was a French actress, model, film director and writer. In the 1960s, Nathalie was regarded as one of the most beautiful women in the world ...
as Jane Lagrange
*
Caty Rosier as Valérie, the pianist a/k/a Cathy
* Jacques Leroy as the man in the passageway
*
Michel Boisrond
Michel Jacques Boisrond (9 October 1921, Châteauneuf-en-Thymerais – 10 November 2002, La Celle-Saint-Cloud) was a French film director and screenwriter. His work spanned five decades, from the 1950s to the 1990s.
Career
A former apprentice ...
as Wiener
*
Robert Favart
Marc Robert Favart (9 February 1911 – 26 July 2003) was a French actor, married to Jenny Carré, daughter of Albert Carré.
Filmography Cinema
* 1938: ' (by Jean de Limur)
* 1939: ''Angelica'' or ''La rose de sang'' (by Jean Choux)
* 194 ...
as the bartender
* Jean-Pierre Posier as Olivier Rey
*
Catherine Jourdan
Catherine Jourdan (12 October 1948 – 18 February 2011) was a French actress. She appeared in 22 films and television shows between 1967 and 1989. She starred in the 1970 film '' Eden and After'', which was entered into the 20th Berlin Inte ...
as the hatcheck girl
* Roger Fradet, Carlo Nell and Robert Rondo as police inspectors
Production
Melville wrote the film for Delon. This was the first film for Delon's wife, Nathalie. He filed for divorce after the film wrapped, but they terminated their divorce proceedings a few days later. The couple divorced in June 1968 and their divorce became official in February 1969. Nathalie was granted custody of their son, Anthony.
François Périer
François Périer (born François Pillu; 10 November 1919 – 29 June 2002), was a French actor renowned for his expressiveness and diversity of roles.
He made over 110 film and TV appearances between 1938 and 1996, with notable excursion into ...
, who played the police inspector, was a comedian cast against type. Melville's private film studio, Studio Jenner, was destroyed by fire while ''Le Samouraï'' was shooting early in July 1967. Melville, who termed the blaze "suspicious", moved the production to another studio.
Alternate ending
In an interview with Rui Nogueira, Melville stated that he had originally filmed Costello meeting his death with a picture-perfect grin. The scene was changed after Melville angrily discovered that Delon had a smiling death scene in another of his films. Production stills of the smiling death exist.
Release and reception
''Le Samourai'' was released on 25 October 1967. It received positive reviews with praise for Melville's screenwriting and direction, Delon's performance and atmosphere. It holds a 100% rating at
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
based on 31 reviews from critics, and a rating average of 8.4/10. The website's critical consensus states, "''Le Samouraï'' makes the most of its spare aesthetic, using stylish – and influential – direction, solid performances, and thick atmosphere to weave an absorbing story."
Writing of the Delons' performances in ''
Le Figaro
''Le Figaro'' () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It is headquartered on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. The oldest national newspaper in France, ''Le Figaro'' is one of three French newspapers of reco ...
'', Bertrand Guyard notes husband and wife are both nearly silent but "their gazes, fraught with meaning, are enough to thrill the camera" with the director drawing from their portrayals "a mythical couple in the seventh art."
The film was ranked No. 39 in ''
Empire
An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
''s "The 100 Best Films Of World Cinema" in 2010.
''Variety'', reviewing the original release, called it "a curious hybrid" that "appears a bit too solemn to inject all the suspense, action and characterization
elvilleseeks", and "almost seems to be an American film dubbed into French" that "could be cut a bit".
''New York Times'' critic Vincent Canby called the original film "immaculate", but criticized the dubbing in the 1972 version released in the U.S. (as ''The Godson'') as "disorienting" and "dreadful".
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
gave the film four out of four in his review, writing: "Like a painter or a musician, a filmmaker can suggest complete mastery with just a few strokes. Jean-Pierre Melville involves us in the spell of ''Le Samourai'' (1967) before a word is spoken. He does it with light: a cold light, like dawn on an ugly day. And color: grays and blues. And actions that speak in place of words", with Ebert including the film in his collection of "Great Movies" essays.
Box office
The film grossed over 1.9 million admissions in France and over 797,011 admissions across Spain.
First released in theaters in 1972 in the United States, ''The Samurai'' grossed $39,481 in the 1997 re-release.
[
]
Influence and legacy
The film has influenced other works and directors:
* Walter Hill
Walter may refer to:
People
* Walter (name), both a surname and a given name
* Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968)
* Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 19 ...
's 1978 film ''The Driver
''The Driver'' is a 1978 American neo-noir crime film, crime thriller film written and directed by Walter Hill. It stars Ryan O'Neal, Bruce Dern, and Isabelle Adjani. O'Neal is the getaway driver for robberies whose exceptional talent has prevent ...
'' features a similar dynamic between a reluctant female witness and, this time, the getaway driver
A crime scene getaway is the act of :wikt:flee, fleeing the location where one has broken the law. It is an act that the offender(s) may or may not have planned in detail, resulting in a variety of outcomes. A :crime scene is the "location of ...
, not the assassin.
* Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
director John Woo
John Woo Yu-Sen SBS (; born September 22, 1946) is a Hong Kong filmmaker, known as a highly-influential figure in the action film genre. He was a pioneer of heroic bloodshed films (a crime action film genre involving Chinese triads) and the gun fu ...
's 1989 film '' The Killer'' was heavily influenced by ''Le Samouraïs plot, with the pianist replaced by a singer. Chow Yun-fat
Chow Yun-fat (born 18 May 1955), previously known as Donald Chow, is a Hong Kong actor. He is perhaps best known for his collaborations with filmmaker John Woo in the five Hong Kong action heroic bloodshed films: ''A Better Tomorrow'', ''A Be ...
's character Jeffrey Chow (international character name for Ah Jong) was inspired by Alain Delon's Jef Costello. The inspiration, or homage, is confirmed by the similarity in the character names. Woo acknowledged his influences by writing a short essay on ''Le Samouraï'' and Melville's techniques for the film's Criterion Collection
The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films." Criterion serves film and media scholars, cinep ...
DVD release.
* Jim Jarmusch
James Robert Jarmusch (; born January 22, 1953) is an American film director and screenwriter. He has been a major proponent of independent cinema since the 1980s, directing films including '' Stranger Than Paradise'' (1984), '' Down by Law'' ( ...
paid homage to ''Le Samouraï'' in the 1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...
crime-drama '' Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai'', starring Forest Whitaker
Forest Steven Whitaker (born July 15, 1961) is an American actor. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Forest Whitaker, various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a British Academy Film Award ...
as a meditative, loner assassin who lives by the bushido
is a moral code concerning samurai attitudes, behavior and lifestyle. There are multiple bushido types which evolved significantly through history. Contemporary forms of bushido are still used in the social and economic organization of Japan. ...
code. Just as Costello has a huge ring of keys that enables him to steal any Citroën DS
The Citroën DS () is a Front-mid-engine, front-wheel-drive layout, front mid-engined, front-wheel drive executive car manufactured and marketed by Citroën from 1955 to 1975, in fastback/sedan, wagon/estate, and convertible body configurations ...
, the hitman Ghost Dog has an electronic "key" to break into luxury cars.
* Hong Kong director Pang Ho-Cheung's 2001
The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...
crime-and-filmmaking comedy ''You Shoot, I Shoot
''You Shoot, I Shoot'' (買兇拍人) is a 2001 Hong Kong black comedy film produced, written and directed by Pang Ho-cheung and starring Eric Kot and Cheung Tat-ming.
Plot
Bart (Eric Kot), a professional contract killer, is requested by his ...
'' features Eric Kot
Eric Kot Man-fai is a Hong Kong singer and actor who studied in California and is the second youngest of three brothers.
He formed a comedic music duo with fellow DJ and comedian Jan Lamb called Softhard in the 1980s.
He also runs a fashion st ...
as a hitman who idolizes Alain Delon's Jef, dressing like the character, and speaking to him via a ''Le Samouraï'' poster in his apartment.
* Johnnie To
Johnnie To Kei-fung (born 22 April 1955) is a Hong Kong film director, screenwriter and film producer. Popular in his native Hong Kong, To has also found acclaim overseas. Intensely prolific, To has made films in a variety of genres, though in ...
's ''Vengeance
Vengeance may refer to:
*Vengeance (concept) or revenge, a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance
Film
* ''Vengeance'' (1930 film), action adventure film directed by Archie Mayo
* ''Vengeance'' (1937 film) or ''W ...
'' (2009) is a homage to Melville’s gangster films. The main character is a retired assassin whose last name is Costello. He offered the role to Alain Delon, who turned it down.
* George Clooney
George Timothy Clooney (born May 6, 1961) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by George Clooney, numerous accolades, including a British Academy Film Awards, British Academy Film A ...
's assassin hiding in a small Italian village in Anton Corbijn
Anton Johannes Gerrit Corbijn van Willenswaard (; born 20 May 1955) is a Dutch photographer, film director and music video director. He is the creative director behind the visual output of Depeche Mode and U2,Pitman, Joanna"The silent partner"' ...
's 2010 film '' The American'' bears a resemblance to ''Le Samouraï''.
* Ryan Gosling
Ryan Thomas Gosling (born November 12, 1980) is a Canadian actor. Prominent in independent film, he has also worked in blockbuster films of varying genres, and has accrued a worldwide box office gross of over 1.9 billion USD. He has received ...
's nameless protagonist in the 2011 film ''Drive
Drive or The Drive may refer to:
Motoring
* Driving, the act of controlling a vehicle
* Road trip, a journey on roads
Roadways
Roadways called "drives" may include:
* Driveway, a private road for local access to structures, abbreviated "drive"
...
'' shares key characteristics with Jef Costello.
* Madonna
Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...
's 2012 song " Beautiful Killer" is an homage to Alain Delon. The song alludes to ''Le Samouraï'' and Delon's Jef: "You are a beautiful killer / I like your silhouette when you stand on the streets / Like a samurai you can handle the heat / Makes me wanna pray for a haunted man..."
* Kazakh film, '' Yellow Cat'', directed by Adilkhan Yerzhanov has the protagonist quoting and performing scenes from ''Le Samourai'' throughout the film as a major character point.
See also
* List of films featuring surveillance
There is a significant body of films that feature surveillance
Surveillance is the monitoring of behavior, many activities, or information for the purpose of information gathering, influencing, managing or directing. This can include observa ...
* List of films with a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, a film has a rating of 100% if each professional review recorded by the website is assessed as positive rather than negative. The percentage is based on the film's reviews aggregated by the webs ...
References
Further reading
* Nogueira, Rui (ed.). 1971. ''Melville on Melville''. New York: Viking Press. (hardbound), (paperbound)
* Palmer, Tim. 2006. ''Le Samouraï'' In Phil Powrie (ed.), ''The Cinema of France''. London: Wallflower Press. (hardbound), (paperbound)
* Vincendeau, Ginette. 2003. ''Jean-Pierre Melville : 'an American in Paris. London: British Film Institute. (hardbound), (paperback)
External links
*
*
''Le Samouraï: Death in White Gloves''
an essay by David Thomson at the Criterion Collection
The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films." Criterion serves film and media scholars, cinep ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Samourai, Le
1960s crime thriller films
1967 films
Films about contract killing
Films directed by Jean-Pierre Melville
Films set in Paris
Films shot in Paris
French crime thriller films
Italian crime thriller films
French neo-noir films
Films produced by Raymond Borderie
Films scored by François de Roubaix
1960s Italian films
1960s French films