Le Samouraï

''Le Samouraï'' (; ), is a 1967 neo-noir crime thriller film written and directed by Jean-Pierre Melville. 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, François Périer, Nathalie Delon 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''.

Plot

Impassive hitman Jef Costello lives in a single-room Paris apartment whose spartan furnishings include a small bird in a cage. Costello's methodical modus operandi involves creating airtight alibis, 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 as Jef Costello
* François Périer as the Superintendent
* Nathalie Delon as Jane Lagrange
* Caty Rosier as Valérie, the pianist a/k/a Cathy
* Jacques Leroy as the man in the passageway
* Michel Boisrond as Wiener
* Robert Favart as the bartender
* Jean-Pierre Posier as Olivier Rey
* Catherine Jourdan 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, 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 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'', 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''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 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's 1978 film ''The Driver'' features a similar dynamic between a reluctant female witness and, this time, the getaway driver, not the assassin.
* Hong Kong director John Woo's 1989 film '' The Killer'' was heavily influenced by ''Le Samouraïs plot, with the pianist replaced by a singer. Chow Yun-fat'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 DVD release.
* Jim Jarmusch paid homage to ''Le Samouraï'' in the 1999 crime-drama '' Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai'', starring Forest Whitaker as a meditative, loner assassin who lives by the bushido code. Just as Costello has a huge ring of keys that enables him to steal any Citroën DS, the hitman Ghost Dog has an electronic "key" to break into luxury cars.
* Hong Kong director Pang Ho-Cheung's 2001 crime-and-filmmaking comedy ''You Shoot, I Shoot'' features Eric Kot 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's '' Vengeance'' (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's assassin hiding in a small Italian village in Anton Corbijn's 2010 film '' The American'' bears a resemblance to ''Le Samouraï''.
* Ryan Gosling's nameless protagonist in the 2011 film ''Drive'' shares key characteristics with Jef Costello.
* Madonna'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
* List of films with a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes

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

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''Le Samouraï: Death in White Gloves''
an essay by David Thomson at the Criterion Collection

{{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