''Flic Story'' is a French

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definit ...

thriller released on October 1, 1975, based on the autobiography of the same name written by French police detective

Roger Borniche Roger Borniche (7 June 1919 – 16 June 2020) was a French author and detective of the Sûreté nationale. Borniche was born in Vineuil-Saint-Firmin, Oise. He started as a singer, but his fledgling musical career was interrupted by the German ...

. Both film and book portray Borniche's nine-year pursuit of French gangster and murderer Emile Buisson, who was executed on February 28, 1956.Hayward p. 279 Directed by

Jacques Deray Jacques Deray (born Jacques Desrayaud; 19 February 1929 – 9 August 2003) was a French film director and screenwriter. Deray is prominently known for directing many crime and thriller films. Biography Born Jacques Desrayaud in Lyon, France, in ...

, the film stars Alain Delon and

Jean-Louis Trintignant Jean-Louis Xavier Trintignant (; 11 December 1930 – 17 June 2022) was a French actor. He made his theatrical debut in 1951, and went on to be regarded as one of the best French dramatic actors of the post-war era. He starred in many classic fi ...

as Borniche and Buisson respectively, supported by

Claudine Auger Claudine Auger (born Claudine Oger; 26 April 1941 – 18 December 2019) was a French actress best known for her role as a Bond girl, Dominique "Domino" Derval, in the James Bond film '' Thunderball'' (1965). She earned the title of Miss F ...

and

André Pousse André Pousse (20 October 1919 – 9 September 2005) was a noted French actor and, in his youth, also a notable cyclist. Biography While primarily known as a leading French actor, André Pousse began his professional career as a cyclist (prima ...

Plot

''Flic Story'' follows a nine-year pursuit of Emile Buisson through France during the 1940s and 1950s, and illustrates the pursuit as a battle of intellect, focusing on a growing

rapport Rapport () is a close and harmonious relationship in which the people or groups concerned are "in sync" with each other, understand each other's feelings or ideas, and communicate smoothly. The word stems from the French verb which means liter ...

between Buisson and the

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...

Borniche. Deray's humanizing of the characters was a trait used in his other films, and was a popular counter-cliché concept in France during the 1970s. The film story depicts Emile Buisson, following the death of his wife and child, escaping from a psychiatric institution in 1947 and returning to

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 ...

. Buisson, who three years later would become France's public enemy number one, begins a murderous rampage through the French capital. The opening scene shows reluctant detective (''flic'' is the French slang equivalent of "cop" in English) Borniche, who is given the case and pursues Buisson for three years,Flic Story
a
FilmSpot
retrieved July 30, 2007 while the latter evades capture by killing informants and anyone else he feels may give him away. Borniche, who unlike his colleagues, prides himself in a methodical approach, hunts Buisson through numerous alleyway chases, rooftop pursuits, car chases and gunfights, while putting his lover Catherine (Auger) in danger.
a
Films de France
retrieved July 30, 2007 When

bureaucracy The term bureaucracy () refers to a body of non-elected governing officials as well as to an administrative policy-making group. Historically, a bureaucracy was a government administration managed by departments staffed with non-elected offi ...

intervenes with Borniche's attempts, and politicians and the media begin speculating, he uses the assistance of another criminal, Paul Robier (Crauchet) to apprehend Buisson. The serial killer is finally captured after having committed over 30 murders and 100 robberies. The final sequences sees Buisson telling Borniche that he would like to "take a hacksaw" to the throat of his informer, prompting a critically lauded line from Borniche that he would not get the chance.

Cast

* Alain Delon -

- Emile Buisson *

Renato Salvatori Renato Salvatori (20 March 1933 – 27 March 1988) was an Italian actor. Born in Seravezza, Province of Lucca, Salvatori began his career in his teens playing juvenile, romantic roles. After working with directors such as Luchino Visconti, Ro ...

- Mario Poncini *

- Catherine (prototype - Martine Borniche, who in reality was not a girlfriend, but the wife of Roger Borniche) *

Maurice Biraud Maurice Biraud (3 March 1922 – 24 December 1982) was a French film actor. He appeared in 90 films between 1951 and 1982. Biraud was born on 3 March 1922 in Paris. He married actress Françoise Soulié in 1956. He died on 24 December 1982 i ...

- The patrol of the Saint-Appoline hotel *

- Jean-Baptiste Buisson * Mario David - Raymond Pelletier *

Paul Crauchet Paul Crauchet (14 July 1920 – 19 December 2012) was a French actor. Biography As a young man interested in aviation and rugby, Paul Crauchet discovered a passion for the theatre at the age of 23. He settled in Paris in 1945, he studied un ...

- Paul Robier *

Denis Manuel Denis may refer to: People * Saint Denis of Paris, 3rd-century Christian martyr and first bishop of Paris * Denis the Areopagite, Biblical figure * Denis, son of Ampud (died 1236), baron in the Kingdom of Hungary * Denis the Carthusian (1402� ...

- Lucien Darros * Marco Perrin - Commissioner Viechens (his prototype is Commissioner Charles Chenevier, who was the chief of Roger Borniche) *

Henri Guybet Henri Guybet (born 21 December 1936) is a French actor. He has appeared in more than one hundred films since 1964. Guybet started his career in dinner theater in the Café de la Gare, alongside Coluche and Miou-Miou in late 1960s. Gérard Oury ...

- Hidoine *

Maurice Barrier Maurice Barrier (8 June 1932 – 12 April 2020) was a French actor and singer. Biography Barrier was the son of a cabinetmaker, and had his first job working in his father's workshop. While in Rennes at age 28, he met several resident actors at t ...

- Rene Bollec *

Françoise Dorner Françoise Dorner (born 17 June 1949, Paris) is a French actress, screenwriter, author of plays and novels. Biography Actress Dorner appeared for the first time in the cinema thanks to Éric Le Hung who entrusted her in 1975 one of the main rol ...

- Suzanne Bollec * William Sabatier - Ange * Adolfo Lastretti - Jeannot

Production

Writers Bénédicte Kermadec and

Alphonse Boudard Alphonse Boudard (17 December 1925 – 14 January 2000) was a French novelist and playwright. He won the 1977 Prix Renaudot for ''Les Combattants du petit bonheur''. Boudard's 1995 novel ''Dying childhood '' was awarded and recognised by the ...

worked with Deray on Roger Borniche's memoir in order to create the script. The film was produced by Delon, featuring

cinematography Cinematography (from ancient Greek κίνημα, ''kìnema'' "movement" and γράφειν, ''gràphein'' "to write") is the art of motion picture (and more recently, electronic video camera) photography. Cinematographers use a lens to focu ...

by Jean-Jacques Tarbès and an original score by Claude Bolling. The film was shot and printed on 35 mm negative using spherical cinematographic processes, as was common with films produced through the 1950s to the early 1990s.Films using PCS:Spherical

Internet Movie Database IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

retrieved July 30, 2007 Production began on February 3, 1975, 18 years after Boisson's execution, and the film was shot on locations in both France and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

.Flic Story
at the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

retrieved July 30, 2007

Foreign releases

''Flic Story'' was released through 1975 to 1977 in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

as ''Cop Story'',

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

as ''Passi ruumishuoneelle'' and

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

as ''Der Bulle und der Killer'' or ''Flic Story - Duell in sechs Runden''. The film rated '16' in Finland,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

and

, the latter downgraded it to '12' following the

reunification A political union is a type of political entity which is composed of, or created from, smaller polities, or the process which achieves this. These smaller polities are usually called federated states and federal territories in a federal governm ...

.Flic Story
at the

retrieved July 30, 2007

Reception

''Flic Story'' received mainly positive reviews from critics. James Travers of ''Film de France'' praised the film for a "quality feel and sombre mood" and the lead actors for "humanity and depth". Travers also noted several similarities to the films of

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 ...

, particularly '' Le Samourai''. Travers names the film as one of Deray's best, although the "end result isn’t quite a masterpiece". Other internet reviews noted similarities with Melville, and complimented the film for "unsentimental verve, intelligent pacing and refreshing honesty". Susan Hayward, author of ''French National Cinema'', also complimented the film, saying it departed from mainstream style. She gave particular praise on the differences between ''Flic Story'' and American films of the same genre, by the way Deray focuses on the intellects rather than the brawn of the two leading characters, as well as the understanding that grows between the two during "months of interrogation".

Gary Giddins Gary Giddins is an American jazz critic and author. He wrote for ''The Village Voice'' from 1973; his "Weather Bird" column ended in 2003. In 1986 Gary Giddins and John Lewis created the American Jazz Orchestra which presented concerts using a j ...

, printing his review from the August 16, 2005 issue of ''

The New York Sun ''The New York Sun'' is an American online newspaper published in Manhattan; from 2002 to 2008 it was a daily newspaper distributed in New York City. It debuted on April 16, 2002, adopting the name, motto, and masthead of the earlier New York ...

'', praised the film as "the most interesting and resonant" of Deray's work, and gave particular credit to Trintignant's "hair-trigger" performance. He also complimented the detail in the secondary characters, and said it was honest in its support for the

death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

. Giddins also, however, criticised the film's pacing.Giddins p. 196

Notes

References

* Cannon, Steve ''Popular Music in France from Chanson to Techno: Culture, Identity and Society'', 2003 * Giddins, Gary ''Natural Selection: Gary Giddins on Comedy, Film, Music, and Books'', 2006 * Hayward, Susan ''French National Cinema'', 2005 * Lisanti, Tom ''Film Fatales: Women in Espionage Films and Television, 1962-1973'', 2002

External links

*
''Flic Story''
at the

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Flic Story 1975 films 1970s crime thriller films 1970s crime drama films 1970s serial killer films French crime drama films Biographical films about French gangsters 1970s French-language films Films directed by Jacques Deray Films produced by Alain Delon Films set in the 1940s Films set in the 1950s Films set in Paris Films shot in France Films shot in Italy Police detective films 1975 drama films Films scored by Claude Bolling Films based on autobiographies 1970s French films