''The Police War'' (French: ''La guerre des polices'') is a French

police drama The police show, or police crime drama, is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasizes the investigative procedure of a police officer or department as the protagonist(s), as contrasted with other genres that focus on eithe ...

film directed by

Robin Davis Robin may refer to: Animals * Australasian robins, red-breasted songbirds of the family Petroicidae * Many members of the subfamily Saxicolinae (Old World chats), including: ** European robin (''Erithacus rubecula'') **Bush-robin ** Forest ...

and starring

Claude Brasseur Claude Brasseur (15 June 1936 – 22 December 2020) was a French actor. Life and career Claude Brasseur was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine as Claude Pierre Espinasse, the son of actor Pierre Brasseur and actress Odette Joyeux. He was the godson of E ...

Claude Rich Claude Rich (8 February 1929 – 20 July 2017) was a French stage and screen actor. He began his career in the theater before his film debut in 1955. Personal life He married actress Catherine Renaudin on 26 June 1959. They had two daughters, ...

and

Marlène Jobert Marlène Jobert (born 4 November 1940) is a French actress and author. Life and career Jobert was born in Algiers, Algeria, to a Sephardic Jewish and Pied-Noir family, the daughter of Eliane Azulay and Charles Jobert, who served in the French A ...

. The French title (literally: "the war of the polices") refers to the rivalry between the two divisions of the French police force: the Territorial Brigade and the Anti-Gang Brigade.

Plot

The team of Commissaire Ballestrat from the Territorial Brigade stakes out the hideout of a dangerous criminal named Sarlat. Suddenly, Commissaire Fush and his team from the Anti-Gang Brigade arrive to the site. The ambitious Ballestrat would rather let Sarlat escape than allow the rival team to take credit for the arrest. In the ensuing shootout, Sarlat kills one of Fush's men and flees. From then on, the two teams treat each other with open hostility. The police chief orders Ballestrat to cooperate with the Anti-Gang team. But the two groups would still act separately in their pursuit of Sarlat. Fush becomes close with Marie, one of Ballestrat's team members. She later betrays him by informing her boss of the Anti-Gang's upcoming operation to capture Sarlat's accomplice Manekian. Ballestrat's interference causes a death of an innocent bystander. Fush submits his resignation. Then the massive police ambush against Sarlat misfires, and one of the officers is taken hostage. While the rest of the police prefer to wait the situation out, Fush single-handedly confronts Sarlat, and they are both killed in the resulting stand-off.

Cast

: Jacques Fush *

: Ballestrat * Gérard Desarthe : Hector Sarlat *

: Marie Garcin *

Jean-François Stévenin Jean-François Stévenin (; 23 April 194427 July 2021) was a French actor and filmmaker. He appeared in 150 films and television shows since 1968. He starred in the film ''Cold Moon (1991 film), Cold Moon'', which was entered into the 1991 Canne ...

: Capati *

Georges Staquet Georges Staquet (1932, in Bruille-lez-Marchiennes – 2011) was a French actor. Partial filmography * ''The Day and the Hour'' (1963) - L'aubergiste (uncredited) * '' Bande à part'' (1964) - Legionary * ''Marie Soleil'' (1964) * '' Pierrot l ...

: Millard *

Étienne Chicot Étienne Chicot (5 May 1949 – 7 August 2018) was a French actor and composer.Jean-Pierre Kalfon Jean-Pierre Kalfon (born 30 October 1938) is a French actor and singer. Selected filmography External links * 1938 births Living people French male film actors French male television actors Male actors from Paris French male stage a ...

: Marc *

Rufus Rufus is a masculine given name, a surname, an Ancient Roman cognomen and a nickname (from Latin '' rufus'', "red"). Notable people with the name include: Given name Politicians * Rufus Ada George (born 1940), Nigerian politician * Rufus ...

: Le Garrec *

Féodor Atkine Féodor Atkine is a French actor of Russian-Polish origin, born on 27 February 1948 in Paris. A screen performer, he has participated in numerous plays, films and television series in France and abroad. Life and career Féodor Atkine was born ...

: Serge Manékian *

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 ...

: Police Chief Colombani *

Ludmila Mikaël Ludmila Mikaël (born 27 April 1947) is a French actress. She has appeared in more than eighty films since 1967. Selected filmography References External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mikael, Ludmila 1947 births Living people French fi ...

: The Magistrate * David Jalil : Djalloud * Jean Rougerie : Mermoz * Jacques Lalande : Pralin * Roger Miremont : Lagrange * Franck-Olivier Bonnet : René * Albert Dray : Francis *

Jacqueline Parent Jacqueline Parent is a French actress. In 1980 she starred in ''Le Voyage en douce'' directed by Michel Deville. Selected filmography *'' The Big Night'' (1976) *''The Police War'' (1979) *''Le Voyage en douce'' (1980) *''Malevil ''Malevil' ...

Michel Berto Michel Berto (; 25 December 1939 in Grenoble – 2 January 1996 in Paris) was a French actor. He was married to the actresses Juliet Berto and Marie Berto. His body was found on 3 January 1996, hence the exact date of his death is uncertai ...

Reception

The film had 1,792,679 admissions in France and ranked 18th at the 1979 box-office.

Awards

won the

César Award for Best Actor This is the list of winners and nominees of the César Award for Best Actor (french: César du meilleur acteur). History Superlatives Winners 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s Multiple wins and nominations The following indivi ...

at the 1980

César Awards The César Award is the national film award of France. It is delivered in the ' ceremony and was first awarded in 1976. The nominations are selected by the members of twelve categories of filmmaking professionals and supported by the French Min ...

References

External links

* 1979 films 1979 crime drama films French crime drama films Films directed by Robin Davis 1970s French films {{1970s-crime-drama-film-stub