action film
The action film is a film genre that predominantly features chase sequences, fights, shootouts, explosions, and stunt work. The specifics of what constitutes an action film has been in scholarly debate since the 1980s. While some scholars such as D ...
directed by
Patrice Leconte
Patrice Leconte (; born 12 November 1947) is a French film director, screenwriter and comic strip writer.
Life and career
Leconte grew up in Tours, and began making little amateur films at 15. He went to Paris in 1967 and studied at Institut des ...
.
Plot
Notorious
safe cracker
Safe-cracking is the process of opening a safe without either the combination or the key.
Physical methods
Safes have widely different designs, construction methods, and locking mechanisms. A safe cracker needs to know the specifics of whichever ...
Stéphane Carella, who has been imprisoned for some time and longs for retirement once he is released in a year, is transported through the
Verdon Gorge
The Verdon Gorge (French language, French: ''Gorges du Verdon'' ) is a river canyon located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region of Southeastern France. It is about 25 km (15.5 mi) long and up to 700 metres (0.4 ...
to another penal facility when his transport encounters another police van, which has suffered an accident. The sole inmate in that transport, police killer Paul Brandon, is handcuffed to Carella, but as soon as they are left unattended for a moment, Brandon makes a run for it, dragging Carella with him. After evading the police search parties, they find shelter at the farm of Laura, a young woman who despises the police after her husband was killed in a botched raid.
As time passes in hiding, Carella and Brandon gradually become friends. Brandon suggests to Cartella to undertake one last coup: Robbing a high-security vault at the
casino
A casino is a facility for gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos also host live entertainment, such as stand-up comedy, conce ...
''Mazetti'' in
Nice
Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one millionmafioso named Mazetti, serves as an underground
money laundering
Money laundering is the process of illegally concealing the origin of money obtained from illicit activities (often known as dirty money) such as drug trafficking, sex work, terrorism, corruption, and embezzlement, and converting the funds i ...
facility; Brandon was assigned by Kovacs, his superior, to raid the casino's vault with Carella's help, to ignite a gang war between Mazetti and his rivals, and use the fracas to arrest those who remain. With Laura's assistance, they pose as insurance agents to check the vault's security system (which includes a pressure sensor floor) and prepare for their burglary. As they return to the farm, Carella protests against the formidability of the security measures and leaves the car; but before he can get away, two policemen surreptitiously trailing them pose as Mafia henchmen and stage a kidnapping in order to get him back on the mission. As Brandon comes to his rescue, Carella exchanges gunfire with one of his assailants, apparently killing him. The next morning, however, he discovers that only blanks were used and forces Brandon to confess his true agenda. In return, Brandon promises that Kovacs will remit six months off Carella's remaining penalty if he participates; partly for this reason, Carella agrees to the deal.
After a period of meticulous preparation including electronic surveillance and the interception of discarded security video tapes, Brandon and Carella infiltrate the casino through its underground parking lot, make their way to the vault and deceive the security systems. After looting the safe and securing their escape route, they deliberately trigger the alarm and escape by car, as per the plan. Driving through a narrow gateway, they manage to trap Mazetti and his henchmen, who pursue them, inside their car; the three men are shortly afterwards killed by one of Mazetti's American mafia customers for his failure to safeguard the money. Brandon and Cartella part ways at this point, Brandon wishing to spare his partner any more prison time. However, when he attempts to deliver the stolen money to Kovacs, it turns out that Carella and Laura have absconded with the real money because they believe that all three of them make too good a team to break up now.
While Laura leaves for Australia to prepare a later rendezvous, Brandon tracks Carella down to a strip mine, but in the end decides to let him go. As Carella prepares to leave, he is intercepted by mafia enforcers and his police assailants, but Brandon comes to his aid with a huge dump truck and neutralizes their opponents. Realizing that Kovacs is in with the mafia and has set them up, Corella demands of Brandon to call Kovacs via car phone, who confirms this suspicion by ordering Brandon to kill Carella, making it look like he was shot while trying to escape. After some consideration, Brandon furiously calls Kovac again to quit his job, and then he and Carella depart with the money to rejoin Laura in Australia.
Cast
*
Bernard Giraudeau
Bernard René Giraudeau (18 June 1947 – 17 July 2010) was a French sailor, actor, film director, scriptwriter, producer and writer.
Early life
He was born on 18 June 1947 in La Rochelle, Charente-Maritime. In 1963 he enlisted in the French na ...
– Paul Brandon
*
Gérard Lanvin
Gérard Lanvin (; born 21 June 1950) is a César Award-winning French actor. He quit his studies when he was 17 to become an actor. He took on a role in ''Vous n'aurez pas l'Alsace et la Lorraine'' in 1977 on an offer from the actor Coluche. He ...
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 living in Rennes at age 28, he met several resident actor ...
When it was theatrically released, ''Les Spécialistes'' met with enormous commercial success, taking the head of the Parisian box office for two consecutive weeks, recording a result of 646,367 admissions, including a start at 408,125 admissions. Finally, it ended its run in Paris with 1,082,963 admissions. The success was confirmed in the provinces, with more than 4 million admissions, bringing the total to 5,319,542 admissions in France, allowing it to be classified in third position of the best entries in France behind the French film '' Trois hommes et un couffin'' and ''Rambo II'', and in second position for the best admissions in France for a French film the same year.''JP's Box-Office'': "LES ENTREES EN FRANCE" (1985) (French). Retrieved March 07, 2021.
Critical response
The critical response to this film was generally very positive in France. Critic Cécile Mury wrote in ''
Télérama
''Télérama'' is a weekly French language, French cultural and television magazine published in Paris, France. The name is a contraction of its earlier title: ''Télévision-Radio-Cinéma''. Fabienne Pascaud is currently managing editor. Ludovic ...
'': “Clever, entertaining, the film also plays with clichés, exploiting them with irony without condoning them." In 1987, ''
Télé 7 Jours
''Télé 7 Jours'' is a French weekly magazine published by Czech Media Invest in France. It publishes news and materials relating to French radio and television programming.
History and profile
Originally, the magazine was named "Radio 44" as ...
'' stated, "Action, stunts, staging and a great Giraudeau-Lanvin duo."''Les Spécialistes'' (1985) (archival image) (French). ''
Télé 7 Jours
''Télé 7 Jours'' is a French weekly magazine published by Czech Media Invest in France. It publishes news and materials relating to French radio and television programming.
History and profile
Originally, the magazine was named "Radio 44" as ...