Simply A Masterpiece

Sadly Over-hyped

The acting in this movie is really good.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

At least I had a nice trip back to France and even saw a glimpse of the Eiffel tower from my lounge chair in Sydney Down Under! But ALAIN DELON, wasn't he a superstar, lady heart throb...What happened to him here? I just come back from Tokyo and his youth was splattered on some billboards like if it was yesteryear! Please tell me what is so special about this nonsensical story that never gets of the ground and almost literally at the end. Yes that the spoiler that made the big spoil for me. OK there is a few chases and some bang bang - I must be a heartless so and so because i can't understand how some other reviews can be so... pleased with this. Yes to each its own but definitely no for me

Talking to a DVD seller about French cinema,I found out that he has recently picked up some titles starring Alain Delon.With having heard of Delon for years,I decided to join him in tracking down the 3 men to kill.The plot:Driving to his weekly poker game, Michel Gerfaut finds a man,lying in a car covered in blood.Rushing him to the hospital, Gerfaut discovers that it was all too late.Wondering about why that man was killed, Gerfaut gets caught in the cross fire and becomes a target for the killer.Due to the mysterious man selling faulty missiles. (next time try before you buy!) his former buyers set off a missile at Gerfaut.View on the film:Opening with a missile blasting on the screen,co-writer/(along with Christopher Frank and actor Delon) director Jacques Deray & cinematographer Jean Tournier smudge the movie in 80's cream. Heating the action scenes up in splatters of burning crimson,Deray digs into the early days of the decade with chic stylization,by painting the streets and Gerfaut's slick clothes in pristine white which give the wacky car chases and gun fights a real pop.Spun from Jean-Patrick Manchette's novel,the screenplay by Deray/Frank and Delon sadly lacks the over exaggerated sparks of the directing style,due to largely keeping most of the plot vague and confused,until a sharp Film Noir twist gives the flick the desired bite.Joined by a sweet Dalila Di Lazzaro (who also appears topless) Delon gives a good performance as Gerfaut,with Delon taking advantage of his chiseled looks to cast Gerfaut in a rebellious atmosphere,as Gerfaut tries to avoid the 3 men to kill.

Ultimately this is surely much ado about nothing but Delon is great, Dalila Di Lazzaro plays his girlfriend and if she doesn't smoulder quite as she does in 1977s, 'The Pyjama Girl Case, she certainly does well enough to hold one's attention. Indeed, I found this likable from the very start, as we struggle to work out what is going on, only to eventually discover that most of those in the film are similarly confused. The Gaullist figure at the centre of things, who is probably more confused and deluded than anyone else, is great fun and although this tough, sexy, thriller is by no means a comedy, there are some nice touches that raise at least a smile. Always involving, ever moving with some excellent sequences, this keeps you guessing till the end.

Odd French thriller starring Alain Delon about a man on the way to his weekly poker game who stops to help a man who crashed his car. Taking the man to the hospital he soon finds that people are trying to kill him for an unknown reason. What he soon learns is that the man in the car was assassinated and that he is being targeted to prevent him from talking in case the injured man said anything before reaching the hospital.The film walks the fine line between being a tense believable thriller with the fear of being on a hit list for unknown reason, crashing into the unbelievable elements of the story (grand conspiracy, going after our hero despite never finding out if he knows anything, the trail of bodies that clearly points to his innocence, why are they worried about Delon and not the fact that people see the assassins and on and on). The film really works at times (including a great car chase) and at other times makes you shot at the screen in disbelief (who wrote came up with some of this?). Its frustrating because it should be great instead its just okay.Worth a look so long as you don't let the internal inconsistencies get to you.