Le Doulos (The Criterion Collection) by The Criterion Collection by Jean-Pierre Melville

Le Doulos is one of Melville's gangster movies (as opposed to his war/opposition movies). The action takes place in a world of ultracool gangsters and policemen, all in similar clothes: hat and coat - and with their own code of honour and twisted morality. This is not intended to be a realistic movie but rather a part of the melvillian universe (as his other movies Samurai and Le Cercle Rouge). Here we are introduced to the Doulos character (played by Belmondo) who moves between the two worlds. The plot is very exciting and takes some surprising twists. My interpretation after watching Le Doulos is that these characters can't exist outside their black/white subworld, like a fish can't breathe outside water.The movie is shot in black/white and the transfer by BFI is very good - there are a few short sequences with more grainy picture. Also there are a lot of extras like commentary by Melville scholar Ginette Vincendeau who is very interesting to listen to. As this DVD cost me only 8 GBP I recommend it and give it 5 stars.

A tough crime drama based on the American film noir, but the director, Jean-Paul Melville has always been influenced by those films, but this has its own originality and Melville again shows his directorial skills.A complicated plot with Serge Reggiani, a burglar and then murderer being helped by Jean-Paul Belmondo, against his old criminal comrades who like to be rid of him. But is Belmondo what he seems? . .A very hard-edged film, full of moral ambiguity and deceit, without any of the characters having any redeeming features.

This film is very much part of the French tradition of crime movies of its era in which the hardboiled criminals with a code clash with the new breed of bad guys(often with Italian surnames). The result is highly moral (nearly everyone dies) and all too often involves the most accurate of marksmen - The Last Breath Shot League. The result is doubtless largely fantasy but it is a formula that we know and love; Charismatic French actors (check), babe girlfriend (check), hanging out at Jazz Bar (check), has regular watering-hole where they meet (check). Doulos has a rather neat series of red herrings that require you to stay awake.Pretty much Raymond Chandler in film.

Excellent!

good

classic french cinema!

cool.sexy film

Great film thriller thanks.