There is a small bird in a cage in a dull looking apartment room, a man wearing a trench coat and a felt hat, and he goes out of the room and adjusts his hat.
Jeff Costello (Alain Delone) then jumps into a car, with a set of master keys. He starts the car, and smokes a cigarette. Eventually he finds the right key by good luck and drives off. He then meets a criminal mechanic. The mechanic gives Jeff some cash, later goes to his pocket and gives him a gun. Here during this scene not a word is spoken. This film is low on dialogue though maintains a great sense of direction, pace and focus throughout. The suspense of each scene and the plot is amazing to watch.
He then goes to a flat and meets a young woman who is named Jane (Anthoine Delone). She is a woman who is there to provide an alibi for Jeff. It does not need explanation that the film is about contract killing. A black pianist called Valerie (Caty Rosier) who works as a pianist at a nightclub, lies at a police line up, and this enables for Jeff to walk away free.
This is not the end of the story and it provides a good talking point, in why is she telling lies?, and what does she have to hide? I would guess as the characters so far mentioned in the script are only known by the underworld gangs, it provides a really interesting crime suspense story. My feeling is that if the criminals behind the shooting find out that Valerie has grassed up Jeff, then that would surely provide an excuse for a revenge killing.
Another interesting aspect of the film included the scene where the police wired Jeff's room with a recording device in their attempt to obtain some audio evidence. Meanwhile in his room, there is a churping bird and Jeff realises that he is being bugged. He then disposes of the device. Throughout the scene, and pretty much throughout the film Jeff manages to remain calm, composed and showing no emotions.
Great film worth watching. What makes this film a great movie is that the focus was on the script and the actors themselves. Nothing is left to chance, or it is clear that actors in this particular film by all certain means have acted to the full and properly.
Also the pacing of the film is consistent and there is nothing slow or too fast to learn. There is plenty of drama and suspense, and the background, the acting, is excellent, that I am sure most film Directors can only aspire towards. Another thing worth mentioning is that Jean Melville makes use of a hit man's code of honour.
A samurai type hit man does not do a contract killing for the money, it seems to be done for honour and based on getting the job done. Melville to his credit gets the story line and performance absolutely perfect.
In comparison to the Hitman (2007), which is similar in story and focuses on contract killing, uses too many artificial special effects, and unrealistic scenarios.
Le Samourai makes it much more down to earth and a more entertaining film to watch. The setting of Paris and the relative dull looking apartment is more realistic than a Globetrotting version of the Hitman.
In the Hitman film, the woman who tags along to the assassin is largely irrelevant to the film, here however the women serve a better purpose to the film, providing alibis, and are much more exciting to watch.
It is a shame that the film’s sound is done in French, and at best you will be able to listen to the English subtitles, which I found a slight disappointment, however this should not put you off renting or owning this great classic film. Having watched this a few times already it will be continue to be watched again and again.
Run Time one hundred and five minutes.
Recommended: Yes
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