Tirez sur le pianiste (1960)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

François Truffaut

Writers:

David Goodis (novel)
François Truffaut (adaptation) ...

Release Date:

23 July 1962 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller | Romance | Crime

Plot:

Charlie Kohler is a piano player in a bar. The waitress Lena is in love with him. One of Charlie's brother...

Plot Keywords:

Brother | Gangster | Pianist | Suicide | Conversation With Character Playing Piano

US Showtimes:

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Cast

Charles Aznavour	...	Charlie Kohler / Edouard Saroyan
Marie Dubois	...	Léna
Nicole Berger	...	Thérèse Saroyan
Michèle Mercier	...	Clarisse
Serge Davri	...	Plyne
Claude Mansard	...	Momo
Richard Kanayan	...	Fido Saroyan (as Le jeune Richard Kanayan)
Albert Rémy	...	Chico Saroyan
Jean-Jacques Aslanian	...	Richard Saroyan
Daniel Boulanger	...	Ernest
Claude Heymann	...	Lars Schmeel
Alex Joffé	...	Passerby
Boby Lapointe	...	Le chanteur
Catherine Lutz	...	Mammy

Also Known As:

Shoot the Pianist (UK)
Shoot the Piano Player (Canada: English title)

Runtime:

UK:80 min | USA:92 min | Finland:82 min (1963) | Argentina:85 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Black and White (Dyaliscope)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | France:U | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | South Korea:15 | Sweden:15 | UK:12 (re-rating) (2001) | UK:15 (video rating) (1994) | UK:X (original rating) | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Grenoble, Isère, France

Company:

Les Films de la Pléiade

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Lena and Charlie walk home after work you can see the shadow of the camera on their coats.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Pulp Fiction (1994)

Soundtrack:

Framboise

Maybe I Just Don't Get It.....But I'll Try Again

This is a movie I hope gets better with multiple viewings because I was disappointed on the first look. I bought it sight-unseen because I am a film noir fan and I read several reviews absolutely raving about this film. So, I expected a lot.

This was too much of a talky, off-beat noir with stupid dialog in too many parts. The French certainly have a different way of viewing things than I do. This more of a melodrama than a crime story, although a crime does take place. When it occurs, it's a short but shocking scene.

Charles Aznavour has an interesting face and the women in here are pretty but the cops and other characters in general are just too dopey for me. Why film noir "experts" all like this movie is beyond me. Maybe I just "don't get it." Well.....I do like the title, at least.