Un flic (1972)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Jean-Pierre Melville

Writer:

Jean-Pierre Melville (writer)

Release Date:

1975 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Plot:

Bank robbery in small town ends with one of the robbers being wounded. The loot from the robbery is just a asset for the even more spectacular heist...

Plot Keywords:

Robbery | Heist | Bank Robbery | Bank | Drugs

Cast

Alain Delon	...	Commissaire Edouard Coleman
Richard Crenna	...	Simon
Catherine Deneuve	...	Cathy
Riccardo Cucciolla	...	Paul Weber
Michael Conrad	...	Louis Costa
Paul Crauchet	...	Morand
Simone Valère	...	Paul's wife
André Pousse	...	Marc Albouis
Jean Desailly	...	Distinguished gentleman who was robbed a statue
Valérie Wilson	...	Gaby
Henri Marteau	...	Police officer instructor of shooting
Catherine Rethi
Louis Grandidier
Philippe Gasté	...	Un policier
Dominique Zentar

Also Known As:

A Cop (International: English title) (informal literal title)
Dirty Money (USA) (DVD box title)
Notte sulla città (Italy)

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

France | Italy

Language:

French

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Sweden:15 | USA:PG | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Avenue des Champs-Élysées, Paris 8, Paris, France

Company:

Corona Cinematografica

Trivia:

The opening shot closely resembles Hokusai's famous woodcut "The Wave".

Movie Connections:

References Le samouraï (1967)

Soundtrack:

C'est Ainsi que les Choses Arrivent

From the sublime to the ridiculous

Jean-Pierre Melville directed some great stuff and some awful stuff, but never did he manage to combine the two as he does in this movie. The opening twenty minute bank robbery in a near deserted seaside town in the pouring rain is amazing, probably the single best setpiece he ever directed. From then on, though, it's all pretty much downhill. Delon lacks his usual presence and appears to be on autopilot (in total contrast to Le Cercle Rouge and Le Samourai); it's a competent performance, but I've rarely seen an actor look so bored. Perhaps he was unsure about the almost total lack of dialogue in the film, which is a shame, as this is one of its few interesting plus points. Many of the scenes take place against obviously painted studio backdrops, which is especially grating given that the opening is so well done. And most laughably of all, the "highlight" of the film, a daring robbery in real time, in which a thief is dropped from a helicopter onto a moving train and then picked up again, is done with models, and looks like an amateurish version of Thunderbirds.

If someone could steal the opening sequence (or 'reference' it) and do the helicopter robbery properly, there's a good remake waiting to be done. Until then, we'll just have to settle for a great lesson in how to open a film.