A Cop (1972) Un flic (original title)

Director:

Jean-Pierre Melville

Writer:

Jean-Pierre Melville

Release Date:

1975 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Thriller

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 | Gang | Bank Robbery | Police | Bank

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
Jako Mica
Jo Tafanelli
Stan Dylik
Georges Florian
Léon Minisini	...	Mathieu la Valise ('Suitcase Matthew')
Roger Fradet
Jacques Galland
Jean-Pierre Posier
Jacques Leroy
Michel Fretault
Gene Moyle
Nicole Témime
Pierre Vaudier

Directed by
Jean-Pierre Melville

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Jean-Pierre Melville

Produced by
Robert Dorfmann	....	producer

Original Music by
Michel Colombier

Cinematography by
Walter Wottitz

Film Editing by
Patricia Nény

Production Design by
Théobald Meurisse		(as Théo Meurisse)

Set Decoration by
Pierre Charron

Costume Design by
Colette Baudot

Makeup Department
Michel Deruelle	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Jean Drouin	....	unit manager
Phillip Kenny	....	unit production manager
Pierre Saint-Blancat	....	production manager (as Pierre Saint Blancat)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jean-François Delon	....	first assistant director
Bernard Girardot	....	trainee assistant director
Marc Grunebaum	....	assistant director
Philippe Martin	....	trainee assistant director
Pierre Tati	....	second assistant director

Art Department
René Albouze	....	property master
Enrique Sonois	....	assistant production designer

Sound Department
André Hervée	....	sound recordist
Maurice Laumain	....	sound editor
Jean Nény	....	sound

Camera and Electrical Department
André Domage	....	camera operator
Valery Ivanow	....	first assistant camera (as Valéry Ivanow)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Yves Saint-Laurent	....	costume designer: Catherine Deneuve's black dress

Editorial Department
Marie-Josée Audiard	....	assistant editor (as Marie-José Audiard)
Sophie Tatischeff	....	assistant editor (as Sophie Tati)

Other crew
Phillip Kenny	....	location manager
Florence Moncorgé-Gabin	....	script girl (as Florence Moncorgé)
Georges Pansu	....	title designer

Production Companies

• Euro International Film (EIA) (uncredited)
• Oceania Produzioni Internazionali Cinematografiche (uncredited)

Distributors

• Les Films Corona (1972) (France) (theatrical)
• Allied Artists Pictures (1975) (USA) (theatrical) (dubbed)
• Rialto Pictures (2013) (USA) (theatrical) (reissue)
• ClassicLine (2003) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Lionsgate Home Entertainment (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• Panorama Distributions (2010) (Hong Kong) (DVD)
• StudioCanal (2012) (Germany) (DVD)
• StudioCanal (2007) (France) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Yves Saint Laurent  wardrobe: La robe noire de Mademoiselle Deneuve est de
• Jeanne Nataf  furs
• Eurocitel  titles
• Studios de Boulogne  studio

Also Known As:

"Un flic" - France (original title)
"Dirty Money" - USA (DVD box title)
"Dirty Money (Un flic)" - USA (DVD title)

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

France | Italy

Language:

French

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

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

Filming Locations:

Splendid Hôtel, 54 Rue Fondary, Paris 15, Paris, France

Company:

Euro International Film (EIA)

Trivia:

While Alain Delon's character, Commissaire Coleman, examines a crime scene, we see a brief shot of a wall on which are inscribed several names including the one of his character in one of his previous collaborations with Jean-Pierre Melville: Jef Costello, the "hero" of the Le Samouraï (1967).

Quotes:

Commissaire Edouard Coleman:People will do the wrong thing, they always do.

Movie Connections:

References Le Samouraï (1967)

Soundtrack:

C'est Ainsi que les Choses Arrivent

Not a smash finale (not that Melville knew this would be his last), but it's a must-see for genre fans

Perhaps under-looked when looking at the career of the director Jean-Pierre Melville, Un Flic (called 'Dirty Money' in the states, but is also translated as 'A Cop' on the DVD I viewed) is a crime film that goes another step with the heist genre, another (smaller) step with the cop/robber relationship, and shows Melville in (mostly) complete control over his storytelling. There are elements that seem to have evolved (or devolved, whichever you prefer) in Melville's work with the three films going in descending order- Le Samourai, Le Cercle Rouge, and finally this film. As this very loose trilogy progresses (a trilogy I mark just by the presence of Alain Delon, nothing more in common aside from the genre), one may notice how Melville progresses with his stylizing, how with each film he goes a little less with characterization and dialog. With Le Samourai it's half a character study, in Le Cercle Rouge there are snippets, here it's all based on the timing of the cuts and subtle reactions. In fact, there is so much of the film that goes without dialog that Melville proves himself to be an opposite of Tarantino- instead of being clever at dialog, he's clever at the plot twist, and more importantly at making note of the 'left-out' detail, letting the audience figure it out. While one can say this is not a great place for someone not familiar with Melville's work to start, it should not be a big disappointment.

The story is one you may have seen before, only here in far more calculated circumstances. Simon (Richard Crenna, in one of his better turns) is one of four who rob a seaside bank on a rainy, foggy afternoon. In one of Melville's most polished sequences, things go good and bad for them when one of the men is fatally wounded. Edouard Coleman (Alain Delon, not his best, but always keen at being icy) is on a case that coincides with another scheme Simon has, involving a suitcase heist on a moving train during the night. Not everything goes as planned, and the presence of a mutual love interest for the two (Catherine Deneuve, practically one-sided emotionally) only complicates things further, if not on the surface. This story is told very, very simply and without anything aside from the injection of mood onto every scene.

From the opening heist on, Melville still has his chops technically-wise almost all the way through the picture. And after reading an interview with him, something about the look of the film made sense (which he said before this film was made): "My dream is to make a color film in black and white, in which there is only one tiny detail to remind us that we really are watching a film in color." One feels that is what Melville is successfully experimenting with in this film, that the methods to which he and cinematographer Walter Wottizm get the scenes are not conventional. To correspond with some of the characters, the colors are cold, or distant, corresponding almost to the unforgiving underworld of Paris- some colors seem to almost blend together, the browns going along with the grays, and the brighter ones (sometimes merely in the background) feeling diluted. That, and the crafty editing pulled by Patricia Neny (the suspense gets laid on thick in some scenes), make up for a couple of big liabilities- that Melville, on tight a budget that he was on, used models for the exteriors of the train sequence, and some scenes don't have a 'new-wave' feeling (i.e. filmed directly on location) but rather cheaply in the studio. Not to mention that the performances from Delon and Deneuve are not really at their peak (Crenna is another matter).

Still, the most pleasurable thing about a Melville film, whether its the poetic Les Enfants Terribles or the bittersweet Bob le Flambeur, is watching the story take on a life of its own. Some things you practically wait on if you've seen Le Cercle Rouge or Le Samourai, like a wild dancing number at a nightclub (here abridged), or a detail to remind everyone who the outsiders are in this world (here portrayed by Gaby). As another tribute to the old-style crime films of the 30's and 40's its still tightly held together, with the pacing almost impeccable. In short, it's not a masterpiece of a crime film (Melville's last before his fatal heart attack), but it remains gripping thirty plus years later, with memorable qualities. A-