Death of a Corrupt Man (1977) User Reviews

Politics and Corruption

[claudio_carvalho · 7/10 · 24 May 2019]

When Xavier 'Xav' Maréchal (Alain Delon) is awaken by his old friend Deputy Philippe Dubaye (Maurice Ronet), he learns that Philippe has killed the also politician Serrano (Charles Moulin) that has a dossier with documents proving the corruption of several politicians and businessmen including Philippe and was blackmailing him. Xavier accepts to provide an alibi to his friend and to follow the investigation to help Phillippe, who has stolen the dossier. But soon Xavier finds that a network of powerful men wants to retrieve the documents and he has to run to survive.

"Mort d'un pourri", a.k.a. "Death of a Corrupt Man", is a thriller based on politics and the related corruption of the Powers That Be. The plot is full of action with a hopeless conclusion. The beauty of Ornella Muti is impressive. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "A Morte de um Corrupto" ("The Death of a Corrupt Man")

French conspiracy movie

[blanche-2 · 6/10 · 23 January 2017]

"Death of a Corrupt Man" from 1977 is a French film produced by Alain Delon's company, starring Delon, Ornella Muti, Stephanie Audran, Maurice Ronet, Klaus Kinski, and Delon's companion at that time, Mirelle Darc.

A deputy, Philippe Dubaye (Ronet) gets his old friend Xavier Maréchal (Delon) up in the dead of night. He says he has just killed racketeer, Serrano, who had many political connections. Serrano had proof of Dubaye's involvement in corruption in high places and was ready to use them against him.

Xav agrees to give his friend an alibi, which is not believed by the police. Everyone wants those documents and figure that Xav must have them. There are multiple car chases and attempts on his life and that of Dubaye's girlfriend (Muti).

Good film that is somewhat timely today, with all its talk of politicians stealing, people in government just in it for the money, blackmail, etc. Delon, who in this dubbing sounds like Robert Conrad, is strong in his role, as are Kinski and Audran. Ornella Muti is positively gorgeous. Mirelle Darc was only in the film because of Delon; her part could have been cut and as it was, she only had a few lines. And how about this - an Alain Delon film with no love scene. Dubbed on top of it, which I hate.

Delon favored this type of role, as evidenced by the films he produced. I saw him later in a documentary done 37 years later. Everyone recognized him, at 81, and wanted a photo with him. He was very obliging.

Long, uneven French political thriller

[gridoon2024 · 6/10 · 6 July 2008]

"Death of a Corrupt Man" begins with, well, the death - or more accurately the murder - of a corrupt man. Only this corrupt man was keeping a detailed journal of his illegal activities and transactions, implicating a lot of the top politicians of Paris. The killer steals the journal and comes to the house of his best friend and president of a company (Alain Delon), in the middle of the night, asking for help. Delon agrees to provide him with an alibi, but there are plenty of people who will be ruined if the journal falls into the wrong hands, and they will stop at NOTHING to get it back. "Death of a Corrupt Man" is essentially the French answer to the popular American pessimistic political thrillers of its era ("Three Days of the Condor, "The Parallax View", etc.), with one man fighting against the entire corrupt system. It's a bit too long (120 minutes) and uneven: tense and involving at times (with some good car stunts by expert Remy Julienne) , talky and dull at other times. Alain Delon and Ornella Muti make a highly attractive leading couple, and give nicely understated performances as well. (**1/2)

Power attracts the corruptible.

[brogmiller · 7/10 · 26 March 2021]

Those who anticipate, as I did, that this will be yet another of the Alain Delon 'policiers' of this period, are in for a pleasant surprise.

In the classic French policier/film noirs the goodies and the baddies are sharply defined but in the hybrid 'neo-polar' genre that flourished in the 1970's one is none too sure whom to trust. The dark and sinister forces at work here are the corrupt politicians, dodgy policemen and shadowy multi-nationals.

This stylish piece directed by Georges Lautner is arguably one of the best of its type. It is a little verbose but with dialogue by Michel Audiard spoken by this excellent cast one doesn't mind too much.

The 'uncredited' contribution to the screenplay by Claude Sautet serves to enhance the film's quality.

Alain Delon is at the height of his popularity here and received a César nomination for his performance as a moral crusader. He both produces and stars and again plays opposite the splendid Maurice Ronet while Stéphane Audran, Daniel Ceccaldi and Klaus Kinski are great value as always. By all accounts Herr Kinski, much to everyone's surprise and relief, turned out to be a real pussycat. Delon's partner at the time, Mireille Darc, who made a few films for this director, has a pretty thankless role as Delon's partner! The eye candy is supplied by Ornella Muti. Who is the murderer? Well, as Agatha Christie reminds us, it is always the one you suspect the least.

Tremendous production values here with legendary Henri Decae replacing Lautner's regular cameraman Maurice Fellous. Lautner has again used the much respected composer Philippe Sarde and as a bonus we have the sound of the saxaphone played by the brilliant but troubled Stan Getz. The film just about sustains its length.

France is certainly no stranger to political scandals so this particular genre must really have struck a cord but of course the French do not have a monopoly in this regard.

As a certain Henry Kissinger once observed: "Corrupt politicians make the other 10% look bad"!

a notebook

[Kirpianuscus · 17 January 2022]

A political thriller around a notebook. Murders, secret society, cops , a sort of hero looking for the name of the killer of his friend, crumbs of a romance and a beautiful cast. Corruption and image of justice. Beautiful confrontation between Klaus Kinki and Alain Delon and a young Ornela Mutti. Alain Delon as indestructible Xav , reminding , in some measure, Charles Bronson characters and the bitter end. Maybe, a film for nostalgics because the truths defined by story, present today, in same measure, has another taste. But, sure, delightful.

The fateful diary.

[ulicknormanowen · 6/10 · 29 July 2021]

Delon producer obviously wanted to match the scale, quality (and commercial success) of René Clément's "plein soleil " aka "purple noon" :he hired the same cameraman ,Henri Decae ,who used the same treatment of color in the cast and credits as in the 1959 work ; he hired Maurice Ronet ( called Philippe as in "plein soleil" ) ;it was actually the third time they had worked together (see also "la piscine") but unfortunately Ronet is only supporting ,which is too bad ,for the pair proved a winning team .

There the comparison ends : "plein soleil" was a psychological thriller (and a masterpiece) whereas "mort d'un pourri" is a political one (and an OK movie); certainly influenced by the American political thrillers, one must note that the genre was thriving in France of the seventies : "le juge Fayard dit le, shériff" (Boisset) "Adieu Poulet " ( Granier -Deferre) or "défense de savoir" (Nadine Trintignant);Lautner actually jumped on the bandwagon.

Action -packed ,nicely filmed (Decae outdoes himself in the night scenes ) ,with a stellar cast : apart from the efficient pair I mention above , Klaus Kinski is cynical and disturbing. Jean-Bouise and Michel Aumont portray both sides of the police .By and large ,the female cast is wasted: Audran I love in Chabrol's movies seems self-conscious,Ornella Muti is decorative , and Mireille Darc' s role is pointless.

"mort d'un pourri" depicts a corrupt political world where politicians are vile rogues,preys for blackmailers; the politics remain vague, avoiding to take sides , the assassin and his henchmen are puppets in the hands of powerful men who stay in the wings ; the last picture is revealing :a big shadow of Delon seems to protect the city,after singlehandedly defeating the bad guys .Only pure manly friendship survives in this river of dirt : although Philippe degraded himself in politics, he remains a brother in arms in the colonial wars .

Beware of the Delon produced movie!

[saadi1-288-801401 · 6/10 · 11 December 2023]

I watched this film for its legendary Stan Getz soundtrack and the mesmerising Ornella Muti. But like the annoying Deer Hunter where the totally virtuous hero will leave no stone unturned for his friend and is afraid of nothing and no one, Delon battles the entire corrupt establishment single handedly and no bullet ever touches him. Actually the Deer Hunter is a lot better than this in that great realism and characterisation is set up in the first half then you have the unrealistic second half. In Delon produced films you usually have him in every single tiresome shot and he is totally invincible, uncorrupted and he has no sexual tenderness or weaknesses. He even did this formula for his son's movies which were tiresome wasted opportunities. I will never forgive how he destroyed Zurlini's masterpiece, Indian Summer, by having it recut and removing the scenes that had other people in it.

Very thrilling French political thriller!

[Mikew3001 · 9/10 · 7 July 2003]

"The Death of a Corrupt Man" is an outstanding French thriller with elements of the political and psych thriller, gangster movies and the typical conspiracy films of the seventies. Casted with some of the best European actors of that time - Alain Delon, Ornela Muti, Stephane Audran, Mireille Darc and madman Klaus Kinski - it tells the story of a big conspiracy with a corrupt politician getting rid of all his opponents. Now it's lawyer Alain Delon's turn to fight the power. Of course he's becoming the target of some killers soon, a wild hunt begins where several people lose their lives until Delon finds the real villain. The pacing is fast, the plot twisted and thrilling, and the really good actors and clever direction add much impact to this powerful thriller with some furious action scenes including a great truck chase. If you get a video or DVD copy of that film or find it in your TV guide, watch it!

One of the great French political thrillers

[robert-temple-1 · 9/10 · 17 November 2016]

This film from the seventies, MORT D'UN POURRI (DEATH OF A CORRUPT MAN), was produced by and stars Alain Delon , who was remarkably handsome and talented, as everyone knows (or at least, as everyone knew, now that so much time has passed). It is a spectacularly well directed film by Georges Lautner, and the cinematography is equally stunning. The film is one of those French classics which are being restored nowadays in France and issued as Blu-Rays, accompanied by a DVD for those who cannot play Blu-Rays. This is one of the many such films which have now been issued with English subtitles. The film goes more deeply into the profundity and pervasiveness of French political corruption than most of the many French films on that subject. An outstanding modern example of the genre is the hair-raising TELL NO ONE (2006, see my review). The French are obsessed, and for good reason, with the corruption which pervades their government and society like rich seams of black coal running through a strip mine. So pervasive is corruption in France at the highest levels that one is tempted to say: 'There could be no recognisable France without corruption.' A morally clean French Government is as inconceivable as is a cesspool filled with pure spring water. Whereas political thrillers in America tend to portray corruption as an aberration, French films more often portray it as an intrinsic rot, like a leper displaying his disintegrating limb. Delon's old chum Philippe Dubaye, a Deputy in the French Parliament, comes to him in the middle of the night, while Delon is in bed with his adoring girlfriend (Mirielle Darc), and says something really terrible has happened. He has killed another Deputy in the Parliament. Without hesitation, Delon offers to help clean up the mess, but the mess becomes messier and more people are killed, as the ripples of corruption widen on the surface of the political pond. Every which way Delon turns, there are people being murdered, commencing with his close friend Philippe. After this, he becomes obsessed with discovering who killed him, which leads him into increasingly desperate dangers. He then befriends Phlippe's girlfriend, played by Ornetta Muti, who had the biggest and most alluring bedroom eyes in the film business at that time. When she looks at a man, he feels the heat as if someone has turned on the grill. Muti then effortlessly dominates the screen with all of her emanations of sex appeal, with the camera lovingly dwelling on her simmering looks. More and more outrageous attempts are made to try and murder Delon, who keeps scraping through impossible ambushes, such as cars falling on top of him. The dialogue was written by Michel Audiard, who also was a director himself. The twists and turns and multiple spiders' webs multiply faster than a spider can scuttle up a wall. The sinister air of menace is greatly heightened by the subtle performance of Klaus Kinski as one of the most powerful bad guys. This certainly is a cracking yarn, and is real edge of the seat stuff.

A joyfully nihilistic police film

[norbert-plan-618-715813 · 8/10 · 15 May 2022]

The death of a rotten person is the starting point of the film (a politician). But it turns out that all those who are not dead are also rotten. In the midst of this world, Alain Delon tries to be honest, faithful in friendship. He tries to find out who killed his friend while he is involved in the search for notebooks that denounce a system of widespread malfeasance and misappropriation. The whole world of profiteers does not want to lose its privileges and is therefore looking for the notebook in question, at any cost, and are all ready to kill. All the people Alain Delon meets are shot or killed by force. But he keeps only one obsession: to know the murderer of his friend Maurice Ronet.

The cast is high-flying, even in very secondary roles. In the performances, Julien Guiomar or Klaus Kinski give great performances in perfidy and duplicity. Stéphane Audran carries very high the art of subtle decadence. Ornella Mutti on the other hand is insipid, because of her character without substance and almost useless (he has no thickness).

The story ends with a confirmation that things are rotten everywhere, including in the police and in the state. A joyfully nihilistic police film, made during the Giscard years.

Verbose Delon long-vehicle

[vostf · 4/10 · 15 April 2023]

Terrific cast, lovely score and views of Paris, but Georges Lautner was always a mediocre director and it shows badly here with a very challenging script including many monologues and action scenes (a couple of car chases).

Delon as a producer-actor is always the same type: boring, verging on irritating hyper-cool hyper-straight... a supercharged common man. Since the dozen top actors in the supporting cast are all excellent (despite the pedestrian directing) it does not bog down the movie. But the heavy dialogue about political corruption all-around does put the movie in a merry-go-round that lasts for two hours. Not really my idea of a sharp noir.

The car chases (Rémi Julienne) are well-paced but kind of repetitive. Nice try to have one with trucks but it does not add much to the movie. All in all the 'irremediably corrupt political landscape' subtext is nicely impregnating the whole movie, thanks to Michel Audiard, but it gives a damp movie, like a fine pastry dumped for too long in an alcohol-laced preparation.

A deadly files unleashed many dead bodies along the way!!!

[elo-equipamentos · 8/10 · 9 January 2019]

The doorbell rings twice, then Delon wake up, open the door where his friend a politician come in and tells him that committed a murder to takes a deadly files which was been blackmailed by an assistent having to kill him, that's the opening this fabulous french movie, besides those files contains several powerful politics of a high level of the government, bribery scandals unleashed many bodies along the way, an intricate net of corrupted politicians are in danger under those hot files, even reaching at state department which includes the Minister of justice himself, the police splited in two separate investigating were on relentless pursuit.

Resume:

First watch: 2019 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 8.5

A mesmerizing atmosphere to dive into

[wal-btr · 28 July 2017]

Stan Getz's Bossa Nova music matches perfectly Alain Delon's melancholic eyes and nostalgic gaze, and suits the busy Paris nightlife in the seventies. Michel Audiard's dialogues are as punchy as always ("Order and disorder are two plagues that threaten humanity. Corruption disgusts me, and virtue gives me chills"). It is the kind of movie where one can hear the pictures and see the music, as Godard would put it.