Mille milliards de dollars (1982)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Henri Verneuil

Writer:

Henri Verneuil (writer)

Release Date:

10 February 1982 (France)

Genre:

Drama | Crime | Thriller

Cast

Patrick Dewaere	...	Paul Kerjean
Michel Auclair	...	Michel Saint-Claude
Caroline Cellier	...	Hélène Kerjean
Charles Denner	...	Walter, le détective
Anny Duperey	...	Laura Weber
Jeanne Moreau	...	Mme Benoît-Lambert
Mel Ferrer	...	Cornelius A. Woeagen
Fernand Ledoux	...	Guérande
Jean Mercure	...	Holstein
Jean-Pierre Kalfon	...	L'informateur
Jean-Laurent Cochet	...	Hartmann
André Falcon	...	Pierre Bayen, le rédacteur en chef
Claude Marcault	...	La secrétaire de Kerjean
Jacques Maury	...	Jack Sleiter
Jacqueline Doyen	...	Arlène Robert

Also Known As:

A Thousand Billion Dollars (International: English title) (literal title)

Runtime:

Brazil:132 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

V. Films

Movie Connections:

References Shane (1953)

Robert Lattes badly let down by Verneuil

Not quite what you would expect from someone like Henri Verneuil. Patrick Dewaere does indeed rescue the film from complete oblivion. While Robert Lattes' novel makes pleasant reading (if you read French, that is), the movie adaptation doesn't amount to much. Denouncing the ills of "big business" is certainly laudable, as is placing the action if the larger picture of "economic history". But is this sufficient to keep an audience spellbound from beginning to end? All the ingredients are there for the taking. But Verneuil never seems to be willing to go all the way, and he simply leaves you high and dry. Enrolling a better- than-average cast of actors is no guaranteed recipe for success. If all you're looking for is just to sit back and relax because you've nothing better to do than watch a movie, OK -- go ahead. But if you're looking for a good French movie, skip this one. A sheer waste of time. (But read the book by all means).