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Le Trou

Original title: Le trou
  • 19601960
  • Not RatedNot Rated
  • 2h 11m
IMDb RATING
8.5/10
18K
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Philippe Leroy, Michel Constantin, Jean Keraudy, Raymond Meunier, and Marc Michel in Le trou (1960)
Trailer for Le Trou
Play trailer1:49
2 Videos
51 Photos
  • Crime
  • Drama
  • Thriller
Distrust and uncertainty arise when four long-term inmates cautiously induct a new prisoner into their elaborate prison-break scheme.Distrust and uncertainty arise when four long-term inmates cautiously induct a new prisoner into their elaborate prison-break scheme.Distrust and uncertainty arise when four long-term inmates cautiously induct a new prisoner into their elaborate prison-break scheme.
IMDb RATING
8.5/10
18K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Jacques Becker
  • Writers
    • José Giovanni(novel)
    • Jacques Becker(adaptation)
    • Jean Aurel(adaptation)
  • Stars
    • André Bervil
    • Jean Keraudy
    • Michel Constantin
Top credits
  • Director
    • Jacques Becker
  • Writers
    • José Giovanni(novel)
    • Jacques Becker(adaptation)
    • Jean Aurel(adaptation)
  • Stars
    • André Bervil
    • Jean Keraudy
    • Michel Constantin
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 62User reviews
    • 64Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 2 BAFTA Awards
      • 2 wins & 4 nominations total

    Videos2

    Le Trou
    Trailer 1:49
    Le Trou
    Le Trou - Rialto Pictures Trailer
    Trailer 1:48
    Le Trou - Rialto Pictures Trailer

    Photos51

    Philippe Leroy, Michel Constantin, Jean Keraudy, and Raymond Meunier in Le trou (1960)
    Michel Constantin in Le trou (1960)
    Jean Keraudy in Le trou (1960)
    Philippe Leroy in Le trou (1960)
    Philippe Leroy and Jean Keraudy in Le trou (1960)
    Philippe Leroy, Jean Keraudy, Raymond Meunier, and Marc Michel in Le trou (1960)
    Le trou (1960)
    Philippe Leroy, Michel Constantin, Jean Keraudy, Raymond Meunier, and Marc Michel in Le trou (1960)
    Le trou (1960)
    Le trou (1960)
    Le trou (1960)
    Le trou (1960)

    Top cast

    Edit
    André Bervil
    • Le directeur de la prisonas Le directeur de la prison
    Jean Keraudy
    Jean Keraudy
    • Roland Darbanas Roland Darban
    Michel Constantin
    Michel Constantin
    • Geo Cassineas Geo Cassine
    Philippe Leroy
    Philippe Leroy
    • Manu Borellias Manu Borelli
    Raymond Meunier
    • Vossellinas Vossellin…
    Marc Michel
    Marc Michel
    • Claude Gaspardas Claude Gaspard
    • (as Mark Michel)
    Jean-Paul Coquelin
    • Le lieutenant Grinvalas Le lieutenant Grinval
    • (as J. Paul Coquelin)
    Eddy Rasimi
    • Boubouleas Bouboule
    Albert Augier
    • Un gardienas Un gardien
    • (uncredited)
    Jean Becker
    Jean Becker
    • Un gardienas Un gardien
    • (uncredited)
    Georges Bielec
    • Figurantas Figurant
    • (uncredited)
    Raymond Bour
    • Un gardienas Un gardien
    • (uncredited)
    Lucien Camiret
    • Maurice Gaillardbois - Le détenu qui refuse de s'alimenteras Maurice Gaillardbois - Le détenu qui refuse de s'alimenter
    • (uncredited)
    Philippe Dumat
    • Un gardienas Un gardien
    • (uncredited)
    Durieu
      Gérard Hernandez
      • Le détenu à l'infirmerieas Le détenu à l'infirmerie
      • (uncredited)
      Jean Luisi
      • Un détenuas Un détenu
      • (uncredited)
      Jean Minisini
      • Le plombier qui vient réparer la fuiteas Le plombier qui vient réparer la fuite
      • (uncredited)
      • Director
        • Jacques Becker
      • Writers
        • José Giovanni(novel) (adaptation) (dialogue)
        • Jacques Becker(adaptation) (dialogue)
        • Jean Aurel(adaptation)
      • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
      • All cast & crew

      More like this

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      8.3
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      7.7
      Touchez Pas au Grisbi
      Army of Shadows
      8.1
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      Le Cercle Rouge
      7.9
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      Casque d'Or
      7.6
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      8.0
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      Rendez-vous de juillet
      7.1
      Rendez-vous de juillet
      Woman in the Dunes
      8.5
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      Rocco and His Brothers
      8.2
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      Rififi
      8.1
      Rififi
      The Grand Illusion
      8.1
      The Grand Illusion
      Le Jour Se Leve
      7.7
      Le Jour Se Leve

      Storyline

      Edit

      Did you know

      Edit
      • Trivia
        Director Jacques Becker used mainly non-actors for purposes of authenticity. In fact, one of his choices was actually involved in the 1947 escape.
      • Goofs
        When Geo checks the corridor with the mirror and takes a break to say goodbye to his cellmates, he leaves the mirror in the hole. However, when he goes back to checking the corridor he has to stick the mirror back into the hole first.
      • Quotes

        [last lines]

        Roland Darban: [stripped, facing the wall under guard] Poor Gaspard.

      • Connections
        Featured in Mon père, il m'a sauvé la vie (2001)

      User reviews62

      Review
      Top review
      10/10
      The final hole was a manhole.
      Immediate background:Jacques Becker was dying when he filmed "le trou,and he made it his legacy;it's the tragedy of man caught on the web of life -an admirable metaphor shows two wardens feeding a spider in the undergrounds with a fly-,and anyway unable to escape from the final death.

      The first thing to bear is mind is that,calling "le trou" a "prison movie" would be an insult.Although adapted from a Jose Giovanni's book -Giovanni had been himself in jail for some time and his depictions are as close to reality as can be-,Becker masterfully transcends his subject and gives something definitely new.Some said it was the final link between "la nouvelle vague" and what the highbrows pejoratively -and thoroughly unfairly- call "cinema de qualité" but Becker had predated that overrated new wave by almost ten years :"rendez-vous de juillet" had already almost everything the young Turks would bring later.

      First shock is the use of the wide screen,the cinemascope,which Becker had never experimented before;and he achieved the impossible: using this device for a story which takes place ,either in the four walls of a jail,or in the undergrounds and the sewers .The only picture of the outside is seen when the two inmates open a manhole.And the second one is the sound:there's no music at all,except for the final cast and credits -saving the cast and credits for the end was very rare in the contemporary French cinema -But the soundtrack resembles some kind of musique concrete with its relentless thumps, the whispers and the screams inside the cell,the creaking of the doors ,the waters in the sewer;and the final cacophony -which is not unlike the one which Manliewicz used in "suddenly last Summer" the year before- packs a real wallop.

      Another Becker's tour de force is his description of the prison life:he avoids all the clichés that mar so many "prison movies" (the overpraised "Whatsisname redemption" is no exception):here, the wardens are,most of the time ,kind and friendly,the relationships with the inmates remain polite ,maybe sometimes too much:particularly those between the young man (Marc Michel) and the head warden are almost paternalistic.

      Another Becker's permanent feature comes back to the fore in "le trou" :friendship,solidarity ,which was already present in "rendez-vous de juillet" and "touchez pas au grisbi".Here it's pure manly friendship and it seems that a certain misogyny is infiltrating Becker's world:during the 2 hours + running time of the movie,we only see one young girl (Catherine Spaak) behind a grille,for a very short while.The only positive woman whom we' ll never see is (naturally) one of the five inmates ' s(Michel Constantin) mother("I almost killed her when I was sent to jail so I do not want to take a chance and try to escape")

      SPOILER:But even this world where five inmates share everything,where their friendship is "more than I 've ever had "(Marc Michel's character) is collapsing;the first cracks were already here in "rendez-vous de juillet" when some of the young students were giving up on their plans ,to the main hero's (Daniel Gelin)disappointment.But "touchez pas au grisbi" took friendship over everything including money."Le trou" reveals the true nature of man,even if the informer seems completely desperate at the end of the movie.The mammoth task they did ,the hole '(le trou) is nothing but a cul-de -sac and it epitomizes,in a Hustonian way -we're closer to Huston than to Godard ,fortunately,the vanity of everything man can do to escape from his fate,and in the case of Becker ,to escape from death.END OF SPOILER

      Had Becker ended his career with his three precedent movies (Ali-Baba,Arsène Lupin ,Montparnasse 19),his former masterpieces (Casque d'or,Goupi Main Rouges ,rendez-vous de juillet),could have been tarnished by association.But "Le trou" ,his final masterpiece stands in little danger of bringing this about.
      helpful•42
      9
      • dbdumonteil
      • Dec 18, 2003

      Details

      Edit
      • Release date
        • February 14, 1997 (United States)
      • Countries of origin
        • France
        • Italy
      • Language
        • French
      • Also known as
        • The Night Watch
      • Production companies
        • Filmsonor
        • Play Art
      • See more company credits at IMDbPro

      Box office

      Edit
      • Gross US & Canada
        • $34,588
      • Opening weekend US & Canada
        • $6,756
        • Jul 2, 2017
      • Gross worldwide
        • $34,588
      See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

      Technical specs

      Edit
      • Runtime
        2 hours 11 minutes
      • Color
        • Black and White
      • Aspect ratio
        • 1.66 : 1

      Related news

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