The Nada Gang (1974)

A group of anarchist leftist called "Nada" and led by the terrorist Buenaventura Diaz abducts the American ambassador Richard Poindexter in a brothel in Paris and brings him to a farm in ... See full summary »

Director:

Claude Chabrol

Writers:

Claude Chabrol (screenplay), Antonietta Malzieri (screenplay)

Stars:

Fabio Testi, Maurice Garrel, Lou Castel

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Fabio Testi	...	Buenaventura Diaz
Michel Duchaussoy	...	Marcel Treuffais
Maurice Garrel	...	André Épaulard
Michel Aumont	...	Goemond
Lou Castel	...	D'Arey
Didier Kaminka	...	Meyer
André Falcon	...	Le ministre / The Minister
François Perrot
Lyle Joyce	...	Richard Poindexter
Viviane Romance	...	Madame Gabrielle
Mariangela Melato	...	Veronique Cash
Henri Attal
Jean-Marie Arnoux
George Birt
François Cadet

Storyline

A group of anarchist leftist called "Nada" and led by the terrorist Buenaventura Diaz abducts the American ambassador Richard Poindexter in a brothel in Paris and brings him to a farm in the countryside. The French Minister gives a blank cheque to the violent chief of police Goemond that is assigned to destroy the kidnappers. Then the Minister makes him the scapegoat of the messy situation to protect the State.

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Plot Keywords:

terrorist | american ambassador | police | ambassador | violence | 

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Taglines:

They Were All Rotten to the Core!

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Genres:

Thriller

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Details

Country:

France Italy

Language:

French

Release Date:

6 February 1974 (France)

Also Known As:

Anarhikoi

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Italian International Film, Les Films de la Boétie, Verona Produzione

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film is based on the novel "Nada", by Jean-Patrick Manchette. In fact, while the gang members are discussing the plan in Treuffais' apartment, Díaz notes that the brothel the ambassador should be at is located between Kleber Avenue and Manchette Street. That is a screenwriters' funny idea. In the novel, there is not any Manchette Street, obviously.

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Quotes

Buenaventura Diaz: [after shooting the hostage] They've come to kill us! Not to capture us but to massacre us! That's one less diplomat!

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Connections

Featured in The Son of Gascogne (1995)

User Reviews

A must see, especially for being a very surprising Claude Chabrol's movie

If you are fond on French crime novels world, you know that this film was adapted from à Jean-Patrick Manchette's novel. One of the best French novelist from the seventies and eighties. The novel which this feature is adapted from was a very nihilistic tale against the institutions, governments and state rules. And this movie made by Claude Chabrol - whose it is not the kind of movies he usually did, you know that - this film seems very close, scene for scene, to the book. If you dare comparing, this film NADA is, to the genuine novel material, exactly the same that Jean-Pierre Melville's LE DEUXIEME Soufflé was to Jose Giovanni's novel. In both cases, the movies made from the books seem so close to them. But you would be damn wrong if you thought so. Concerning Melville's film, please read my comment. But about NADA, I repeat, Manchette gave us a story which enhanced the anarchists, or left winged terrorists, he tried to give them some good reasons to behave as they did. But if you read the book and then watch the movie very closely, you will notice that Chabrol doesn't have the same language. In a sort of way, he criticizes the anarchists. He wants to show to the audiences the emptiness of everything they do. In that purpose, he uses some sentences told by the anarchists characters. Even if, I repeat, the movie seemed to have been shot, "book handed". Page by page.

The message was not the same.

And, besides, I have already seen movies adapted very differently from novels but only on the "shape" - scenes - but not on the true meaning. For instance both RIFIFI films: RIFIFI CHEZ LES HOMMES and RIFIFI CHEZ LES FEMMES.

I will finish by telling you that Michel Aumont gives in this film one of his best performances ever as the terrific, nasty, disgusting commissaire - superintendent - Goémond. Michel Aumont who is still alive and also a great stage performer.