I... For Icarus (1979)

Conspiracy thriller inspired by the conspiracy theories surrounding the assassination of JFK. After a fictional president is assassinated, a determined, tough prosecutor investigates the emerging conspiracy behind it.

Director:

Henri Verneuil

Writers:

Henri Verneuil (scenario), Henri Verneuil (screenplay)

Stars:

Yves Montand, Michel Albertini, Roland Amstutz

5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Yves Montand	...	Le procureur Henri Volney
Michel Albertini	...	Luigi Lacosta
Roland Amstutz	...	Pierre Gregory
Jean-Pierre Bagot	...	Michaël Mix
Georges Beller	...	Sam Kido
Maurice Bénichou	...	Robert Sanio, l'homme à la caméra
Edmond Bernard	...	Le présentateur TV
Françoise Bette	...	Jane Bellony
Roland Blanche	...	Garcia Santos
Benoît Brione	...	Le reporter au bobino (as Benoist Brione)
Jacques Brylant	...	Nicolas Rosenko (as Jacques Bryland)
Gabriel Cattand	...	Le président Marc Jarry
Nanette Corey
Jacques Denis	...	Despaul, le cobaye
Erick Desmarestz	...	Bob Dagan

Storyline

After the recently re-elected President of a fictitious state has been assassinated, one of the members of the investigation committee refuses to sign the final report and is given the task of investigating once more. In the course of his search he finds evidence that casts serious doubt on the committee's "lone-gunman" theory... A very bold film that basically told the "JFK" story thinly disguised as having taken place not in the US.

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Plot Keywords:

investigation | muckraking | political assassination | sharpshooter | main character shot | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Did You Know?

Trivia

The lab scenes describing "obedience to authority" experiments are based on real-life research conducted by famous psychologist Stanley Milgram in 1963 at Yale University.

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Goofs

When Procureur Henry Volney examines Nicolas Rosenko's book on Daslow it is very easy to see that each page of the book are identical.

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Soundtracks

Reflexion Nocturne
Composed by Ennio Morricone
Orchestrated by Ennio Morricone
Directed by Ennio Morricone

User Reviews

This is absolutely great cinema

Highly memorable, intelligent and suspenseful movie from one of French movies' true geniuses, the formidably able Henri Verneuil. The plot is an exact parallel of the JFK assassination, and takes place in a non-descript, fictional country. The film, visually as well as plot-wise, is razor-sharp. Shot with meticulous precision, it follows Henry Volnay, the Procuror who takes on himself to unravel the coup. In many ways, it's a very disturbing movie, not the least for the cold and analytical precision of its comment on a so-called modern state's inner workings. The atmosphere and characters are all utterly believable, and Verneuil left nothing to chance in its tight plotting. On another level, this relatively little-known movie just had a 15 years head-start on Oliver Stone, who was acclaimed for the "JFK" movie, a inferior film in many areas, the least of which not being credibility...

It's a masterpiece, any cinema lover should see it, preferably in its original French version with subs.

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

19 December 1979 (France)

Also Known As:

I... For Icarus

Filming Locations:

La Défense, Hauts-de-Seine, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

V Films, Société Française de Production (SFP), France 2 (FR2)

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1