Espion, lève-toi (1982)

Sébastien Grenier,a secret agent eliminates all his rivals in order to decipher who has killed some of his associates.

Director:

Yves Boisset

Writers:

George Markstein (novel), Michel Audiard (adaptation)

Stars:

Lino Ventura, Michel Piccoli, Bruno Cremer

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Lino Ventura	...	Sébastien Grenier
Michel Piccoli	...	Jean-Paul Chance
Bruno Cremer	...	Richard
Bernard Fresson	...	Henri Marchand
Marc Mazza	...	Ramos Bavila
Roger Jendly	...	Le commissaire Lohmann
Heinz Bennent	...	Meyer
Krystyna Janda	...	Anna Gretz
Beate Kopp	...	La secrétaire de Grenier
Christian Baltauss	...	Le bibliothécaire
Kurt Bigger	...	Alfred Zimmer
Jean-Paul Franky	...	Rudy la blonde
Yves Boisset	...	L'adjoint de Richard
Daniel Plancherel	...	L'inspecteur Vogel
Philippe Brizard	...	Le collaborateur de Grenier

Storyline

Sébastien Grenier,a secret agent eliminates all his rivals in order to decipher who has killed some of his associates.

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Plot Keywords:

wife murdered | gloomy | man shot to death | agent | shady | 

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Did You Know?

Trivia

The movie was originally to be directed by Andrzej Zulawski. Zulawski left the project after dissensions between him and Lino Ventura.

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Goofs

At the beginning, the terrorists drive their cars right behind the tram - on a piece of street that is marked not to be used by cars. This would have raised suspicion with the police.

User Reviews

Abstract politics.

Yves Boisset has always been a politically committed director,but his stories are always linear and accessible:hence their efficiency,even if people complain about their manicheism or naiveté.One cannot deny their impact on the audience when it comes to depicting the Algerian war (in RAS) or racism (in Dupont Lajoie,probably his best effort).

"Espion lève -toi" moves in another direction ;relatively speaking it shows the influence of Pakula and "the parallax view".A hero (Ventura)fighting against something he does not really understand,estranged from his compatriots in Zurich ,Switzerland,the symbol of the power of money.Around him everybody's dying,even his lover ,a German professor is threatened ,and maybe she's not the woman he thinks she is (hints at Baader's gang and terrorism).When Ventura strikes back,not only it's too late but it may also be absurd and pointless:he 's nothing but a puppet on a string like laurence Harvey in "Mandchourian candidate" .

This movie is unique in Boisset's career:it was initially to be directed by Zulawski,and the snub critics used to say what a better movie it would have been !It's not sure :Zulawski's works are often pretentious and -in France,abroad they do not seem to bother- overrated ("posession" or "l'important c'est d'aimer")and Boisset's simplicity and academic but efficient style fit the screenplay like a glove.Unlike Frankenheimer's and Pakula 's works I Mention above,"Espion lève- toi" is no masterpiece but it should appeal to people who like this genre.

Yves Boisset got lost after this effort:he tackled pure thriller with "le prix du danger" "canicule "or "bleu comme l'enfer",and deprived of his political or social comments he was nothing but another director

Details

Country:

France Switzerland

Language:

French German

Release Date:

27 January 1982 (France)

Also Known As:

Alzati spia

Filming Locations:

Bellevueplatz, Zürich, Kanton Zürich, Switzerland

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cathala Productions, TF1 Films Production

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Fujicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1