1962 Directed by Jean-Pierre Melville
Enigmatic gangster Silien, who may or may not be responsible for squealing on Faugel, is released from the slammer and already involved in what should have been a simple heist. By the end of this brutal, twisting, and multilayered policier, who will be left to trust?
Дулосът, 밀고자, The Finger Man
Some belabored plot mechanics aside, this is probably a good dark horse contender for Melville's best movie. The third-act twist isn't really a twist at all, but simply a way for the characters' tragedies to stand out in greater relief.
"You have to choose… to die, or to lie?"
You either die an [honest] villain or live long enough to see yourself become the [dishonest] hero.
Exceptionally exciting and thoroughly thrilling gangster mystery at its best in the way it navigates having two protagonists without weighing one of them more heavily than the other, both emotionally and narratively (so crucial in a story about betrayal—we never feel we know who "le doulos" is until the end). Perhaps Melville's central text on brotherhood. At its worst in the way it keeps the audience in the dark as long as possible about the machinations of the plot, but the characters are so strong that it never feels contrived. I can't believe this is only my fourth favorite Melville at the moment; that man knew how to direct some great movies.
i dunno what exactly was going on but niggas was shooting and scheming on each other and it was very entertaining
The Möbius strip of noir ambiguity, as hard and shivery and tortuous as can be. (A character states the destabilizing purpose early and simply: "I don’t like easy setups.") Jean-Pierre Melville starts off with a diagonal reverse tracking shot through a sprawling passageway, in and out of the shadows, punctuated midway through with a brief upward tilt and capped with a slow, granular zoom. The veteran burglar (Serge Reggiani) is out of jail to ponder his reflection in a cracked mirror, "nothing left inside." A stark composition illuminated by a solitary lamp post receives the loot (jewels from the Mozart Avenue heist), a makeshift map describes it as "terrain vague." A diagram of betrayals, arrests, vendettas and deaths follows. "To…
French New Wave crime films are such a double edged sword for me because I am in love with their aesthetic of dimly lit back rooms and shady alleys drenched in cigarette smoke but then they try to work in a plot and I'm like :/
Stylish, thrilling, and unpredictable, with some excellent twists and double crosses. Jean-Pierre Melville masterfully plays with the expectations of the audience until everything comes perfectly together in the fantastic climax. “Le Doulos” is a tale about crime, friendship, loyalty, betrayal, and vengeance featuring an engaging and twisty plot, stunning black and white cinematography, a great atmosphere, and two intriguing protagonists. Jean-Paul Belmondo´s effortlessly cool performance is probably the most memorable aspect of the movie. Melville´s noir crime thrillers never disappoint.
It you watch your way chronologically through Jean-Pierre Melville’s films, Les Doulos is when it really starts feeling like Melville. The film is cool and self-aware and set to silky strains of light jazz. It’s not a French version of an American noir, but rather a French crime film with Parisian hoodlums who’ve seen plenty of American B-movies and are aware of the tropes. Snap-brim hats and trench coats, disposable molls, and dangling cigarettes.
Belmondo as Selien is “the last of the bastards,“ who’d have guessed. He obfuscates and improvises and does smooth work all while keeping the cops, his cronies, and us viewers totally confused. He then decides to leave the game with a rich man’s house in the…
It is of the utmost importance to stay completely focused as events unfold in Melville's Le Doulos, even the title is multi-layered.
Photographed as a noir, though I always "demand" a femme fatale for it to fully fit into the genre tropes, Le Doulos is about what you don't see for the most part. At least plotwise, you of course have to completely idoloze the shadowy picture, and the effervescent coolness of everything and everyone.
Quality in every way (small parts behind the camera falling to upstarts Bertrand Tavernier and Volker Schlöndorff, and Jean Desailly, J-P Belmondo, Michel Picolli and the pick of the litter; Serge Reggiani battling it out in front of it). The aforemensioned Reggiani shines as the…
Okay, wow. Jean-Pierre Melville was something special. This is the first I've seen from him, but I can tell he's going to impress me again and again. (If anyone has any recommendations for movies of his I should watch soon, let me know!) He's got a total mastery of and confidence in his camera; him and cinematographer Nicolas Hayer work wonders with black and white photography and with framing, especially Silien's tennis match-style verbal sparring with Fabienne and Nuttheccio. The final scene is also a masterclass in death scenes, from the shooting in the back to Belmondo's acting to the eventual blood running from the wound. MASTERPIECE of a scene!!!!
Where I wasn't too big on Le Doulos was how…
French words, cigarettes ,and crime.
My first time experience with Melville. The first two acts were just fine but that final one brought the whole film up. It gets so amazingly and satisfyingly twisty.
Will be diving deeper soon.
High Flying Belmondo
The third act makes this. Melville style is still very clearly in development. It’s amazing to see the colossal leap in through and through quality from this to Le Samourai, just five years later.
Le Doulos is so cleverly plotted and doesn’t waste a frame from start to finish... and a Melville gangster film starring Belmondo was always going to be stylish as hell with an over abundance of cool.
Jean-Paul Belmondo is outstanding. His face expressions, manners and dialogues are what convey the feeling of brazeness and uncertainty surrounding the story and its characters.
You wonder how good a crime movie can really be when the whole thing has to be explained in a monologue 10 minutes from the end.
But the plot of this movie is about as relevant to its greatness as the president of Venezuela is.
The look and feel of this movie is second to none. Some fantastically stylized shots, for instance when the bar tender is holding the phone out for Jean Desailly, along with the most beautiful rear screen projection driving scenes I have ever been witness to.
If you like crime movies, french movies, heist movies, noir or just movies in general then watch this movie
What’s the French new word for magnificent?
Some of the sweatiest notes of betrayal and loyalty in all of gangster cinema.
Premiers pas dans la filmo de Melville c'est un régal dans la mise en scène. Bien que l'on sente une histoire qui parte un peu dans tous les sens, la mise en scène classe et virtuose de Melville transcende le long-métrage.
Образцовый захватывающий детектив. Отправная точка для Мельвиля в жанре мужского кино про неотвратимость судьбы
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