Marvelous French heist film made by blacklisted director Jules Dassin. Loved the characters, cinematography and suspense filled plot. I would like to see more of Dassin's work now. Criterion has released a lot of them.

Best heist scene in cinematic history.

iembalm wrote:Best heist scene in cinematic history.

Agreed.

I had this movie on my Tivo for a couple years. It is great.

I also like Topkapi.

Unrelentingly uncrap.
Plus, it's funny as hell when you see the reaction from some people when you tell them about the actual heist scene, they grimace, and when they actually watch it they're on the edge of their seats.
PRFers who haven't seen this movie need to.

iembalm wrote:Best heist scene in cinematic history.

Quietest heist scene in cinematic history?

I loved this film, especially the ending. Le Cercle Rouge was no where near as good.

Cranius wrote:

iembalm wrote:Best heist scene in cinematic history.

Quietest heist scene in cinematic history?

I loved this film, especially the ending. Le Cercle Rouge was no where near as good.

The heist scene in Rififi is better, but I remember Le Cercle Rouge being a cooler film. Perhaps this is purely due to prettyboy Alain Delon, but I think it is a weirder, fuller film. (And totally gayer, as well.)

Not crap, but I remember being a little disappointed by it. I didn't think it had much depth. This feels like a silly thing to write about a noir, but I did not care much for the characters.

Yeah, I think Le Cercle Rouge might have been cooler in an odd way (the muted colours, plus that trip out scene is amazing), but the heist scene was very much a nod to Riffi, no?

It's funny you say about not being connected to the characters, in comparison to the 'glacial' Delon.

Either way, both very very very not crap films

Tommy Alpha wrote:'glacial' Delon.

Wasn't Delon an unfeeling arsehole in real-life, too? Didn't he have a baby by Nico (Christa Päffgen), and then disowned them. And when Delon's mother agreed to bring up the child, he disowned his own mother, never speaking to her again for the rest of his life.

Tommy Alpha wrote:It's funny you say about not being connected to the characters, in comparison to the 'glacial' Delon.

The way he interacts with the other characters is pretty moving (and, as I mentioned before, pretty damn homoerotic); but as an ensemble piece, the standout for me is the cop who is chasing them. He was played by a popular comedian, Bourvil, who died soon afterwards. A real feeling of sadness seems to follow him around in this film (and I thought this before looking up his history...).

Cranius wrote:

Tommy Alpha wrote:'glacial' Delon.

Wasn't Delon an unfeeling arsehole in real-life, too? Didn't he have a baby by Nico (Christa Päffgen), and then disowned them. And when Delon's mother agreed to bring up the child, he disowned his own mother, never speaking to her again for the rest of his life.

All true. Also possibly an accessory to murder. And absolutely magnificent on screen.

The bank heist in Rififi is the centre of the film; the one in Le Cercle Rouge felt periphery to me - and definitely a nod to Rififi.