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Bob le Flambeur – 1956 Melville
- It’s both an important film (probably the most easy to point to singular bridge between noir and the French new wave) and a fantastic work of art without the important influence associated
- Heavily influenced by John Huston’s The Asphalt Jungle
- Shot on location—Melville said he could not get Jean Gabin because of cost and turned down a young Alain Delon (for second lead) because he would have distracted from the film and Roger Duchesne’s Bob. I like Duchesne (Bob) and Daniel Cauchy (who plays Paolo) but this may be a film on another level (better) with Gabin and Delon
- Melville’s 4th film- his first crime film- a genre he’d become synonymous with
- Film is admired by and paid homage to often by the likes of: Godard, Kubrick Jarmusch, Tarantino PTA and many others (film was remade by Neil Jordan as The Good Thief starring Nick Nolte in 2002)
- Handled camera on bike, location shooting in the real Paris—all of this is 4 years before Breathless
- Melville loved Hollywood and is heavily influenced by America- wore ray bans, Plymouth car in the film
- Gorgeous first shot of Bob in the black and white set designed room/wallpaper—shot off a window reflection- a hell of an entrance to the character

- Trench coach (Le Samourai later for Melville)
- Bob says “this is a real thug’s face” about himself- this could easily be Belmondo saying this
- The film has a lovely authentic seedy atmosphere to it I adore- bars, casinos, 2am-4am seems to be where the film and characters all dwell- smoke—neon lights— sleep all day
- Heavy wipe edits
- Odd choice of wearing guy-liner for Bob’s character
- Again, he’s fine- but Duchesne isn’t Gabin
- Love the slot machine in his closet and Bob is full of great one-liners often in touch with the fatalistic character and plot
- Wins big at horses, loses big baccarat episode is great formalism with the ending
- A triumph of natural noir lighting

- Wallpaper is often wild- gorgeous to look at- a real visual effort for sure from Melville on top of the rich characterizations and enthralling plot/narrative


- A medication on fate- I could see the Coen’s being influenced here
- Paolo is a great character, young, stupid, worships Bob, wears a similar coat, gives up having sex with a girl to hang with Bob
- Wonderful shot of a handheld camera, in a car, driving around the casino casing the place
- I’d listen to an argument about Bob’s character having some inconsistencies (the counter would be that he’s intricate and multi-faceted)- but he blackmails a guy to get him to help, slaps the hell out of the young girl he basically adopted (one of the two femme fatales that help bring them down)

- The real Paris streets- amazing- clearly influenced Godard and the new wave- Truffaut’s Shoot the Piano Player
- Sloppy omniscient voice-over for the first time with 16 minutes left talking about destiny
- Tense ending- love that Bob instinctually gambles during the crime and wins big- such irony- so well done- fatalistic and properly set up
- The ending is a bit rushed with the big job climax
- The upbeat ending takes a bit of the edge off but the comedic “with a really top lawyer I could sue them for damages” line is also a break from Hollywood noir where the production code almost forces them to punish someone like Bob harsher
- Must-See film—has some frustrating formal flaws (like that voice over) but has elements that for sure touch the heights of a masterpiece
Drake2020-07-03T10:30:03+00:00
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