• 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