Le Doulos (1962)
Genre: Crime / Thriller
Duration: 108 minuten
Alternative titles: The Finger Man / Doulos: The Finger Man / Verraad op Montmartre
Country:
France / Italy
Directed by: Jean-Pierre Melville
Stars: Jean-Paul Belmondo, Serge Reggiani and Jean Desailly
IMDb score:
7,7 (13.379)
Releasedate: 13 December 1962
Le Doulos plot
"Raw! Shocking! Savage!"
After serving a prison sentence, burglar Maurice Faugel visits his healer, Gilbert Varnove. For another heist, Faugel enlists the help of his friend Silien, who has a reputation in the environment as a tell-tale. Faugel is caught and arrested. His girlfriend Therese is found dead in a ravine. When Faugel is soon released, he suspects Silien of involvement in his arrest and wants revenge.
Actors and actresses
Silien
Maurice Faugel
The Superintendant Clain
Gilbert Varnove
A police inspector
Jean
Fabienne
Therese
Kern
The Doctor
Reviews & comments
Movsin
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- 8464 messages
- 8505 votes
Jean-Pierre Melville continues his film noir journey with this "Le Doulos", which initially seems a bit confusing (the explanation will probably come much later) because it involves an investigation into a murder and characters who have not previously appeared in the play.
A film about the gangster environment, sometimes presented in a very classy way, with an excellent atmosphere and in which no one can really be trusted.
The film definitely gets a boost when Belmondo demands full attention (although I find the death scene very weak) but as a whole it doesn't really appeal to me.
Anyway, we already knew a few French crime jargon words, with doulos we have one more. It is he who wears a hat. OK then.
Translated from Dutch · View original
thunderball
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- 5996 messages
- 1431 votes
Received the region A Blu-ray of this from Kino Lorber and watched it last night.
Le Doulos or "The Snitch" is an interesting and at times exciting crime thriller with Reggiani and Belmondo in the main roles.
The film starts with the focus on Reggiani, but as the story progresses Belmondo increasingly takes over the film. The story goes that Melville Belmondo only told him towards the end of the shooting that he was the snitch, but that is somewhat hard to believe, since there are quite a few scenes where he clearly comes across as such, so they would all have to have been shot at the end.
I found this film different from Melville's later work, namely in that the characters and also the film as a whole seem a lot less distant than in his more famous later films, there is even something of emotion to be found here and there. I found that striking.
Furthermore beautiful black and white photography, much use of shadows and figures that suddenly appear from them. Also Reggiani racing in his car to Belmondo's house in a heavy downpour is really beautifully done, despite (or maybe even because of) the background projection.
In short: a nice, exciting, typical French crime thriller, which is definitely worth it.
A solid seven, or 3.5 stars.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Bobbejaantje
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- 2365 messages
- 2119 votes
It is a fact that Herman Melville - the author after whom Melville the director chose his pseudonym - wrote a novel in the 19th century called Doulos. A book about friendship and loyalty. It can hardly be a coincidence that JP Melville then called his film Le Doulos. It is also a film about friendship, and also about betrayal/loyalty. But in terms of content they are otherwise separate.
Visually, the film is beautifully designed with a play of light and shadow inspired by film noir. It is also a film noir in terms of content. It is set in the French underworld where shady dealings are taking place and the police hope to make a killing. The plot was more complex to me afterwards than it seemed at first sight. That is also part of it of course. It is a film that I definitely want to watch again, has enough to offer with fresh roles from Belmondo and Reggiani.
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