Flitcraft
One Too Many
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If you're currently suffering from Noir withdrawls and you're looking for something with a little different flavor, I'd encourage you to see Bob le Flambeur,Le Samourai and Le Cercle Rouge- all directed by Jean-Pierre Melville.
Melville was a Frenchman with an affinity for all things American- including American Gangster and Detective Films. He adopted the surname "Melville" as an homage to the American author (his birthname was "Grumbach" so Melville was a definite trade up, and sounds French, too).
Melville's films are characterized by imaginative use of camera work to tell a story, the parcity of dialogue and the overall sense of fatalism inherent in their plot (sound familiar? Think of Burt Lancaster in The Killers- "Why do they want to kill you?" "I made a mistake- once...").
Melville's characters dress, act and even look like their sterotypical American Noir conterparts- but always a little different. Its this "difference" that makes these films intriguing to anyone with an interest in Film Noir and the Golden Age.
Criterion offers these titles on rather expensive DVDS, but I was able to find them at my local public library. They're all worth a look, but Bob le Flambeur is my favorite just because its a little imperfect- you can still see Melville trying to master his subject matter. Incidentally, this film was the inspiration for Hard Eight- a modern fim with noir sensiblities. Give them a look!
Melville was a Frenchman with an affinity for all things American- including American Gangster and Detective Films. He adopted the surname "Melville" as an homage to the American author (his birthname was "Grumbach" so Melville was a definite trade up, and sounds French, too).
Melville's films are characterized by imaginative use of camera work to tell a story, the parcity of dialogue and the overall sense of fatalism inherent in their plot (sound familiar? Think of Burt Lancaster in The Killers- "Why do they want to kill you?" "I made a mistake- once...").
Melville's characters dress, act and even look like their sterotypical American Noir conterparts- but always a little different. Its this "difference" that makes these films intriguing to anyone with an interest in Film Noir and the Golden Age.
Criterion offers these titles on rather expensive DVDS, but I was able to find them at my local public library. They're all worth a look, but Bob le Flambeur is my favorite just because its a little imperfect- you can still see Melville trying to master his subject matter. Incidentally, this film was the inspiration for Hard Eight- a modern fim with noir sensiblities. Give them a look!
