French crime classics
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Film and Television Discussion
Paul P. Powell — 6 months ago(September 22, 2025 04:05 AM)
These 34 titles were hand-picked for a festival I attended.
PÉPÉ LE MOKO (Julien Duvivier, 1937)
GOUPI MAINS ROUGES (Jacques Becker, 1943)
QUAI DES ORFÈVRES (Henri-Georges Clouzot, 1947)
RIPTIDE (Yves Allégre, 1949)
CASQUE D'OR (Jacques Becker, 1952)
THE WAGES OF FEAR (Henri-Georges Clouzot, 1952)
WE ARE ALL MURDERERS (André Cayatte, 1952)
TOUCHEZ PAS AU GRISBI (Jacques Becker, 1954)
BOB LE FLAMBEUR (Jean-Pierre Melville, 1955)
DIABOLIQUE (Henri-Georges Clouzot, 1955)
RIFIFI (Jules Dassin, 1955)
A MAN ESCAPED (Robert Bresson, 1956)
ELEVATOR TO THE GALLOWS (Louis Malle, 1957)
BREATHLESS (Jean-Luc Godard, 1959)
EYES WITHOUT A FACE (Georges Franju, 1959)
PICKPOCKET (Robert Bresson, 1959)
CLASSE TOUS RISQUES (Claude Sautet, 1960)
PURPLE NOON (René Clément, 1960)
LA VÉRITÉ (Henri-Georges Clouzot, 1960)
LE DOULOS (Jean-Pierre Melville, 1962)
LE TONTONS FLINGUEURS (Georges Lautner, 1963)
BAND OF OUTSIDERS (Jean-Luc Godard, 1964)
PIERROT LE FOU (Jean-Luc Godard, 1965)
THE THIEF OF PARIS (Louis Malle, 1967)
MISSISSIPPI MERMAID (François Truffaut, 1969)
LA PISCINE (Jacques Deray, 1969)
THE SICILIAN CLAN (Henri Verneuil, 1969)
BORSALINO (Jacques Deray, 1970)
LE CERCLE ROUGE (Jean-Pierre Melville, 1970)
UN FLIC (Jean-Pierre Melville, 1972)
THE CLOCKMAKER (Bertrand Tavernier, 1974)
POLICE PYTHON 357 (Alain Corneau, 1976)
COUP DE TORCHON (Bertrand Tavernier, 1981)
GARDE À VUE (Claude Miller, 1981)
Paul P. Powell, Pool Player -
ZolotoyRetriever — 6 months ago(September 25, 2025 02:48 PM)
I've seen many of them - probably not quite 14… I remember most all of the ones I saw were very good, but TBH it's been a number of years since I watched them, and don't remember them too well. Fragments of them kind of stick in my mind. Film shrapnel, I reckon.
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tommyboy — 6 months ago(September 25, 2025 03:15 PM)
PÉPÉ LE MOKO (Julien Duvivier, 1937) -
7/10
GOUPI MAINS ROUGES (Jacques Becker, 1943) - never seen
QUAI DES ORFÈVRES (Henri-Georges Clouzot, 1947) -
6/10
RIPTIDE (Yves Allégre, 1949) - never seen
CASQUE D'OR (Jacques Becker, 1952) -
7/10
THE WAGES OF FEAR (Henri-Georges Clouzot, 1952) -
8/10
WE ARE ALL MURDERERS (André Cayatte, 1952)- never seen
TOUCHEZ PAS AU GRISBI (Jacques Becker, 1954) -
7/10
BOB LE FLAMBEUR (Jean-Pierre Melville, 1955) -
5/10
DIABOLIQUE (Henri-Georges Clouzot, 1955) -
9/10
RIFIFI (Jules Dassin, 1955) -
7/10
A MAN ESCAPED (Robert Bresson, 1956) -
8/10
ELEVATOR TO THE GALLOWS (Louis Malle, 1957) -
7/10
BREATHLESS (Jean-Luc Godard, 1959) -
2/10
EYES WITHOUT A FACE (Georges Franju, 1959) -
8/10
PICKPOCKET (Robert Bresson, 1959) -
4/10
CLASSE TOUS RISQUES (Claude Sautet, 1960) - never seen
PURPLE NOON (René Clément, 1960) -
7/10
LA VÉRITÉ (Henri-Georges Clouzot, 1960) -
8/10
LE DOULOS (Jean-Pierre Melville, 1962) -
7/10
LE TONTONS FLINGUEURS (Georges Lautner, 1963) - never seen
BAND OF OUTSIDERS (Jean-Luc Godard, 1964) -
3/10
PIERROT LE FOU (Jean-Luc Godard, 1965) -
1/10
THE THIEF OF PARIS (Louis Malle, 1967) - never seen
MISSISSIPPI MERMAID (François Truffaut, 1969) -
6/10
LA PISCINE (Jacques Deray, 1969) - never seen
THE SICILIAN CLAN (Henri Verneuil, 1969) -
5/10
BORSALINO (Jacques Deray, 1970) - never seen
LE CERCLE ROUGE (Jean-Pierre Melville, 1970) -
8/10
UN FLIC (Jean-Pierre Melville, 1972) -
6/10
THE CLOCKMAKER (Bertrand Tavernier, 1974) -
7/10
POLICE PYTHON 357 (Alain Corneau, 1976) - never seen
COUP DE TORCHON (Bertrand Tavernier, 1981) -
6/10
GARDE À VUE (Claude Miller, 1981) - never seen -
Paul P. Powell — 6 months ago(September 25, 2025 07:04 PM)
Not bad, you two guys. At least you made some effort. That's more than many can boast.
As for me, I will keep at it because several of these flicks are some of the best crime pictures I've experienced.
This list is how I discovered "
Eyes Without a Face"
. A real treasure, that one.
Now, I'm sure no fan of Jean-Luc Godard …but "
Bob le Flambeur
" is practically the best gambling casino (err rather, 'gambling casino heist') movie I might ever care to name
And '
The Sicilian Clan'
has the most ingenious skyjacking I've ever seen in a movie
Paul P. Powell, Pool Player -
victorin1 — 4 months ago(November 13, 2025 03:42 AM)
There is a famous French film director, Claud Leloucu, which his crime films don't appear in the lists.
Le Voyou (The Crook), 1970, 6.9
L' aventure, c'est L' aventure (Money, Money, Money), 1972, 6.9, very funny
La Bonne Année (Happy New Year), 1973, 7.3, very good
Le Chat e la Souris (Cat and Mouse), 1975, 6.6
Le Bon et les Mechants (The Good and the Bad), 1976, 6.7
A nous deux (Us Two) 1979, 6.3
Attention! Bandis (Attention bandists!), 1986, 6.3
And Now… Ladies and Gentlemen, 2002, 6.1 -
victorin1 — 4 months ago(December 01, 2025 05:04 AM)
L' aventure, c'est L' aventure (Money, Money, Money), 1972
Is a comedy thriller about 5 crooks that due to changing times, instead of robbing banks, decided to try other types of crime, like kidnappings of celebrities and political figures. Very entertaining and funny. -
Deeby2025 — 5 months ago(October 26, 2025 09:04 AM)
What a list!
I'll have to figure out which ones I haven't seen
Yesterday's viewing was Tony Arzenta = No Way Out = Grands Fusils (1973)
Which I started several months ago and was unimpressed, gave up after 15 minutes… I tried again with a better copy (of a restored, longer print) and it was an enjoyable watch with some great moments
Bombs and betrayals
Delon excellent as always -
Paul P. Powell — 5 months ago(October 26, 2025 03:35 PM)
Agree re: Delon.
That guy makes everything seem effortless. I can't hardly name a Delon film which I would turn off. For a dude with such matinee idol looks, he was always so solid in his work-ethic.
In general, I've been wanting to explore more of that whole '
Poliziotteschi
' genre (in which Delon sometimes appears).
Oh well. Report back as you progress through any of the titles above! I could always use some strategy in helping me decide my own route.
Paul P. Powell, Pool Player