The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

A slow burn but a good burn. This film is mostly coolness factor all the way but not for days, Daddy-O. Just kidding but you get my point. This film is very self aware and wears it well. It could have had more of a impactful conclusion but it was going for an authentic samurai Japanese noir or whatever. It is cool but not as hip as it should have been.

Jean-Pierre Melville's "Le Samourai" is a movie that not only ranks with "The Godfather" (1972), or "Goodfellas" (1990) as one of the best gangster movies ever made, it is also the best movie about a hit-man that I have seen since "Collateral" (2004). The movie stars Alain Delon as a hit-man named Jef Costello in a performance that reminded me so much of Tom Cruise's Vincent in "Collateral" because both characters in the two different films. Costello is also a contract killer like Vincent who is one of the suspects in the murder of a guy who works for a nightclub (of which he was paid to do), then the movie entangles itself into a whodunit type of movie with the investigation scenes. His girlfriend named Jane Lagrange (Nathalie Delon, who was Alain Delon's wife during the making of this movie) who is threatened of being charged of the same crime as being an accessory to murder. During the investigation scenes Melville makes us question what really happened even though we saw what happened before our very eyes. After Costello is let loose of the investigation he meets one of the men who paid him to commit the crime and Costello is almost killed during the encounter, and then gets spied on for the rest of the movie and seeks revenge. The only witness to the murder was a black woman who also happens to be a pianist at the same nightclub named Valerie (Cathy Rosier) who then gets questioned about who committed the murder by Le commissaire (Francois Perier). All i'm going to say about the ending of this movie is that it has a very eerily similar ending to that of "Bonnie and Clyde" (1967)and I won't spoil it. With a movie like this Melville has proved himself to me to be one of the great European filmmakers like Francois Truffaut, Michael Haneke, Ingmar Bergman, and Federico Fellini. Also when it comes to the screenplay for this movie co- written by Melville and Georges Pellegrin has practically no dialogue at all like there wasn't that much in Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey" (1968) even though those are two very different films. This movie should have gotten several Oscar nominations, and practically everything about this movie makes it a flawless masterpiece. This is one of 1967's best films.

"Nothing to say?" "Not with a gun on me." "Is that a principle?" "A habit."This film was directed brilliantly by Melville, who deals away with expository dialogue, action set-pieces and any semblance of a backstory. Not a second of this film is wasted with such trifles, the story is instead told through character actions and not through words (the first 10 minutes of the film are actually wordless).Our protagonist is Jef Costello (Alain Delon), a killer for hire, who has got wearing a fedora down to almost an exact science. He is hard as nails, cool as ice and suave as hell. The story follows him as he judiciously establishes himself an alibi, kills a club owner, is then taken in by the police, slips through a lineup, gets betrayed by his employers and is then stalked through a dreary Paris by the police and his employers alike, all the while realizing his own plan to take revenge.Melville's Paris always looks like it's either about to rain or it just did (when it's not actually raining). Both interiors and exteriors are perpetually drenched in grays and blues. Melville drains the entire film of color much in the same way that he drains his characters of words, that way both Paris and Jef feel cold, solitary and distant.Le Samourai is expertly crafted, effortlessly stylish and, I think, definitely worth seeing.

It's often difficult to enjoy a movie where its thin plot works to its advantage. Le samouraï is a simple film that becomes more riveting with every passing minute.Alain Delon plays Jef Costello, a hit-man who is ordered to execute a night club owner in his own night club. The problem is that he has to do it in the midst of possible witnesses on this busy night. He succeeds with the killing but when the body of the owner is found, the authorities are contacted where whey begin to whittle down possible suspects. Will the police suspect Jef, or is he in the clear?With little to no music, Jean-Pierre Melville's masterful direction is what keeps you enthralled throughout. It doesn't rely on music to make you feel a sense of suspense but instead is confident in it actors to make you feel that something could go wrong any minute.Set in the beautiful backdrop of France, it's use of watered-down blue and white colours add to the feeling of desolation.Le samouraï is an easy watch that made me watch it for a second time shortly after my first experience. Highly recommended.