Strong and Moving!

Sick Product of a Sick System

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

The novelty message of this film is that there is nothing really wrong, or in any way seriously deviant, in organizing a professionally planned and carefully executed burglary. Let us be reasonable. Men with obligations are required to earn their living, and to look after their loved ones. Who could want to meet a more everyday family man than Jo the Swede, with his regular wife and little cowboy ? Then there are the bad guys. Mafia-type crazy drug addicts, who'll do anything for a fix, slit throats, and don't hesitate to rub out little children. I've seldom seen a more evil-looking cinematic presence than Marcel Lupovici, who plays the owner of the Golden Age or Cage, Pierre Grutter. He's right up there with Al Lettieri. Those types have no ethics. They stick at nothing. Kidnap, extortion, murder, you name it. They are not decent, like the happy-go-lucky but skilled, clean-living fraternity of straightforward thieves.Then there are the two high spots. The first is the thirty minute heist; a song with no words and no music. Second is the rescue and heroic drive by Jean Servais against all odds, ensuring the little boy's safe return to his mum. Chokes you up. At one point I thought the kid was going to chuck the suitcase with the money out of the car, into the street. But no, it was finally collared by the cops. It should have gone to Jo's widow.Another memorable scene was where Servais shoots Dassin, strictly for ethical reasons. It's possibly the way this scene is shot that makes this shooting so memorable. A lesson in how to shoot a shooting. There's no doubt this film is influential. I kept thinking of Tarantino. Some elusive, nagging reservation prevents me from giving it more than 8 stars.

Rififi holds up extremely well for over 50 years. I just need to get something off my chest. If Jules Dassin didn't acknowledge the influence of John Huston's Asphalt Jungle, shame on him. Many film viewers consider Rififi the mother of the heist film, but that's giving Mr. Dassin more credit than he deserves. He does of course deserve credit for a wonderfully made movie, and especially for detailing the plan and action of the caper, using about 30 minutes of film time. Hollywood film makers might not have allowed that, but as a French film audiences are more patient. See the wonderful films of Robert Bresson. I do think, however, that the Dassin picture is a landmark in humanizing the criminal enterprise. Whether that's good or bad is arguable. It certainly reached out to influence the broad tolerance that we have for projects like The Sopranos. It was also a powerful enough film to change public attitude about the unfair treatment given Mr. Dassin and others black listed by the Hollywood establishment.

This is the toughest, most spellbinding and, finally, enervating film I have ever seen. The protagonist, Toni Le Stephanois, as played by Jean Servais is out for a big score - the safe - as his time as a mastermind and tough guy is running out. The meticulous planning and the flawless - almost - execution of the heist had me and I am sure most of the audience wanting the crims to get away with it. And notice that the thieves plan to use their cut to make life better for those they love or care for. Only the rootless Toni cannot give an answer to the question of what he will do with his share. Should the thieves have merely sought to live it up on their ill-gotten gains, we might have wanted them caught. As with all tragedies, we often want the doomed protagonists to somehow be spared. However, it cannot be.Once the real bad guys realize who has done the heist, things can only become more and more brutal. And all that is left is for Toni to repair some of the damage done.Toni's final drive through the streets of Paris as he bleeds to death from a gunshot wound leaves me drained. The subjective camera swirls and jump cuts and the soundtrack oscillates as Toni's visual and aural perceptions move in and out of focus as he struggles onward to redemption.The film is a masterpiece. See it at least once in your life and you will never forget it.Rififi - it certainly is rough and tumble.

This is the classic examination of the Perfect Robbery by and starring Jules Dassin, influenced by The Asphalt Jungle and the French-type connection between The Lavender Hill Mob and Dassin's later own Topkapi, albeit a little more earthy. Dassin gets to glorify the gangsters a little, but the end moral remained the same.A rather craggy looking guy gets out of jail and is immediately embroiled in a new bank heist, as part of a gang of four well-oiled thugs and hoods and their molls, all of them all too human. The robbery is meticulously planned and executed in almost complete silence and is totally absorbing in its ballet-like intensity. Cesar made only one error but it sure let down Tony, Jo and Mario along with the real baddies in the long run, however he didn't let us the viewers down because it makes for another absorbing last half hour, if a little savage at times. 45 year old Jean Sevais who played Tony was the only true hard boiled individual in here, the rest were either soft boiled or punks – at one point Jo's wife goes moralistic speculating out that poverty stricken youths who stay honest were the real tough guys. There's some marvellous character acting by all of the main protagonists, amidst the gloomy atmospheric splendour of a rainy and damp Paris.It's as simple as it gets, and as beautiful – sure, it's certainly of its time as is everything but it's wearing very well and is still supreme entertainment.