Le Samouraï (1967) French (Eng subs)

IMDB

User Rating: 8.2/10

Main Cast: Alain Delon, Natalie Delon, Cathy Rosier, François Perier, Michel Boisrond

Run Time: 103 minutes

‘Le Samourai’ is a dream, a study in solitude, or a portrait of a mental breakdown. A hired killer arrested for murder falls in love with the key witness. A beautifully atmospheric movie with a visual style unseen since the noir films of the 40's. Alain Delon stars as Jef Costello, a professional Parisian assassin-for-hire who, by nature of his work's solitary demands, has no friends. The epitome of screen cool, policier specialist Jean-Pierre Melville masterfully dissects the life of a loner hitman after he leaves behind a beautiful witness to a nightclub assassination. Opening with a fake nugget of samurai wisdom, Melville emphasizes the self-imposed isolation of Alain Delon's impassive Jeff Costello, as he lies alone in his monochrome apartment before his next job. Although Costello survives a police lineup thanks to a lie offered up by the fearless pianist Valerie, his alibi disintegrates rapidly and his shadowy employer takes out a contract on him. As Costello seeks revenge on his betrayer, he must also stay one step ahead of a wily, determined superintendent. Amid ultra-mod 1960s nightclub interiors and Henri Dacaë's icily stylish cinematography, Melville meticulously details Jeff's well-honed methods for stealing cars, shooting victims, and covering his tracks. A line-up identification and a celebrated police pursuit through Paris's Metro enhance the suspense about whether this consummate professional can be caught, as an inkling of human connection threatens Jeff's carefully controlled existence. Delon's existential sangfroid had long since infiltrated the international neo-noir lexicon. It directly inspired John Woo's The Killer (1989) and Jim Jarmusch's Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (2000), among others.

Highly recommended.