Review of Le Samouraï (1967) by John P — 15 May 2009

First I have to say that director Jean-Pierre Melville has an incredible eye for composing a shot. Le Samourai is gorgeous to watch. And the score is another ultra cool plus to the film. But seriously thats about it. I was bored to death 3/4 into it. It started out good enough. It had lots going on. The story was being set up well enough, but after 1hr and 15minutes I was starting to get heavy eyed. The struggle to fight sleep became my mission. I couldnt really depend upon Le Samourai to fix the problem. But I made it through. There was a point were it started to redeem the boredom, but it was short lived.And by the time the credits rolled I felt kinda gyped by the ending.

Its not a total throw away film. Its just the pacing is really tedious. Alain Delon is cool and calculating. And the chic jazz pianist was cool and gorgeous. I was hoping she was to be more involved, other than playing a part in the "what the fuck" ending. If not for Jean-Pierre Melville's incredible eye this would of been a 2 1/2 star film, instead ill give it a three. Any one looking for a real hard ass Jean-Pierre Melville film should not hesitate to track down Le Doulos!