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MORE DIRECTORS CHECKLIST SERIES - Volume #224 - THE FILMS OF JEAN-PIERRE MELVILLE

post #1 of 37
7/28/05 at 9:37am
Thread Starter 
Rate 'em, Rank 'em, Review 'em, whatever

Volume #224 - Jean-Pierre Melville

Un flic (1972)
Cercle rouge, Le (1970)
Armée des ombres, L' (1969)
... aka Army In the Shadows
... aka The Shadow Army
Samouraï, Le (1967)
Deuxième souffle, Le (1966)
... aka Second Breath
Aîné des Ferchaux, L' (1963)
... aka Magnet of Doom
Doulos, Le (1962)
Léon Morin, prêtre (1961)
... aka Leon Morin, Priest (International: English title: literal title)
... aka The Forgiven Sinner (USA)
Two Men in Manhattan (1959)
Bob le flambeur (1955)
When You Read This Letter (1953)
Les Enfants Terribles (1950)
Silence de la Mer, Le (1949)
Vingt-quatre heures de la vie d'un clown (1945)
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post #2 of 37
7/28/05 at 9:50am
Thread Starter 

An ardent cinephile with a great love of American film, his filmmaking ambitions were delayed by WWII. He served in the French army, the Resistance, and with the Free French. Following the war he was denied admission to the film technicians union, but undaunted he began to make films independently. Taking influences from noir, he created a new kind of crime film, shooting in the streets, often using hidden cameras and without permission. His heros were crooks, but they had honor within the rules of their profession. Directors from Godard to Scorsese to John Woo have cited Melville as a highly influential figure.

*1. Bob Le Flambeur - A (My favorite heist/gambling film)
2. Le Cercle Rouge - A- (Seen on film, powerful performances by Yves Montand and Alain Delon highlight this stylish, dark crime film.)
3. Le Deuxième Souffle - A-
4. Army of Shadows - B+

5. Leon Morin, Priest - B
6. Le Samourai - B-
7. Le Doulos - B-
8. Les Enfants Terribles - B-

Own: 1


Edited by Brook K - 8/3/11 at 12:27am
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post #3 of 37
7/28/05 at 10:30am
Seen none, though I recognize some titles that are on my to see list.
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post #4 of 37
7/28/05 at 11:45am
Fatalistic noir extrodinaire

Ranking:

1. Le Samurai
2. Bob Le Flambeur
3. Le Cercle Rouge
4. Un Flic
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post #5 of 37
7/28/05 at 1:51pm
Have only seen "Bob Le Flambeur". Have "Un Flic" and "Le Cercle Rouge" in my to-watch DVD pile.
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post #6 of 37
7/28/05 at 2:27pm

Ratings out of


JEAN-PIERRE MELVILLE (1917 - 1973)


Un flic (1972)
Cercle rouge, Le (1970)
Army of Shadows (1969)
Samouraï, Le (1967)
Le deuxième souffle (1966)
Magnet of Doom (1963)
Doulos, Le (1962)
The Forgiven Sinner (1961)
Two Men in Manhattan (1959)
Bob le flambeur (1955)
When You Read This Letter (1953)
Les Enfants Terribles (1950)
Le Silence de la Mer (1949)
Vingt-quatre heures de la vie d'un clown (1945)
 

 


Edited by Jim_K - 6/11/11 at 9:30am
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post #7 of 37
7/28/05 at 3:49pm

Un Flic (1972) (Own the DVD)
Le Cercle Rouge (1970) (Own the DVD)
Army of Shadows (1969) (Own the Blu)
Le Samouraï (1967) (Own the DVD)
Second Breath (1966) (Own the DVD)
Magnet of Doom (1963)
Le Doulos (1962) (Own the DVD)
Leon Morin, Priest (1961)
Two Men in Manhattan (1959)
Bob le Flambeur (1955) (Own the DVD)
When You Read This Letter (1953)
Les Enfants Terribles (1950) (Own the DVD)
Le Silence de la Mer (1949) (Own the DVD)
Vingt-quatre heures de la vie d'un clown (1945)

Seen 9
Own 9


Edited by Bill McA - 1/25/11 at 4:00pm
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post #8 of 37
7/29/05 at 11:31am
In order of merit:


1.Le Samouraï (1967) ****
2.L'Armée Des Ombres (1969) ***1/2
3.Bob Le Flambeur (1955) ***
4.Les Enfants Terribles (1950) ***
5.Le Cercle Rouge (1970) ***
6.Le Doulos (1962) ***
7.Un Flic (1972) ***
8.Léon Morin, Prêtre (1961) ***
9.L'Aîné Des Ferchaux (1963) **1/2


Unfortunately, I've not only watched all of these once - not counting a much-shortened Italian-dubbed version of L'ARMEE` DES OMBRES - but, in most cases, that one viewing was in French without English subtitles!!

I only own BOB LE FLAMBEUR on DVD so far but, obviously, I intend to pick up all that is available of his work and hope that LE SAMOURAI and LES ARMEE DES OMBRES - not to mention LE SILENCE DE LA MER (1949) and LE DEUXIEME SOUFFLE (1966) - get their own DVD editions soon!


P.S. An additional good word is in order for LES ENFANTS TERRIBLES which, due to it theatrical origins as a Jean Cocteau play, is quite unlike anything usually associated with Melville. Famed film critic David Thompson even maintains that it is in every way superior to any of Cocteau's own cinematic achievements; big words, perhaps, but it is indeed very good, make no mistake!
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post #9 of 37
7/30/05 at 6:39am
Le Cercle Rouge ***
Le Samourai ***
Le Doulos ***
Bob le Flambeur ***
Un Flic ***
Army in the Shadows ****
The Silence of the Sea ****
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post #10 of 37
12/17/05 at 9:11am
Thread Starter 
Updated:
Le Samouraï - B-
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post #11 of 37
6/22/06 at 10:13pm

Re: MORE DIRECTORS CHECKLIST SERIES - Volume #224 - THE FILMS OF JEAN-PIERRE MELVILLE

Army in the Shadows ****
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post #12 of 37
11/18/06 at 10:28am

Re: MORE DIRECTORS CHECKLIST SERIES - Volume #224 - THE FILMS OF JEAN-PIERRE MELVILLE

Cercle rouge, Le (1970) - 7/10
Armée des ombres, L' (1969) - 8/10
Samouraï, Le (1967) - 9/10
Deuxième souffle, Le (1966) - 6/10
Doulos, Le (1962) - 9/10
Bob le flambeur (1955) - 8/10
Les Enfants Terribles (1950) - 6/10
Silence de la Mer, Le (1949) - 6/10
Edited by Martin Teller - 4/18/10 at 12:17am
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post #13 of 37
4/18/07 at 7:43pm

Re: MORE DIRECTORS CHECKLIST SERIES - Volume #224 - THE FILMS OF JEAN-PIERRE MELVILLE

UPDATED:

Army of Shadows (1969)

Seen 4
Own 3
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post #14 of 37
5/19/07 at 5:58am

Re: MORE DIRECTORS CHECKLIST SERIES - Volume #224 - THE FILMS OF JEAN-PIERRE MELVILLE

Updated Master list...............................
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post #15 of 37
6/14/07 at 10:14pm
Thread Starter 

Re: MORE DIRECTORS CHECKLIST SERIES - Volume #224 - THE FILMS OF JEAN-PIERRE MELVILLE

Updated:

Army of Shadows - B+
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post #16 of 37
7/1/07 at 9:13pm

Re: MORE DIRECTORS CHECKLIST SERIES - Volume #224 - THE FILMS OF JEAN-PIERRE MELVILLE

UPDATED:

Le Samouraï (1967) (Own the DVD)

Seen 5
Own 3
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post #17 of 37
7/3/07 at 12:09pm

Re: MORE DIRECTORS CHECKLIST SERIES - Volume #224 - THE FILMS OF JEAN-PIERRE MELVILLE

The Silence of the Sea **** out of ****
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post #18 of 37
7/8/07 at 8:48pm

Re: MORE DIRECTORS CHECKLIST SERIES - Volume #224 - THE FILMS OF JEAN-PIERRE MELVILLE

Seen: 5
Own: 0

Cercle rouge, Le (1970) 3/4
Armée des ombres, L' (1969) 4/4
... aka Army In the Shadows
... aka The Shadow Army
Samouraï, Le (1967) 3/4
Doulos, Le (1962) 2/4
Bob le flambeur (1955) 2/4
Les enfants terribles (1950) 1/4

While I enjoy Le Samouri, I don't think the movie would be as loved without Delon's fabulous fedora! My favorite of his films is Army of Shadows, by a mile. Just sublime. And my least favorite is Les enfants terribles, also by a mile. Just an awful, awful film, I could barely stomach the incessant whining and conniving and soap-opera plotting... there was nothing redeeming about it, for me.
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post #19 of 37
7/28/07 at 5:54am

Re: MORE DIRECTORS CHECKLIST SERIES - Volume #224 - THE FILMS OF JEAN-PIERRE MELVILLE

Updated Master list...............................
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post #20 of 37
7/28/07 at 5:28pm
Thread Starter 

Re: MORE DIRECTORS CHECKLIST SERIES - Volume #224 - THE FILMS OF JEAN-PIERRE MELVILLE

Updated:

Les Enfants Terribles - B-
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post #21 of 37
8/19/07 at 2:01am

Re: MORE DIRECTORS CHECKLIST SERIES - Volume #224 - THE FILMS OF JEAN-PIERRE MELVILLE

added Armée des ombres, L' (1969) - 8/10
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post #22 of 37
11/10/07 at 2:35pm

Re: MORE DIRECTORS CHECKLIST SERIES - Volume #224 - THE FILMS OF JEAN-PIERRE MELVILLE

UPDATED:

Le Silence de la Mer (1949) (Own the DVD)

Seen 6
Own 5
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post #23 of 37
11/26/07 at 6:39pm

Re: MORE DIRECTORS CHECKLIST SERIES - Volume #224 - THE FILMS OF JEAN-PIERRE MELVILLE

UPDATED:

Un Flic (1972) (Own the DVD)

Seen 7
Own 6
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post #24 of 37
3/14/08 at 8:57am

Re: MORE DIRECTORS CHECKLIST SERIES - Volume #224 - THE FILMS OF JEAN-PIERRE MELVILLE

added Les Enfants Terribles (1950) - 6/10
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post #25 of 37
10/25/08 at 2:09pm

Re: MORE DIRECTORS CHECKLIST SERIES - Volume #224 - THE FILMS OF JEAN-PIERRE MELVILLE

UPDATED:

Le Doulos (1962) (Own the DVD)

Seen 8
Own 9
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post #26 of 37
11/8/08 at 4:55am

Re: MORE DIRECTORS CHECKLIST SERIES - Volume #224 - THE FILMS OF JEAN-PIERRE MELVILLE

Updated Master list...............................
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post #27 of 37
11/18/08 at 8:28pm
Thread Starter 

Re: MORE DIRECTORS CHECKLIST SERIES - Volume #224 - THE FILMS OF JEAN-PIERRE MELVILLE

Updated:

Le Doulos - B-
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post #28 of 37
11/27/08 at 11:11pm
Thread Starter 

Re: MORE DIRECTORS CHECKLIST SERIES - Volume #224 - THE FILMS OF JEAN-PIERRE MELVILLE

Updated:

Le Deuxième Souffle - A-
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post #29 of 37
2/7/09 at 5:07am

Re: MORE DIRECTORS CHECKLIST SERIES - Volume #224 - THE FILMS OF JEAN-PIERRE MELVILLE

Updated Master list...............................
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post #30 of 37
2/7/09 at 1:25pm

Re: MORE DIRECTORS CHECKLIST SERIES - Volume #224 - THE FILMS OF JEAN-PIERRE MELVILLE

added Deuxième souffle, Le (1966) - 6/10
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