Category Archives: movies

a night affair in the Paris of the 50s (film: Le desordre et la nuit – Jean Gabin, 1958)

It is rare for a translated title of a film to be more inspired than the original title. I think this is the case with ‘Le desordre et la nuit‘ directed in 1958 by Gilles Grangier, one of the most … Continue reading

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code of honor (film: Classe Tous Risques – Claude Sautet, 1960)

A discovery. Made in 1960, at the peak of the French New Wave, ‘Classe Tous Risques‘ is a classic gangsters movie, directed by Claude Sautet, the screen adaptation of a novel by José Giovanni. Like many other filmmakers who began … Continue reading

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Hitchcock on the Riviera (film: To Catch a Thief – Alfred Hitchcock, 1955)

I’m probably to blame, but ‘To Catch a Thief‘ attracted me and interested me less than most of Alfred Hitchcock‘s other films that I remember seeing. Made in 1955, it was the third and last film in which the master … Continue reading

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Hitchcock in a French village (Film: Le boucher – Claude Chabrol, 1970)

If Alfred Hitchcock had made a mystery thriller film set in a French village, I think it would have been ‘Le Boucher‘. Hitchcock, as we all know, did not make such a film, but maybe he got to see Claude … Continue reading

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love and crime in the countryside (film: Les noces rouges – Claude Chabrol, 1973)

A few years after being one of the French New Wave four aces, Claude Chabrol said goodbye to film experiments and embarked on a very active commercial directorial career. For over 30 years he has produced films at a rate … Continue reading

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becoming a child like all the other (Film: Pinocchio – Matteo Garrone, 2019)

Pinocchio fascinates filmmakers. The first atru to bring to screen Carlo Collodi’s novel took place in 1936, as an animated feature, in Italy, but the first to complete the project were Walt Disney and his colleagues in 1940. Another 20 … Continue reading

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it could have been a masterpiece (film: The Lady from Shanghai – Orson Welles, 1947)

‘The Lady from Shanghai‘ (filmed in 1946 and released in 1947) is considered by some movie critics and historians, and by many film art lovers as a masterpiece. Revisited today, we can find in it many exceptional moments of cinema … Continue reading

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before The Godfather was The Clan (film: Le clan des siciliens – Henri Verneuil, 1969)

Half a century after its making of ‘Le clan des siciliens‘ (English title – ‘The Sicilian Clan’ – a 1969 production) remains in my opinion one of the best mob films ever made. Of course, the casting of Jean Gabin, … Continue reading

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mid-age crisis of the New Wave (film: Irma Vep – Olivier Assayas, 1996)

Movie about movie making are a cinematic genre that has produced many remarkable creations over time. Filmmakers like to make films about their profession. Many of them are tributes to the great creators of the past, rarer are films that … Continue reading

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the discrete horror of the bourgeoisie (Film: La Fleur du Mal – Claude Chabrol, 2003)

‘La fleur du mal‘ (English title ‘The Flower of Evil‘) made in 2003 by Claude Chabrol opens with a fairly long frame in which the camera takes us from the ground floor to the second floor of a bourgeois villa … Continue reading

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