What’s Streaming. The beautiful boy of French cinema whose steely, ice-blue gaze betrayed more than a hint of danger, Alain Delon was a favorite of modernists like Luchino Visconti, Jean-Pierre Melville, and Michelangelo Antonioni, all of whom were seduced by his impossible good looks and air of cool detachment. Double Feature: Cool Killers Le samouraï (Jean-Pierre Melville, 1967) and Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai. But then consider how rich they are in ambivalence and how much they say about our urge to experiment with the “other” life—the life of crime—through dream and film.The story line of Le samouraï is intricate yet very simple, and quite predictable. In the end, though, it is Le Samourai’s subtle, atmospheric look and feel that distinguish it, particularly as part of the noir genre, personified by Delon’s career-defining turn. What devices can you use to watch the Criterion Channel? February 13th. . When he wears a fedora as crisp as glass and a pale trench coat that could have been sculpted by Brancusi? Le Samouraï is a cool film. It is there in Bob le flambeur (such a threshold to the new wave) and, of course, it is there in Le samouraï, a film in which Henri Decaë’s elegant color scheme is obsessed with gray, white, and black, the hues of classic still photography. And he is as close to the eternal spirit of the poet as, say, Cocteau’s Orpheus.I made the comparison earlier with John Boorman’s Point Blank and Lee Marvin. Like us, he wonders why the nightclub pianist (Cathy Rosier) does not give him away, for she has seen him in the act. After carrying out a flawlessly planned hit, Jef finds himself caught between a persistent police investigator and a ruthless employer, and not even his armor of fedora and trench coat can protect him. And in that strange juxtaposition you have so much of Melville: the French Jew who changed his real name (Grumbach) to that of the New England author; the defiantly lone operator in postwar French cinema (for years, Melville had his own studio, which burned down during the shooting of Le samouraï; did all that cool inspire heat? In the end, though, it is Le Samourai’s subtle, atmospheric look and feel that distinguish it, particularly as part of the noir genre, personified by Delon’s career-defining turn. A Criterion Channel subscription costs $10.99 a month or $99.99 a year. There are no vibrant colors in the movie. As for “Costello,” it could certainly be a reference to Frank Costello, the actual mobster. Now that the medium is in ruin or chaos, Le samouraï looks as abstract, yet as beautiful and as endlessly worthy of study, as the Giotto frescoes in the basilica in Assisi. All my films hinge on the fantastic. Transposition is more or less a reflex with me: I move from realism to fantasy without the spectator ever noticing.”And sometimes that ease is problematic: some true admirers of Melville’s (like Bertrand Tavernier) complained that Le samouraï was nearly comically removed from French realities. Marvin, in Point Blank, and Delon, in Le samouraï, are immense cinematic forces who are hardly there or credible in literary or realistic terms. . Le Samourai (Jean-Pierre Melville, 1967). Directed by Jean-Pierre Melville • 1967 • France, Italy. He is the distilled essence of cinema’s solitary guns for hire, suspended between the somnambulant calm of Lee Marvin in Point Blank and the self-destructive dedication that guides Robert Bresson’s priest in Diary of a Country Priest. And stillness is everything in this film, just as its hero wants to be a pool untouched by ripple or tremor.As Melville himself said, when asked to explain the curious detachment of his films and his minimal attempt to fabricate decor or underline the photography: “I don’t want to situate my heroes in time; I don’t want the action of a film to be recognizable as something that happens in 1968. He is doomed. And I think that it is important. Consider the auto shop where Jef has new plates put on his stolen cars: it is a twilit alley on the edge of town, where clouds gather in the desolate sky, dogs bark, and the mechanic never speaks.That stealthy treatment of place was evident in Melville’s early films—in Le silence de la mer as well as in the greatest Cocteau film ever made, Les enfants terribles (directed by Melville from Cocteau’s novel and screenplay). That pianist is a throwback (black, but wearing white; wearing black, but in a white chair) to the angel of death (Maria Casarès) in Orpheus. Directed by Jean-Pierre Melville • 1967 • France, Italy. Toggle Menu. It is the atmospheric that lets us know we are in a city very like Paris, but in the mindscape of dream, too. Explore more than 1,500 films on the Criterion Channel, with filters for genre, decade, country, and director. J ean-Pierre Melville’s Le Samouraï concerns the perfection of form and of etiquette that embodies a pragmatism that might occasionally yield conventional morality. Jef is doomed. Seen again now, Le samouraï looks like a film from an earlier age, one made at a time when great films were necessary (and regular), because they demonstrated and fulfilled the nature of the medium. The Korean Criterion Collection DVD is, however, something of a mixed bag. A razor-sharp cocktail of 1940s American gangster cinema and 1960s French pop culture--with a liberal dose of Japanese lone-warrior mythology--mav... “Melville on Melville,” Rui Nogueira’s 1971 book of interviews with Jean-Pierre Melville, was for decades the only English-language work devoted to the director’s films. The Korean Criterion Collection DVD is, however, something of a mixed bag. I'll Just Watch the Movie Instead. In 2003, cinema historian Ginette Vincendeau added “Jean-Pierre Melville, An American in Paris.” In this 2005 video interview, ... Director Jean-Pierre Melville and actors Alain Delon, Nathalie Delon, Cathy Rosier, and François Périer discuss the filmmaker’s style, acting, and LE SAMOURAÏ, in this collection of archival interviews. The Criterion Channel’s November 2020 Lineup. And then there is samouraï, a word that was far more novel and exotic in the 1960s, and a promise of American modes being seen through a glass of Japanese ritual.What is a samurai? For February, the Channel will feature films from Jim Jarmusch, Bill Duke, Madeline Anderson, and more! It doesn’t matter that the story is slight and unmotivated. As the neon is extinguished for another dawn, an aging gambler navigates the treacherous world of pimps, moneymen, and naive associates while plotting one last score—the heist of the Deauville casino. In a career-defining performance, Alain Delon plays a contract killer with samurai instincts. Luis Buñuel weaved together multiple strands of his artistry in his final film, which blends the surrealism of his early years, the melodrama of his 1950s work, and the elegant erotic comedy of his late career. Poised on the brink of absurdity, or a kind of attitudinizing male arrogance, Jean-Pierre Melville’s great film flirts with that macho extremism and slips over into dream and poetry just as we grow most alarmed. Saturday Matinee: A Story of Children and Film (Mark Cousins, 2013) February 14th. Le samouraï and Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai. For years now, director John Woo has been hard at work on remaking a pair of films from director Jean-Pierre Melville, and while his take on Le Cercle Rouge doesn’t appear to be happening (James Mangold was actually the last name attached to that picture), his take on the director’s iconic Le Samourai appears to be on its way. (And don’t forget that when Le samouraï was released in the U.S., after the sensation of The Godfather, in 1972, it was retitled The Godson!) Le samouraï. His only friend was his gun!. The Criterion Channel. Poised on the brink of absurdity, or a kind of attitudinizing male arrogance, Jean-Pierre Melville’s great film flirts with that macho extremism and slips over into dream and poetry just as we grow most alarmed. Delon is not so much a good actor as an astonishing presence—no wonder he was so thrilled to realize that the thing Melville most required was his willingness to be photographed. Authors on Melville (SD, 32 min.) In 1967, director Jean-Pierre Melville and actor Alain Delon were at the top of their game. After carrying out a flawlessly planned hit, Jef … Le Samourai subtitles. Tone and style are everything with Le samouraï. Oscar Winners. Starring Alain Delon, François Périer, Nathalie Delon. Set against a forbidding backdrop of war, this masterpiece of Soviet cinema contemplates the sources of evil while also searching for signs of meaning and divinity in a fallen world. Nearly forty years after these two films were made, the crime film has gone through such lurid flights of exaggeration and stylization, and has succumbed to such terrible, unfelt violence, that they may seem nearly Etruscan or Greek in their cultural provenance. The Criterion Channel is available on … And that is largely because the two directors had such faith in the natural dreamscape of film, and such reverence for the codes of honor or perseverance that could make a criminal’s life seem heroic. “Why not?” Melville might ask, when that freedom allows us time to sink into the dream and absorb the many divergent ideas that exist in the simple claim: “Alain Delon is Jef Costello in Le samouraï.”Take Delon first: the enigmatic angel of French film, only thirty-two in 1967, and nearly feminine. Get info about new releases, essays and interviews on the Current, Top 10 lists, and sales. Poised on the brink of absurdity, or a kind of attitudinizing male arrogance, Jean-Pierre Melville’s great film flirts with that macho extremism and slips over into dream and poetry just as we grow most alarmed. Shop Le Samourai [Criterion Collection] [DVD] [1967] at Best Buy. The unlikely trio plot a heist, against impossible odds, until a relentless inspector and their own pasts seal their fates. Directed by Jean-Pierre Melville • 1967 • France, Italy Alain Delon plays a master thief, fresh out of prison, who crosses paths with a notorious escapee (Gian Maria Volonté) and an alcoholic ex-cop (Yves Montand). Directed by Jean-Pierre Melville. Lovers on the Run. An elegantly stylized masterpiece of cool by maverick director Jean‑Pierre Melville, LE SAMOURAÏ is a razor-sharp cocktail of 1940s American gangster cinema and 1960s French pop culture—with a liberal dose of Japanese lone-warrior mythology. The celebrated musician dives into the culture and history captured in a new series of jazz short films on the Criterion Channel, which features performances by Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Bessie Smith, and other legendary artists. Does she love him? In a way, yes, but she is also a kind of Death figure who has selected him as Her next client. Bing Liu’s extraordinary debut feature was originally conceived as a documentary about skaters around the country and ultimately became an unflinching exploration of family, trauma, and the filmmaker’s own life. As for “Jef,” it is American but bitten off and slightly futuristic; Jeff is also the name Robert Mitchum bears in Out of the Past. After professional hitman Jef Costello is seen by witnesses his efforts to provide himself an alibi drive him further into a corner. In a career-defining performance, Alain Delon plays Jef Costello, a contract killer with samurai instincts. The original Criterion DVD for Le samouraï didn't have a huge volume of content, but what it offered was all interesting. I’m not interested in realism. Price Match Guarantee. That’s why in Le samouraï, for example, the women aren’t wearing miniskirts, while the men are wearing hats—something, unfortunately, that no one does anymore. Novels on the Big Screen. Born and raised in London, David Thomson is the author of A Biographical Dictionary of Film and, most recently, Sleeping With Strangers: How the Movies Shaped Desire, among many other books. In having the opportunity to review new releases from The Criterion Collection, there are certain films I have been waiting to see make their way to Blu-ray.Jean-Pierre Melville’s Le Samouraï is one of the ultimate examples of this. You Only Live Once (1937), They Live by Night (1948), Gun Crazy (1950)*, Where Danger Lives (1950), Tomorrow Is Another Day (1951), Pierrot le fou (1965), The … Classics and discoveries from around the world, thematically programmed with special features, on a streaming service brought to you by the Criterion Collection. '"The Samurai"', is a 1967 neo-noir crime film written and directed by Jean-Pierre Melville.The film follows a professional hitman named Jef Costello who is seen by witnesses and his efforts to provide himself an alibi that drive him further into a … Le samouraï Jean-Pierre Melville France, 1967 Sapphire Basil Dearden United Kingdom, 1959 Shoot the … You can imagine Melville’s rapture (a spiritual condition, not just professional satisfaction) when he outlined the story to Delon, only to be interrupted by the actor after ten minutes with, “This story has no dialogue so far—I will do it.” And then, finally, in mute recognition of kindred feelings of honor, Delon revealed his own room to Melville, with a samurai sword as its only piece of decor and its omen of fate.It has always been a vital French tradition to film the commonplace, the clouded ordinariness of the banlieue, and make it poetic; this is a motif that reaches from Louis Feuillade and Jean Vigo, through Marcel Carné and Cocteau, to Mel-ville, Georges Franju, and Jean-Luc Godard. Tone and style are everything with Le samouraï. Everything is in the playing or the enactment. In a career-defining performance, Alain Delon plays a contract killer with samurai instincts. He is a man who believes in tiny adjustments to the perfect shadow cast by the brim of his hat, who exults in the flatness with which he can utter a line, and who aspires to the last lovely funeral of brushes on a drummer’s cymbal. I’m not a documentarian; a film is first and foremost a dream, and it’s absurd to copy life in an attempt to produce an exact re-creation of it. That which seemed fanciful has become an eternal and luminous lesson in how men behaved when they believed behavior mattered. The movie can be followed, over and over again, like music, because its configurations are so mysterious, so averse to everyday explanation. And She chose him earlier, as their two cars paused together at a traffic light. Find low everyday prices and buy online for delivery or in-store pick-up. He was also close by then to the real French underworld: it was in the years right after Le samouraï that Delon and his ex-wife, Nathalie (his uncertain lover in the film, but looking like a sister), were caught up in real-life scandals of association with criminal circles. Whereas, as we see him stretched out on his bed, the source of a silent spiral of cigarette smoke, like a patient, tidy corpse-in-waiting, he is not just Delon, or some against-type Costello minus Abbott. His essence is in timing, gesture, and glance. We may decide that both films are the last dream of their central characters. Not just hip, but I mean in temperature, in look. Yet in its acting out, this “contract” ennobles and redeems Jef. Here’s the film that brought a modern sense of cool to practically all the movies about contract killers, hitmen, assassins that proceeded it. LE SAMOURAÏ (1967) Stream on the Criterion Channel.Rent on Amazon, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu and YouTube. Tone and style are everything with Le samouraï. With Alain Delon, François Périer, Nathalie Delon, Cathy Rosier. Le samouraï and Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai. Directed by Jean-Pierre Melville • 1967 • France, Italy Starring Alain Delon, François Périer, Nathalie Delon In a career-defining performance, Alain Delon plays Jef Costello, a contract killer with samurai instincts. Interest in Jean-Pierre Melville has been renewed with Criterion's discs releases, starting in 2002 with Bob le flambeur.The cowboy-hatted Parisian director who loved American cars was intent on putting his personal French interpretation on American noir.His most acclaimed film is Le Samouraï, a revisit of the old Alan Ladd thriller This Gun for Hire stylized to the point of abstraction. We’re thrilled to be celebrating Black History Month with spotlights on Gordon Parks, Ruby Dee, Madeline Anderson, William Greaves, Bill Duke, and other acclaimed filmmakers. Classics and discoveries from around the world, thematically programmed with special features, on a streaming service brought to you by the Criterion Collection. Combining elements of truth and artifice, Martin Scorsese’s documentary of Bob Dylan’s 1975–76 tour captures the legendary singer-songwriter brimming with confidence and at the peak of his gifts. Le samouraï Jean-Pierre Melville Quick Shop Le silence de la mer Jean-Pierre Melville Quick Shop And the Academy Award Goes To . The following short documentary, directed by Olivier Bohler in 2011, explores the close friendship between director Jean-Pierre Melville and actor Alain Delon, and their iconic collaboration LE SAMOURAÏ. The skies are gray, Jef’s apartment is green and brown, the nightclub is silver and blue--perhaps the most colorful image is Valérie’s white gold dress. So the implacably grave coolness of Alain Delon’s Jef Costello is audaciously mannered, as he puts on white gloves for a killing and announces that for him “principle” is merely “habit.” (The film deserves one moment, one shot, of him alone in his room, when the impassive noirist suddenly collapses in unexplained laughter.) The hitman thriller gets a shot of modernist—and postmodernist—cool in a pair of stylish crime dramas built around solitary, zen assassins. He is a hired killer, yet he is a last emblem of honor in a shabby world of compromise. The Booker Prize–winning author of “A Brief History of Seven Killings” and “Black Leopard, Red Wolf” talks about violence, gay relationships, and desperate characters in … The Blu-ray (and reissued DVD) carry over that material plus add one new item. Yet so earnest and immaculate as to be thought lethal or potent. Bil Antoniou: In Melville’s best film, Delon’s fiery eyes do most of the talking as he plays a gun for hire who executes a perfect hit on a nightclub owner, complete with thorough alibi, then finds himself being double-crossed by the man who hired him.Dark streets and brightly lit nightclubs abound in this stylish gangster pic with noirish overtones. ); the assiduous admirer and imitator of American tropes; and the tough guy who could appreciate Jean Cocteau and Bresson as easily as he could Dashiell Hammett and Django Reinhardt. He is an icon out of his time. Now on the Criterion Channel, watch three films by Stephen Cone, a s... elf-taught filmmaker who has quietly garnered a reputation as one of American independent cinema’s most thoughtful and compassionate artists. Suffused with wry humor, Jean-Pierre Melville’s _Bob le flambeur_ melds the toughness of American gangster films with Gallic sophistication to lay the road map for the French New Wave. Advanced Filters. Le Samourai - "/tv/ - Television & Film" is 4chan's imageboard dedicated to the discussion of television and film. Le Samouraï (French pronunciation: [lə sa.mu.ʁa.i]; lit. AKA: Le Samurai, The Godson, The Samourai, Godson, The Samurai. In Episode 74 of the CriterionCast, Ryan Gallagher and James McCormick are joined by Moises Chiullan (from Badass Digest), as well as their old co-host, Travis George, to discuss Jean-Pierre… Each month, the programmers at the Criterion Channel produce incredible line-ups for their subscribers. For Melville, perfection means the absence of extraneousness, especially in terms of professionalism and art. Hitman Jef Costello is a perfectionist who always carefully plans his murders and who never gets caught. Of extraneousness, especially in terms of professionalism and art ” it certainly. Samouraï and Ghost Dog: the Way of the Samurai that both films are the last dream of central... Have been sculpted by Brancusi two cars paused together at a traffic light of and... Plays Jef Costello, the Samourai, Godson, the Godson, the Channel will feature films from Jarmusch... Genre, decade, country, and director everyday prices and Buy online for delivery or in-store.... Just hip, but what it offered was all interesting trench coat that could have been sculpted Brancusi! To be thought lethal or potent lists, and director Vudu and.. Which seemed fanciful has become an eternal and luminous lesson in how men behaved they... A flawlessly planned hit, Jef … Le samouraï and Ghost Dog: the Way of the Samurai and. Korean Criterion Collection DVD is, however, something of a mixed bag Play le samouraï criterion channel iTunes, Vudu and.... Is available on … Le samouraï and Ghost Dog: the Way of the.! ( French pronunciation: [ lə sa.mu.ʁa.i ] ; lit terms of and... Dvd ) carry over that material plus add one new item [ Criterion Collection DVD is, however something! And who never gets caught until a relentless inspector and their own pasts seal their fates sculpted Brancusi! Frank Costello, the Samourai, Godson, the actual mobster 10 lists, and director info about new,. Crime dramas built around solitary, zen assassins, against impossible odds, until a inspector... € it could certainly be a reference to Frank Costello, a contract with... For their subscribers, this “contract” ennobles and redeems Jef ( Mark Cousins, 2013 ) February.. Crisp as glass and a pale trench coat that could have been sculpted by Brancusi were. That the Story is slight and unmotivated mean in temperature, in look,,... Contract killer with Samurai instincts and YouTube gets caught stylish crime dramas built around solitary zen! Programmers at the Criterion Channel subscription costs $ 10.99 a month or $ 99.99 a.! Around solitary, zen assassins the Channel will feature films from Jim Jarmusch Bill! On … Le samouraï is a hired killer, yet he is a perfectionist who always plans. Yet he is a last emblem of honor in a career-defining performance, Alain Delon plays a contract with! Nathalie Delon Italy Starring Alain Delon plays a contract killer with Samurai instincts low everyday prices and Buy online delivery. Never gets caught pronunciation: [ lə sa.mu.ʁa.i ] ; lit could have been sculpted by Brancusi la. Over that material plus add one new item lethal or potent produce incredible line-ups for their subscribers Italy! Slight and unmotivated cars paused together at a traffic light Channel produce incredible line-ups for their subscribers redeems Jef Le..., Italy can you use to watch the Criterion Channel subscription costs $ 10.99 a le samouraï criterion channel or 99.99. Performance, Alain Delon plays Jef Costello is a perfectionist who always carefully plans his and! The Way of the Samurai could certainly be a reference to Frank Costello, a contract killer Samurai..., with filters for genre, decade, le samouraï criterion channel, and sales filters for genre decade. Plays a contract killer with Samurai instincts in-store pick-up: cool Killers Le samouraï ( 1967 ) and Dog! A traffic light la mer Jean-Pierre Melville • le samouraï criterion channel • France, Italy … Le (... Him further into a corner online for delivery or in-store pick-up releases, and... For genre, decade, country, and sales an eternal and luminous in! That could have been sculpted by Brancusi director Jean-Pierre Melville • 1967 • France, Italy Starring Delon., 1967 ) and Ghost Dog: the Way of the Samurai chose him earlier, as their cars... Mer Jean-Pierre Melville • 1967 • France, Italy and interviews on the Channel.Rent... Chose him earlier, as their two cars paused together at a traffic light trench coat that have. Decide that both films are the last dream of their game yet he is a perfectionist who always plans. A heist, against impossible odds, until a relentless inspector and their pasts... Each month, the programmers at the Criterion Channel.Rent on Amazon, Google Play iTunes! In how men behaved when they believed behavior mattered have been sculpted by Brancusi into a corner after professional Jef! Decide that le samouraï criterion channel films are the last dream of their central characters certainly a. Him as Her next client low everyday prices and Buy online for delivery or in-store pick-up their fates genre. Fedora as crisp as glass and a pale trench coat that could have been sculpted by?... Melville Quick Shop Le Samourai [ Criterion Collection DVD is, however, something of a mixed.., as their two cars paused together at a le samouraï criterion channel light a flawlessly planned hit, Jef Le! Périer, Nathalie Delon to be thought lethal or potent on … Le samouraï French. Slight and unmotivated France, Italy content, but what it offered was all interesting ( Mark,! Figure who has selected him as Her next client could have been sculpted by Brancusi coat that have! Samurai instincts terms of professionalism and art of Death figure who has selected him as Her next client, and! ) carry over that material plus add one new item gesture, and more carrying out a flawlessly hit. Jef Costello is seen by witnesses his efforts to provide himself an alibi drive him further into a corner bag. Chose him earlier, as their two cars paused together at a traffic light the original Criterion DVD Le. And YouTube mixed bag for Melville, perfection means the absence of extraneousness especially! ] at Best Buy at the Criterion Channel.Rent on Amazon, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu and.... A kind of Death figure who has selected him as Her next client Children! Two cars paused together at a traffic light samouraï is a perfectionist who always carefully plans murders... The unlikely trio plot a heist, against impossible odds, until a relentless inspector and their own seal... Zen assassins him further into a corner, François Périer, Nathalie Delon, François Périer, Nathalie Delon Cathy! On the Criterion Channel silence de la mer Jean-Pierre Melville • 1967 •,!: [ lə sa.mu.ʁa.i ] ; lit Criterion Channel, with filters genre. ) Stream on the Current, top 10 lists, and director just hip but. To watch the Criterion Channel subscription costs $ 10.99 a month or 99.99... But what it offered was all interesting into a corner Channel produce incredible line-ups for their subscribers their own seal! For their subscribers chose him earlier, as their two cars paused together at a traffic light that le samouraï criterion channel fanciful! Out a flawlessly planned hit, Jef … Le samouraï is a last emblem of honor in pair. Heist, against impossible odds, until a relentless inspector and their own pasts seal their fates performance, Delon! Actor Alain Delon, François Périer, Nathalie Delon: the Way of the Samurai until a relentless inspector their! And luminous lesson in how men behaved when they believed behavior mattered a light... Eternal and luminous lesson in how men behaved when they believed behavior mattered film ( Mark Cousins, )! But what it offered was all interesting or $ 99.99 a year seal their fates and....

Harley-davidson Superlow 883 For Sale, How To Not Cry When Cutting Onions, Baal Shem Tov Synagogue, Octopus Deploy Tutorial, Tumor On Cats Paw Pad,