Le Doulos (Special Edition) - Classic French Crime Film by Jean-Pierre Melville | Perfect for Movie Collectors & Film Noir Enthusiasts

This DVD has been around long enough to have garnered some highly intelligent reviews, most of them favourable. The only critical exercise left that may be of use to prospective purchasers is to review the film AND the reviews in parallel. It is necessary to point out that Melville came late to the gangster genre and had established his credentials as a master of the cinematic Art in such gems as Les Enfants Terribles, Le Silence de la Mer, and Leon Morin Pretre, without any need for louche persona dressed in trench-coats and Borsalinos. These are wonderfully poetic explorations of love in many different manifestations ------ sibling , cultural , and divine. In the later Army of Shadows, there is not much poetry, but there is an intense concern with fundamental issues of morality and justice in the context of a fight to the death. It is not too far-fetched to suggest that these issues also pervade his "gangster" films that, however entertaining, were not necessarily conceived as entertainment only, but also as morality tales. Failure to realize this will deprive the viewer of at least one dimension through which his work must be appreciated. Another concept with which I must take issue is that of Film Noir. It would be best if this term were abolished from the critical vocabulary of the cinema. Reading through any essay, book, or merely lists devoted to so-called Films Noirs reveals a mish-mash of titles where the works are more notable for their differences than their similarities. Even Harry Potter Films meet more than half the so-called criteria. Walt Disney and other cartoons are among the few that can be ruled out. But how about that early exotic Film Noir spy thriller: A Night in Casablanca? Let me just say that Le Doulos is perhaps the most complex, difficult, and rewarding film dealing with the life and loves of criminals that I have seen. I loved it the first time I saw it, but understood it fully only on the 3rd occasion. The plot is worked out with meticulous detail. It has dialogue in which every word counts; and the same economy of expression carries over to the talented band of actors who slaughter each other throughout its all too short duration. This is acting as virtuoso team-work. Unlike Bob Le Flambeur and Le Samourai, there is no single central character, but rather a continuum of individuals drawn from the lower depths whose fates are intertwined and of equal importance. And now to those reviewers who have done most of the hard work. Thank you Andrew Ellington, but I cannot agree that Le Samourai is a better film. Thank you Doug Anderson, but why only 3 stars? Your Melville ratings are intriguing, but I would downgrade Le Samourai to 4 stars ( cold, and the least humane of Melville's films), and of those that you have NOT seen, I rate Le Silence De La Mer 4 stars, and Leon Morin 6 stars if I had a way of doing so. A nice job, C.O. DeRiemer, but I hope that since Oct. 2008 you have seen the film sufficiently often to unravel the convoluted plot and glory in its convolutions. As all others have mentioned, this is a superb transfer from Criterion with extras that are really worth having.