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It certainly deserves to be.
Produced by: Henri Berard, Pierre Caaud, Rene Bezard
Distributed by: Pathe (France)
Director: Jules Dassin
Screenplay: Auguste Le Breton, Jules Dassin Rene Wheeler/ adapted from the novel by Auguste Le Breton
Cinematography: Philippe Agostini
Edited by: Roger Dwyre
Music by: Georges Auric
Main Cast: Jean Servais (aging gangster Tony Stephanois), Carl Mohner (Jo le Suedois(Robert Manuel (Mario Farrati) , Jules Dassin (César "le Milanais”), Magali Noel (Vivane)
Tony le Stéphanois: I liked you. I really liked you, Macaroni. But, you know the rules.
Cesar le Milanais: The rules.
Cesar's fate is Dassin's ode to the Hollywood Blacklist
Is RIFIFI the best heist movie of all time?
Well, that is a question for those far more knowledgeable than me, but it is certainly one of the most influential. I’ve long had this on my “must watch list”, but never quite got around to it other than the bits and pieces of it here and there. Therefore, I was really excited to find it scheduled on Turner Classic Movies’ NOIR ALLEY series last weekend as it would be my first opportunity to see it through my currently noir obsessed brain. Did it live up to the hype?
YES. It's about as an essential classic era Film Noir as you'll ever see.
The centerpiece of RIFIFI of course, is the much-talked scene that shows of the robbery of the jewelry store. At about 30-minute in length, it takes place without any dialogue or musical scoring. Facial gestures, the glancing at their watches, and the meticulous robbery itself is the only thing we see.
PERFECT. Sometimes less is more.
It should be noted, however, that the scene where they “case the joint” prior to the robbery is also mostly silent and really helps to foreshadow the actual crime. It was also nice to see the crooks carefully practice in advance the crime – even going as far as figuring out what level of noise would set off the alarm.
As in most heist films, the heart break occurs after the crime has been successfully completed. In RIFIFI, an unagreed upon stolen idem that Cesar gives to his girlfriend (Viviane), leads to the gang’s undoing as a rival group attempts to steal the loot for themselves. In short, pretty standard stuff, but Dassin pulls it off with such artistic flair that it all works brilliantly.
Tony Stephanois betrayal by his old girlfriend provides the incentive for the crime.
The production history of RIFIFI is the stuff of legend in itself. Originally, French Director Jean-Pierre Melville was slated to helm the film, but he stepped aside so that blacklisted American Director Jules Dassin could take over as he had not worked since 1950’s NIGHT AND THE CITY. Working with a very limited budget, Dassin handled much of the location work himself and chose actors that wouldn’t command large salaries (Dassin even assumed the role of Cesar when the original actor chosen wasn’t available). I'll post an interview with Dassin (from the Criterion DVD) in which he talks about the process of filming the movie over in the Noir Thread later.
OK. For the viewers, what does "RIFIFI" mean?! =))
* Actually, RIFIFI won't be added to my personal list of "Film Noir Essentials", since I decided to create a separate list for foreign films, Hitchcock, Proto-noirs, etc..
Great stuff ...
Rififi is certainly up there, not many competitors, for me: double Mann [Heat & Thief]; triple Melville [Bob Le Flambeur*, Le Cercle Rouge ** & Le Deuxieme Souffle**]; Kubrick's The Killing; Huston's The Asphalt Jungle ....
Dassin made another heist movie ten years later, Topkapi, though much lighter in tone, which is probably what distinguishes a heist movie from a caper film. He did make some other great noir or noir-ish movies while in Hollywood: Brute Force; The Naked City; Thieves' Highway.
* proto-Bond
* major influence on Heat
Something I just saw is Pushover (1954), a lesser known, much underated & extremely gritty (for the time) noir that begins with a bank heist. Lots of moral rot and sexual entrapment, with an icy, manipulative Kim Novak radiating a dangerous eroticism much different from that of her far more vulnerable Judy/Madeleine in Vertigo. Indeed, she's much closer to Barbara Stanwyck in Double Indemnity, the obvious analogue, as Pushover also stars Fred MacMurray, as the weak-willed cop Novak seduces into a doomed spiral of crime and betrayal.
A great film with some killer lines, a very strong supporting cast [Dorothy Malone as the good girl; E.G. Marshall; Phil Carey, etc.] and most especially Lester White's archetypal black & white noir cinematography. Intriguingly features several surveillance scenes that that can't help but recall the apartment-building voyeurism of Rear Window, made the same year.
The complete film is here, in 1080p, after the introduction ...
Yes, I am a sucker for some Sandler stupidity and with HG being one of my favorites of his, I actually enjoyed this one as well. Was it unnecessary and overbloated with cameos, yes. But it took me down some nostalgic roads not seen since I was 8.