Rating: 
Summary: A cool film with great scenes.
Review: This review is for the Criterion Collection DVD edition of the film.
Bob le Flambeur, also known as "Bob the Gambler" is said to be the foundation of the French new wave movement.
It is about a retired gangster running out of money and decides to rob a casino. The film reminds me of the films "Rififi" and both versions "The Italian Job." It is well written and has some great scenes including a major winning streak at baccarat at the casino
There are also some nice special features. There is a theatrical trailer, a radio interview with director Jean-Pierre Melville and a video interview with actor Daniel Cauchy.
This is a great film!
Rating: 
Summary: Add it to your collection
Review: This, of course, is a great movie and the DVD also has a really interesting interview with Daniel Clauchy, the actor who plays Paulo, talking about the experience of making this film and working with Melville. Also, an interesting interview with Melville excerpted in the DVD booklet. Not to be a brat, but it's worth nothing that, although one of the other reviewers writes the budget for this film was 10X that of other films of the time, it is actually the opposite--Melville shot this for about 18 million (old) francs, about a tenth of what other feature films cost at that time. He used his own script, unknown actors--famously discovering 15 yr old Isabelle Corey walking down the street--and only a small crew, cutting as many costs as possible. The film, however, looks big budget--gorgeous shots of Montmartre, Pigalle, and Parisian nightlife and a beautifully slick, noir style. Isabelle Corey is wonderful, but also see Guy Decomble from 400 Blows as the police inspector. It's just a great movie: it's meticulously crafted, there's nothing falsely intellectual about it, and it's interesting to see how much influence this has had on all the heist films that have followed.
Rating:
Summary: Add it to your collection
Review: Warning: this is NOT an action movie. You will be disappointed if you're expecting to see a lot of details surrounding the planning and execution of a major heist. Get Rififi if that's what you want. 'Bob' is stylish, leisurely paced, and NOT a caper flick (or barely qualifies as one). The film is not about a heist, it is about Mr. Bob and his all-consuming passion for gambling. Gambling is his sustenance, his downfall, and his savior. Women only seem to bring trouble (except for Yvonne, the cafe owner). How he acts and thinks, his values and judgments, are part of the old world of gangster-gentlemen which doesn't exist any more. It is, like many French films, a study in character, and what an interesting character it is!
Rating:
Summary: interesting piece of film history
Review: Warning: this is NOT an action movie. You will be disappointed if you're expecting to see a lot of details surrounding the planning and execution of a major heist. Get Rififi if that's what you want. 'Bob' is stylish, leisurely paced, and NOT a caper flick (or barely qualifies as one). The film is not about a heist, it is about Mr. Bob and his all-consuming passion for gambling. Gambling is his sustenance, his downfall, and his savior. Women only seem to bring trouble (except for Yvonne, the cafe owner). How he acts and thinks, his values and judgments, are part of the old world of gangster-gentlemen which doesn't exist any more. It is, like many French films, a study in character, and what an interesting character it is!
Rating: 
Summary: Not so good
Review: Wonderful to look at with nice shots of Montmatre at night and a good opening during a Paris dawn. Also, the "bad" girl Anne is worth looking at twice.
But the story is full of holes and bad editing especially in the last 15 minutes. And this is to the detriment of the film in such a way as to render the film no more than a stylish exercise as opposed to a true heist film or noir classic.
If your intent is to look at pioneering film of the French New Wave or to see how the French appreciate Hollywood film noir, then by all means RENT it.
But if you want to see a wonderfully realized French heist movie of the same period with a true understanding of noir, then find yourself a copy of Jules Dassin's RIFIFI, which is a far superior movie.
Rating:
Summary: Not so good
Review: Wonderful to look at with nice shots of Montmatre at night and a good opening during a Paris dawn. Also, the "bad" girl Anne is worth looking at twice.
But the story is full of holes and bad editing especially in the last 15 minutes. And this is to the detriment of the film in such a way as to render the film no more than a stylish exercise as opposed to a true heist film or noir classic.
If your intent is to look at pioneering film of the French New Wave or to see how the French appreciate Hollywood film noir, then by all means RENT it.
But if you want to see a wonderfully realized French heist movie of the same period with a true understanding of noir, then find yourself a copy of Jules Dassin's RIFIFI, which is a far superior movie.
|
