Le Samouraï


Le Samouraï 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 corner. The film stars Alain Delon, François Périer, Nathalie Delon and Cathy Rosier.
The film was released on 25 October 1967, receiving positive reviews with praise for Melville's screenwriting and direction, and Delon's performance and atmosphere. The film grossed over $1.2 million in France and over $0.75m across Spain.

Plot

Jef Costello lives in a single-room Paris apartment whose spartan furnishings include a little bird in a cage. Costello's methodical modus operandi includes airtight alibis involving his lover, Jane. Having carried out a murder contract on a nightclub owner, he is seen leaving the scene by several witnesses, including piano player Valérie. Their statements are inconsistent but the investigating officer believes Costello is his man based on the witnesses who viewed Costello and his alibi that he was with Jane the whole time.
Costello loses a police tail and gets to a meeting point on a subway overpass to get paid by his employers. There he is shot and wounded by a man sent by his employers. Having bandaged his wound and rested, he returns to the nightclub and goes for a car drive with the piano player. He is grateful to her, but does not understand why she protected him from the police when she was the key witness to the murder. In the meantime, police officers bug his room, which agitates the bird in its cage. Upon returning, Costello notices some loose feathers scattered around the cage and the bird acting strangely. Suspecting an intrusion, he searches his room, finds the bug and deactivates it.
In the meantime, the police ransack Jane's apartment and offer her a deal: withdraw her alibi for Costello and they will leave her alone. Jane rejects the offer and shows them the door. Back in his apartment Costello finds himself held at gunpoint by the overpass shooter, who gives him money and offers him a new contract. The intended target is not revealed to the audience. Costello overpowers him and forces him to disclose the identity of his boss, Olivier Rey.
Following a chase scene in the Métro by several disguised cops and a goodbye visit to Jane, he drives to Rey's home, which turns out to be the house where the piano player lives. Costello kills Rey and drives to the nightclub. This time he makes no attempt to conceal his presence. He even checks his hat but leaves his hat-check ticket on the counter. Having put on his white gloves in full view of everyone, he walks over to the stage where Valérie advises him to leave. When he pulls out his gun and points it at her, she quietly asks "Why, Jef?" and he replies, "I was paid to." After a moment of tension, the audience hears gunshots, but they are not from his gun. Costello falls to the ground and dies. A junior police officer tells Valérie she is lucky the police were there because otherwise Costello would have killed her. But when his boss picks up Costello’s gun, it is revealed that he had removed all the bullets before entering the club.

Alternative ending

In an interview with Rui Nogueira, Melville indicated that he had shot an alternate version of Costello's death scene. In the alternative ending, which was the original version, Costello meets his death with a picture-perfect grin à la Delon. The scene was changed to its current form when Melville angrily discovered that Delon had already used a smiling death scene in another of his films. Still images of the smiling death exist.

Cast

Meville wrote the film specifically for Delon.

Release and reception

Le Samourai was released on 25 October 1967. The film received positive reviews with praise for Melville's screenwriting and direction, Delon's performance and atmosphere. In Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 100% "Fresh" based on 30 reviews, with the site's critical consensus writing: "Le Samouraï makes the most of its spare aesthetic, using stylish -- and influential -- direction, solid performances, and thick atmosphere to weave an absorbing story".
In IMDB, the film received a rating of 8.1/10 based on 40,515 votes.
Roger Ebert gave the film four out of four in his review, writing: "Like a painter or a musician, a filmmaker can suggest complete mastery with just a few strokes. Jean-Pierre Melville involves us in the spell of Le Samourai before a word is spoken. He does it with light: a cold light, like dawn on an ugly day. And color: grays and blues. And actions that speak in place of words", with Ebert even granting the film his title of "Great Movie".

Box office

The film grossed over $1.2 million in France and over $797,011 across Spain. In its first weekend in France, it grossed $509,729 based on Euro, with 669,402 Euros and 18,878 thousand euros.

Influence and legacy

The film has influenced other works:
The film was ranked #39 in Empire magazine's "The 100 Best Films Of World Cinema" in 2010. It holds a 100% rating at Rotten Tomatoes based on 30 reviews from critics, and a rating average of 8.47/10. The website's critical consensus states, "Le Samouraï'' makes the most of its spare aesthetic, using stylish – and influential – direction, solid performances, and thick atmosphere to weave an absorbing story."