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1955
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RIFIFI
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STARRING:JEAN
SERVAIS,JANINE DARCEY,JULES DASSIN,PIERRE GRASSET,ROBERT HOSSEIN,MARCEL
LUPOVICI,ROBERT MANUEL, DOMINIQUE MAURIN,CARL MOHNER,MAGALI NOEL,MARIE
SABOURET, CLAUSE SYLVAIN
BASED
ON THE NOVEL "DU RIFIFI CHEZ LES HOMMES" BY AUGUSTE
LE BRETON
SCREENPLAY
BY JULES DASSIN,AUGUTE LE BRETON & RENE WHEELER
PRODUCED
BY RENE GASTON VUATTOUX
DIRECTED
BY JULES DASSIN
GENRE:CRIME/DRAMA/FILM-NOIR/THRILLER
RATED:AUSTRALIA:M/UK:12/USA:NA
RUNNING
TIME:122 MIN
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Also
known as Du rififi chez les hommes, Rififi was the model
for heist films such as Heat
and Ocean's
Eleven. It was directed with impeccable style by
Jules Dassin, an American born filmmaker (and one time assistant to
Alfred Hitchcock) who was blacklisted from Hollywood and turned to
Europe, where he had a successful career with Rififi his most
acclaimed and popular work.
Jean Servais stars as Tony the Stephanois, a jewel thief who has just
done five years in prison. Servais plays the Stephanois as a mean,
merciless, and cold cat, even more so than his American film-noir
counterpart, Humphrey Bogart.
Tony aggress to be apart of a heist on a swank jewellery store, pieced
together by his close friend Jo (Brando look alike Carl Mohner) and
Mario (Robert Manuel). The plan originally was to smash in the front
window and make away with a few precious stones. But Tony has bigger
ideas: he wants to break in and go for the safe, where it is estimated
that 200 million dollars worth of jewels is stored.
A safe cracker from Madrid named Cesar (played by Dassin) is brought
in, and the heist is meticulously planned. A stumbling block is found
in a hi-tech, motion activated alarm system which is all that stands
in the way of a huge payday. Naturally the boys find a way around
it, which leads to a breathtaking heist sequence where all sound -
save for the occasional grunt, chipping of concrete and safe cracking
- is shunned aside. Dassin has stated that he wanted to make the sequence
feel as real as possible, and boy does it work.
With the jewels in their possession everything seems peachy, until
a local heavy (Pierre Grasset) and boyfriend of Tony's wife (Marie
Sabouret), is clued in on their triumphant robbery and decides he
wants the take for himself. Cue an intense standoff between both camps.
As a result, Rififi is a thrilling watch. It is violent, but not gratuitous
in its violence, and it holds an emotional edge which its stateside
film-noir/crime counterparts could not match. Also of high value is
the films technical proficiency, especially its sharp photography
by Philippe Agostin.
A remake is supposedly in development starring Al Pacino, and it is
hard to imagine how they could match the visceral impact that this
film had. There is only one Rififi, and he is trouble
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