LE SAMOURAI (THE GODSON)
France, 1967, 105 minutes, Colour.
Alain Delon, Francois Perrier, Nathalie Delon.
Directed by Jean- Pierre Melville.
Made in the mid-60s, this is director J.P. Melville's study of a gangster, hitman, arranging his kill and alibi, executing his commission, then evading the police and the murderous double?cross of his employers. The story is not new, but to concentrate on the plot would be a mistake. The important facet of the film is the relentless following of the kille rin his self?confidence, confrontation with the police and his fatalistic walk to his doom. Alain Delon has done this kind of thing often, but he is at his intense best here. Not so much for action fans, but four connoisseurs of styles and genres.
1 This film is considered a gangster classic. Why? Does the title indicate any meaning for the film?
2. The film is noted for its meticulous presentation of the gangster, his crime. his behaviour under investigation. in seeking revenge, and in being tracked down. How did the film communicate this . precision ? e.g. with time slots? How well did the film communicate and present this meticulous precision? What was the effect of this on the audience? And its appreciation of .?Jeff Costello and what he had done and what he was?
3. How well did the film.take us into the mentality attitudes and fears of a gangster? Of a hired killer?
4. What kind of person did the film show Jeff Costello to be? His style, his tacittrn manner, his precision in planning? We knew nothing of his life. Did this matter? How clever was he? How cold blooded - especially in his planning and executing of the murder? How tense had he to be ? at his home, in his use of the underground in eluding the Police? What impression did he make in planning his alibi with his girl friend and with the card players? In leaving the apartment? What was your response to his attitudes when being interrogated by the Police? Did you admire him in any way? Was he too fatalistic in returning to the scene of the crime and in his finally being shot and his gun being empty?
5. What relationship did he have with his girl friend? Did she need him? Why did he need her? Merely for alibis? Why did she refuse to comply with the Police, even under threats?
6. The importance of the piano-player? for the mood of the film, her way of looking at people in the bar and cafe, her looking towards Jeff, Her behaviour during the interrogation? Her relationship to him after the interrogation? Why did she not answer the phone to him? Why was she the contract for him to kill?
7. Comment on the picture of Parisienne gangsters? their organisation, their motives, their hiring of assasins, their murdering of their paid asassins.
8. Were you impressed with the presentation of the Police?
In their hunches? Or did they victimise their suspects? The style of the interrogation and the witnesses viewing the suspects? The relentlesness of the Chief? The bugging of Jeff's room - did they have a right to do this? The number of Police and the methods of tracking Jeff? How impressive was this presentation of Police work?
9. What was your emotional reaction to the murder? What was your reaction to the seeming second murder?
10. How successful a suspense film was this? How interesting a film was it? What insight did it give into the criminal world?
