Touchez Pas au Grisbi (1959)

Lack of good storyline.

Great Film overall

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

After picking up auteur film maker Jacques Becker's Casque d'Or,I remembered that I had gotten hold of another Becker Film Noir ages ago,that I've never got round to watching.Finding the title in a DVD folder,I got set to once again enter Becker's Film Noir world.The plot:Stealing bars of gold,gentlemen gangsters Max Menteur and pal Henri Riton get set for the perfect retirement.Despite knowing the rules of the land,Max reveals to his mistress Josey about the robbery.Unknown to Max,Josey has recently become the lover of up- coming gangster Angelo Fraiser.Learning about the robbery,Fraiser and his gang decide to show the gentlemen gangsters that a new group rule the land.View on the film:Showing not one drop of sweat (even by burning cars!) Jean Gabin gives an incredible performance as Max le Menteur,whose time in the Film Noir shadows Gabin shows to have given Max a burning confidence in getting the job done in a minimalist,deadly manner. Creeping up on Max, Lino Ventura gives a cool as ice performance as Angelo Fraiser,with Ventura gleefully biting Fraiser's viciousness,whilst the stunning Jeanne Moreau heats up the screen as sharp-witted Femme Fatale Josey.Taken from the pages of Albert Simonin's book,the screenplay by co- writer/(along with Maurice Griffe and Simonin) director Jacques Becker covers every corner of the movie in cracking dialogue,which grinds with near the knuckle gangster one liners with a delicate thoughtfulness expressing the world-weariness Max is carrying.Along with the explosive dialogue,the writers superbly build upon Becker's major themes,where Max is haunted by doubts over loyalty in the Film Noir world, and also well aware of being a lone voice outcast against Fraiser's crowd.Keeping Max's suits pin-sharp,director Becker & cinematographer Pierre Montazel brilliantly keep a close eye for when dialogue is not needed,which allows ultra-stylish, winding staircase shoot-outs and looming shadows over Max's professional daily routine to blossom on screen.Raining down with bullets,Becker strikes a pristine balance in keeping Max's exchanges heating up a tense Film Noir atmosphere which boils over,as Max's hopes and gold melts away.

This masterpiece of French noir exemplifies the depth of friendship and honor between thieves in this classic. The protagonist and his partner could not be more different, but through the years they have developed a friendship beyond mere love, a friendship cemented in the trenches of criminal warfare and not to be trifled with. The plot's treachery is utilized to effect as the polar opposite of this eternal bond, a bond which is best elucidated with some of the more mundane aspects of life. This bond is also compared with the superficial love between the sexes, where men love their woman only during the act of love. The acting was sublime, with heavies Jean Gabin, Lino Ventura, as well as some mightily proportioned women to grace the eyes. The direction and camera work were wonderful, and the score was the perfect compliment to the darker side of life. Genruk' Evil Eye Reviews

This movie is undoubtedly the best movie in the world ever. I've seen it about 10 times over the years, and every time it is fresh and fascinating. It's so beautiful but bad story about friendship and betrayal between two elderly gangsters, but it is also a story about aging and disappointment.Jean Gabin's performance is the crowning jewel of this gem of a film. An extra bonus is a young Jeanne Moreau as a cabaret dancer. The final gunfight still stands strong among today's cg-filled action scenes. Definitely the pinnacle of Jacques Becker's work, but don't forget the marvelous Golden Helmet (Casque d'or) and The Night Watch (Le Trou).

The title of this French film noir is slang for "loot". Jean Gabin stars as racketeer Max. Seeking out the finer things in life, Max intends to pull one last job and retire. After stealing a fortune in gold, our hero is faced with a crisis of conscience when his best friend (Rene Dary) is kidnapped and held for a huge ransom, the proceeds of this last job. Max manages to turn the tables on the abductors, but his dreams of a life of ease explode in his face. Up-and-coming leading lady Jeanne Moreau plays a pivotal role as the femme fatale who leads Dary into the hands of his kidnappers.An intriguing film that inverts many of the film noir cliches. The heist which drives the film's plot has already occurred when the film starts, which has the effect of shifting the film's focus from the crime itself to the consequences of leading a life of crime. The characters are portrayed less like criminals than businessmen, calmly going about the business of earning a living. As a result, the few scenes of violence that occur are more shocking than they would be in a more routine crime film. An intriguing film that clearly influenced subsequent French crime films, especially Jules Dassin's "Rififi" and Jean-Pierre Melville's "Bob le Flambeur".