Capital Celluloid 2026 — Day 11: Sun Jan 11

Mélodie en sous-sol (Verneuil, 1963): Cine Lumiere, 2pm

Chicago Reader review:
A thwarted caper film in the vein of Melville’s Bob le flambeur and Kubrick’s The Killing, Henri Verneuil’s 1963 feature stars Jean Gabin, the avatar of world-weary criminality, in one of his finest roles. Fresh out of prison, he enlists a former cell mate (Alain Delon) in a daring plan to rob a casino on the Riviera. Though the film was an international hit, Verneuil’s conventional narrative style attracted the scorn of the French New Wave. Forty years later it stands as a well-crafted noir with a long, tautly executed heist and a protracted denouement that’s even more engrossing.
Joshua Katzman

Here (and above) is the trailer.

No comments: