When people think of foreign films they often simply pass them off as being too pretentious and experimental for their liking. Yet, one of the things I’ve discovered about films from oversees is how their main influence is often American. Which makes sense when you think about it, Hollywood is in the U.S. after all. Such is the case with director Jean-Pierre Melville and his 1967 hitman masterpiece Le samouraï.

Star Alain Delon and Director Jean-Pierre Melville

Melville is the best French director you’ve never heard of, and a hero among such as John Woo, Quentin Tarantino, Michael Mann, and Martin Scorsese. Rightfully so too, for Melville is a master when it comes to moving the camera. He’s also known for surprising the audience with intense bursts of action after slow burning sequences. (It’s hard to imagine the bar scene in Inglourious Basterds without Melville) His own inspiration came from the most “American” directors the country had at to offer at the time. Great western filmmakers John Ford and Howard Hawks. Yet, he’s most well known for great crime thrillers like Bob le flambeur, Le cercle rouge, and Le samouraï.

The famous opening shot of the film is much talked about. Find out more at the link below.

Article on the opening shot of the film.

Le samouraï is a story about a hitman Jef Costello (Alain Delon) who lives by the code of the Samurai. Isolated and alone save for a few pet birds he goes out on jobs and comes back to his room awaiting his next mission. When a singer at a nightclub sees him leaving the scene of a hit, the men responsible for the job try to take Jef out. Added to this is the fact that a clever police “Superintendant” is putting some serious heat on him.

A witness left behind.

If this reminds you of Jim Jarmusch’s film Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai it should. That film is practically a remake of Le samouraï. The plot of the film is simple, but the style oozes with cool. Melville shoots the movie with a precise and jazzed infused eye. Every shot perfectly conveys the what’s going on in the story in the sleekest way possible. When action occurs you are hit as hard as the men in the scene.

When the white gloves come on you know Jef means business.

Alain Delon turns in one of the most reserved, yet complex pictures of a man of crime to ever hit the screen. Since the first time I saw this film I’ve wanted to run out and buy a trench coat and fedora, but what would be the point? I would never look as cool as Delon does, and the style of the film still resonates today.

Two icons of "Cool" Alain Delon and Johnny Depp.

In the end Le samouraï is high art, but it’s never on the nose. In fact Melville makes the French New Wave of Cinema seem hip and fresh even today with a film like Le samouraï. His style has radically effected the way I think about filming action as an aspiring filmmaker. Plus, the film he delivered with Le samouraï redefines the term “Cool” in the filmic language. If you don’t believe me check out the movie on the Criterion Collection here. You won’t regret it.