Le Samourai Reviews

Originally released in this country as THE GODSON in a much-maligned, dubbed, and reedited version, Jean-Pierre Melville's film noir masterpiece is finally making its U.S. theatrical debut in its original form. Professional hit man Costello (Alain Delon) lives a life of precision and timing that cannot include normal social interactions -- a pet bird is his only companion. He undertakes the job of killing a nightclub owner, but discovers that he has left a witness behind: the pianist, Valerie (Cathy Rosier). With the Paris police hot on his trail after the nightclub hit, Costello learns that the man he is working for has put out a hit on him. Melville coolly mixes the conventions of American crime films from the '40s and '50s ( THIS GUN FOR HIRE is one key reference point) with a distinctly European austerity, yet the film still manages to pack quite an emotional punch. LE SAMOURAI is a major work from a highly influential director -- Walter Hill and John Woo have both taken a lesson or two -- yet one whose films have been, until now, inexplicably neglected in the U.S.