Rififi Review

Rififi

Director: Jules Dassin
Stars: Jean Servais, Carl Mohner, Robert Manuel, Jules Dassin, Marie Sabouret, Magali Noel, Claude Sylvain, Janine Darcey, Pierre Grasset, Robert Hossein & Marcel Lupovici
Running Time: 112 mins
Release: April 1955

Tony le Stephanois (Servais) comes out of prison after doing five years for a jewel heist. He is greeted by his protege Jo (Mohner) and friend Mario (Manuel) try to entice Tony to do another jewel heist but he refuses. He then finds his girlfriend Mado (Sabouret) is now involved with mobster Pierre Grutter (Lupovici). This changes his mind on the heist and ambitiously decides to hit the safe rather than the window. Mario then brings in Cesar (Dassin) who's a safe cracker. The four men methodically and intrinsically plan the heist and it all goes according to the plan until Pierre Grutter finds out.

I've never heard of Jean Servais till I watched this film but is one hell of a great actor and makes one great noir character in Tony. He's intelligent, callous, tough, loyal, emotionally hardened and an absolute bad-ass (especially in one scene). You would not think that when you look at him as he's a a rather small wiry man. I have to be honest with you I didn't much like the character but he slowly grew on me and I began to like him. He's given some great pulpy noir dialog too which works really well and works for his character completely. He has a really lived in looking face showing his past and how it's taken it's toll on him and how prison broke him, He says a lot with his eyes that are full of life and show so much emotion.

Carl Mohner plays family man Jo. He is a dear friend and a protege to Tony in being a jewel thief. I should say that to me he looks a bit like Burt Lancaster and he reminds me of him a lot. He's a tough and resourceful man who's fiercely loyal to Tony. Jo even made Tony the godfather to his son. He takes part in the heist because he wants a better future for his family he's also the muscle of the gang. Jo is not as intelligent as Tony and he's a bit of a hothead. He's a fantastic actor and i'll be looking up his other works.

Robert Manuel plays Tony's fun loving pal Mario who's a bit of a kid at heart It's no surprise to me that he had a comedic background as well as a theatrical one. He's the joker of the pack and works well with the gang. He's also really loyal to Tony and he's a great joy to watch in this film. He's also sympathetic like the other members of the group. He's phenomenal in his final scene too.

Jules Dassin played Cesar under the pseudonym Perlo Vita as the original actor didn't want to play the part so Dassin took his place as they were on a tight schedule. Cesar is the safecracker and the Don Juan of the gang. He's fantastic in the role and I didn't know it was Dassin till after I watched the film he speaks French very well despite being American. I later found out that he starred in some of his films He's a great actor but an even better director.

Marie Sabouret plays Mado Tony's ex. Her first scene with Tony results in him humiliating her offscreen as she turned on him and has gotten involved with a mobster. The main reason why Tony changed his mind on the robbery is because she left him and he still loved her and had nothing more to live for aside making a score and hopefully win her back. Later on in the film she turns into a useful ally to Tony. She is the main leading lady of this film in my opinion and she's absolutely fantastic and she was very beautiful too. It's tragic her life and career was cut short as she died at the age of 36 from Leukaemia.

Magali Noel plays Viviane the glamorous singer at the nightclub who later becomes Cesar's squeeze. She's brilliant in the role and her most famous scene is singing Rififi which will be in my head for a very long time as it's very catchy and she sings it very well.I was not surprised to find out that she is a very well known actress.

Janine Darcey plays Louise Jo's wife. She's a rather pivotal character in this film. She knows all to well of her husband's unscrupulous past and does not like the idea of what he's doing. Her talk with her husband towards the end of the film is fantastic and I'm not saying much as I don't want to spoil it.

Claude Sylvain plays Ida Ferrarti, Mario's wife who does not know much of her husband's plan at the beginning of the film though she does later on in the film. It's a small role for her but she works very well in it.

Marcel Lupovici plays Pierre Grutter Tony's nemesis. He's a real piece of work. He seems charming at face though inside he's an absolute monster. He's greedy and selfish and wouldn't think of turning the money in. He's fantastic and has appeared in some of Dassin's other films.

Robert Hossein plays Remi Grutter Peirre's younger brother who's also a drug addict. His older brother is shameful of him and his addiction. His encounter with Tony is awesome.

Pierre Grasset plays the other brother Louis Grutter who is just a lapdog for Pierre Grutter he's not in much in film but he's a rather imposing figure.

George Auric does the score to this film and it's amazing and aesthetically suits the theme and atmosphere of the film completely. I was hooked as soon as I heard the intro theme. You may know George Auric from scoring The Innocents, Dead of Night, Heaven Knows Mrs Allison among many others. It's a marvellous score and one of the finest i've ever heard.

There's plenty of themes In this film and my absolute favourite is how the gang and the mobsters are not glamorized in the film. It depicts Tony and his gang as real human beings. There's also the themes of loyalty, greed, betrayal and human error. It's a fantastic noir despite not having most of the tropes of a noir. And it was well ahead of it's time in it's depiction of sex.

Dassin does a absolutely outstanding job directing this film. It's an absolute masterpiece in movie making. Of course the most famous scene is the 32 minute silent heist which is so taught and tense I was on the edge of my seat. It was a bold move to shoot it silently but It works incredibly well. The methodical planning (especially how to work around the alarm and silent it) and the aftermath are done very well too. I Love the POV shot towards the end of the film and the drive through Paris. Speaking of Paris it looks amazing in this film. It looks so gritty and beautiful at the same time. The cinematography is gorgeous and I love the use of light and shadow. It's beautiful in every sense of the word.

If your a fan of noir this is an absolute classic which some films after this have tried to intimidate but this is the original. This is my first Dassin film and I am very grateful that Arrow Films are releasing two more of his works on Blu-Ray Brute Force and The Naked City which i'm undoubtedly going to get as they have done an amazing job on this and the extras which i'm yet to see all so i'll definitely get those too. This is a really high recommend.