Le Doulos

Now considered a classic by the likes of Scorsese and Tarantino, Le Doulos got a harder ride when it came out in 1962. “Talkative and tiresome,” the New York Times called it. Maybe I caught it on a bad day, but I’m inclined to agree. When it comes to Jean-Pierre Melville, give me Le Samouraï, Army of Shadows or Un Flic any day. Only a fool would dismiss the film though, which is packed full of good things and is Melville to the end of its filmic digits. It’s all about masculine codes, in other words, or more specifically the breaking of them. Who among a gang of crooks is the snitch (The … Read more