Good movie but grossly overrated

Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

Rififi is a classic heist film that is right up there with the best of its peers - The Asphalt Jungle and The Killing. Yet in many ways it feels like it is overlooked. This is a great film worthy of inclusion not only with the best heist films but with the best noir films. The film is directed by Jules Dassin. Dassin brought us other classic noir films including Brute Force, The Naked City, Thieves Highway and the brilliant Night and the City. Dassin was also blacklisted and went to Europe where he successfully revived his career. Of his later caper films Topkapi stands out. The actual heist done in complete silence, not even any music, is classic. Subtitles.

The novelty message of this film is that there is nothing really wrong, or in any way seriously deviant, in organizing a professionally planned and carefully executed burglary. Let us be reasonable. Men with obligations are required to earn their living, and to look after their loved ones. Who could want to meet a more everyday family man than Jo the Swede, with his regular wife and little cowboy ? Then there are the bad guys. Mafia-type crazy drug addicts, who'll do anything for a fix, slit throats, and don't hesitate to rub out little children. I've seldom seen a more evil-looking cinematic presence than Marcel Lupovici, who plays the owner of the Golden Age or Cage, Pierre Grutter. He's right up there with Al Lettieri. Those types have no ethics. They stick at nothing. Kidnap, extortion, murder, you name it. They are not decent, like the happy-go-lucky but skilled, clean-living fraternity of straightforward thieves.Then there are the two high spots. The first is the thirty minute heist; a song with no words and no music. Second is the rescue and heroic drive by Jean Servais against all odds, ensuring the little boy's safe return to his mum. Chokes you up. At one point I thought the kid was going to chuck the suitcase with the money out of the car, into the street. But no, it was finally collared by the cops. It should have gone to Jo's widow.Another memorable scene was where Servais shoots Dassin, strictly for ethical reasons. It's possibly the way this scene is shot that makes this shooting so memorable. A lesson in how to shoot a shooting. There's no doubt this film is influential. I kept thinking of Tarantino. Some elusive, nagging reservation prevents me from giving it more than 8 stars.

This smart and gritty French film about a heist does not disappoint. Jean Servais plays a tough guy who has just gotten out of prison and gets an offer to knock off a high-end jewelry store. The opening scenes that establish the four thieves are memorable – Tony (Servais) running out of money while playing cards, Jo (Carl Möhner) and his young family, who will figure prominently in the film, Mario (Robert Manuel) getting bathed by his buxom wife (Claude Sylvain), and Cesar (director Jules Dassin), the expert safecracker who falls for Viviane (Magali Noel) as she sings the playful title song in a nightclub. The club is owned by Grutter, the leader of a gang, and rival for Tony's old girlfriend Mado (Marie Sabouret), and it's these two guys, Grutter and Tony, who will ultimately have to square off. I have to say the early scene in which Tony tracks Mado down and then forces her to completely strip before beating her with a belt (off-screen) is very disturbing, particularly as we're going to find ourselves rooting for him later in the film. It does establish him as a heavy though, loyal to the gang but if betrayed, merciless, which is consistent how he acts later. I can't recall Servais cracking a smile in the entire film, and he plays the role beautifully.The robbery itself is shown masterfully by Dassin. In the planning stages, only a couple of the ways in which the thieves will pull it off are shown, an example of which is figuring out how to use a fire extinguisher to muffle the then state-of-the-art alarm system. The execution of the crime is highly realistic, and I love how he used minimal dialog and music, so that the actions and facial expressions of the actors tell the story. If only there were more films today that took a lesson from him! We also see a flaw that will lead to problems for them, and the film is far from over after the crime – further drama and real tension await, but I won't spoil it.If you're looking for a caper film that among a few others set the blueprint for the genre, this is it. I found out later Dassin had been blacklisted by Hollywood, and was even happier for the triumph of his fantastic direction here. The script is taut, there are no wasted scenes, and on top of it all there are great shots outdoors in Paris. Don't be frightened by the subtitles or by the fact it's black and white and was made in 1955 – it all holds up very well, and is superior to most of the action films of today.

Tony Stephanois, just out of prison and angry at his girl Mado's infidelity, decides to join his pals Jo and Mario in an ambitious crime. With Italian safe expert Cesar, they meticulously plan the burglary of a large jewelry establishment.This film is probably best known for two things: one, the half hour heist sequence that has absolutely no dialogue and no music, just the sounds of the men at work. Which is, by the way, wonderfully brilliant. And two, the fact the director was American but was working in France because he was targeted as part of the Hollywood blacklist.This is a great film. Obviously not the first film noir, not by a long shot, but clearly influential on future crime movies. Was "Ocean's 11" inspired by this film? Maybe, maybe not, but it seems like the two could be brothers.