Let's be realistic.

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

This interesting as well as intimate story is a passionate retelling and a touching drama about three friends , two men an a woman ; all of them develop a wonderful friendship . This top-drawer motion picture mingles tenderness , drama , warm humor , emotion and sensibility . It deals with two adventurers and best friends, Roland (Lino Ventura , fetish actor of filmmaker Robert Enrico) , a Grand Prix driver, and Manu (Alain Delon) , a daredevil pilot . Manu is victim of a joke that costs him his pilot's license . The agreeable duo meets Alicia (Joanna Shimkus who subsequently married Sidney Poitier) , a sensitive sculptor who dreams of buying an old fort in Charente-Maritime . With seeming contrition , the jokers tell Roland and Manu about a crashed aircraft lying on the ocean floor off the coast of Congo stuffed with jewels and other riches . The Congo journey results to be a treason , they are double-crossed by the pilot (Serge Reggniani) of the crashed plane and the adventurers must pick up the pieces . Later on , they carry out a voyage to Boyardville , Île d'Oléron, Charente-Maritime, and its island : ¨Fort Boyard¨, (France) , where takes place several adventures and risks . There they are pitted against a pack of human sharks (Guy Delorme , Hand Meyer among others) in a tragic ending .This exciting film contains romantic elements , brooding drama , intrigue , tragic events and thrills especially on its final part . It packs lingering images in which are narrated the lovely relationship between the amiable Alain Delon and Lino Ventura along with the gorgeous Joanna Simkus , as the three adventurers set off to find a sunk loot . This timeless movie displays haunting and powerful scenes , it's plenty of frames which stay forever in the mind . Romantic thriller that deals with a particular buddy movie between Lino Ventura and Alain Delon , a special relationship among two different characters along with the enticing Joanna Shimkus , turning into a beloved friendship and a marvelous love story . Top notch performance from protagonist trio , Lino Ventura as the tough as well as sensible driver , Alain Delon as a valiant pilot and special mention to Joanna Shimkus as Laetitia , an artistic young woman who treats them like brothers . Lively musical score by Francois Roubaix is enjoyable and cheerful , full of piano sounds and whistles , including catching leitmotif . Colorful and shimmer cinematography filmed on location in Boyardville, Île d'Oléron, Charente-Maritime, and Fort Boyard, Charente France . The motion picture was stunningly written and directed by Robert Enrico , being based on an excellent novel by Jose Giovanni , a notorious writer and filmmaker . Enrico started directing short movies , as his shorts gave him critical acclaim very early in his career. Having become the maker of popular movies after an arty debut, he was awarded the best movie "César" for "Le vieux Fusil" or ¨Old gun¨ before becoming the long-time president of "L'Académie des Césars". He was a good professional who directed interesting films as ¨Jailsbird vacation¨ , ¨Le secret¨ ,¨Rum Runners¨, ¨The wise guys¨ , ¨An occurrence at Owl Creek¨ and his masterpiece ¨The adventurers¨ . Rating : 7,5 , better than average. Worthwhile watching . The film will appeal to French cinema lovers .

Out of an Alain Delon three-film marathon, this was the one I was most looking forward to but, surprisingly, ended up being the most disappointing. The fact that the Italian TV broadcast suffered from intermittent instances of bad reception had a lot to do with this, I guess, but I also found the film (which was adapted from a novel by crime expert Jose' Giovanni, dealing with a search for treasure lost at sea) rather an inconsequential trifle! Still, the proceedings are considerably bolstered by attractive locations, the delectable Joanna Shimkus (even if her character, who hitches with stars Delon and Lino Ventura far too quickly, is killed off half-way through) and Francois de Roubaix's delightful score. Delon – playing a dashing, reckless flier – is his typically inexpressive self, but Ventura is as strong as ever as his inventor/racing-car enthusiast partner; also notable is Serge Reggiani as a nervous yet shifty hanger-on who eventually reveals the exact whereabouts of the crashed airplane in which the loot is stashed. Incidentally, the abandoned fortress in mid-ocean (Shimkus dreams of owning it, but which is eventually purchased by Ventura after her demise with his share of the recovered fortune) is a great setting – which director Enrico ably employs for the film's action climax (even if the gangsters who assault Ventura and Delon, who are also after the money, make for a bunch of anonymous villains).

A cult classic. My personal first of cult movies. I had friends who saw it over 30 times and I clearly remember its last screening in Hungary. Ignoring all fire regulations, the manager of the theatre let in everybody who showed up. I was standing in a crowd. Like all cult movies, it speaks the angst of its time. It does not really matter what it is about, what matters is how it feels. It is difficult for me to judge it now because it still touches me and I do not know how much of that is just the nostalgic longing for the angst of my youth. Neither do I know if it is possible for someone who did not live through the sixties to relate to it. Or if it can talk to American viewers. Cult movies can seldom be called cinematographic achievements; you will seldom find them in the books of film history, but if you want to understand the times they represent, nothing can replace them. This IS the movie of the sixties just as Easy Rider was the movie of the seventies.A definite must see.

The film has many pleasures - a wonderful score, a barnstorming biplane, a funny car (with an even funnier-looking driver), a Paris art show, and a nifty fortress in the middle of the ocean. Alain Delon is always a pleasure to watch. He plays the arrogant, handsome daredevil with a heart of gold quite convincingly. His acting is always intense, even when he is doing very little. Lino Ventura is terrific as well, and he and Delon are a great pair. Upon reflection their relationship makes little sense (since we are given no history of the two) but it hardly matters when one is watching the film. The relationship between the two men and Laetitia (Joanna Shimkus)is a bit odd but sweet and believable. The locations are wide ranging (Paris, Africa, coastal France) and this film is full of exciting and droll scenes: The discovery of the sunken airplane is beautiful and scary; Roland and Manu walking out of the casino in their suave duds and getting into Roland's tow-truck is hilarious. The greatest pleasure of the film is that the narrative does not necessarily go where one would imagine it would. The version I saw was widescreen and the subtitles were mostly in the lower black of the letterboxing, which made them very easy to read. If you're in the mood for a little bit of action with a lot of good characterization and acting, check this one out.PS: The French seem pretty hung up with threesomes, no?