Delon Romy Ils se sont tant aimes

One of the most beautiful books in my collection. The photographs are very well reproduced. As we can see from the title, this books is about the moving love story between two greatest actors: Alain Delon and Romy Schneider: from how they first met for the production of Christine (1958), became engaged, separated in 1963, and met again in 1968 for La Piscine. The tragic death of Romy's son in 1981, led the legendary actress to her own's. The book is easy to read (especially after reading Henri Rode's book about Delon).

144 pages. Published in 2009. Dimensions: 29,7 x 22,7 x 1,5 cm

From 'La fuite du bonheur' chapter. Page 118.

Le fascinant Monsieur Delon (Collection Tetes d'affiche)

The binding is poor -my copy of this book has already fallen apart- and many of the b/w pictures (scattered throughout the book) are not well reproduced, but compared to other books about Delon, this one has interesting contents because journalist Henry Rode really interviewed him. The highlight must be the chapter called 'Delon Express' where we can read the actor's thoughts on certain things. Not an easy reading book, though.

There is also a part about imaginary dialogues if Alain Delon met Pablo Picasso.

Publish in 1982. Dimensions: 20,4 x  14,8 x 2 cm.352 pages.

From chapter 13: Delon express

From chapter 6: Elles: Romy, Nathalie, Mireille

Alain Delon et Romy Schneider : Les fiancés de l'éternel

As you can guess from the title, this book is about the story of Alain Delon and Romy Schneider.

Compared to other books with the same subject, I found this one is quite disappointing because there are not many new infos. Furthermore, there are only 9 photographs, incl. the cover.  The photographs are grouped in the middle of the book.

At the end of every chapter, there is a sketch of Delon kissing Romy.

The letters are quite big, with big line spacing, so in all, the book could be squeezed into a thinner one, at a cheaper price.

Book dimensions: 22 x 14,1 x 2 cm. Published in 2010. 284 pages.

Alain Delon: Album Photos

This book is quite rare so I spent quite a lot to obtain it. It's quite a big, heavy book, with hard cover. Dimension: 30,4 x 21,7 x 3,5 cm. Weight 2,2 kg.

Like the title suggests, the book has many photos from Alain Delon movies, from 1957 Quand la femme s'en mêle .. to 1982 Le choc, compiled by Philippe Barbier. It also has synopsis and short article from each movie. The photos are mostly stills from films, although there are several taken from behind the scene. The photos were reproduced on glossy paper - which I don't know the kind, but the quality is pathetic. Perhaps in 1982 it was the best they can do.

Plein Soleil (1960)

Le Samouraï (1967)

Pour la peau d'un flic (1981)

Mireille Darc - Tant que battra mon coeur (mémoires)

Is there another version of this book? I happen to have this pocket version, which is too small: 10,8 x 17,7 cm. There are 24 pages dedicated for pictures (divided in 2 groups); the ones from her childhood were arranged in an "economical" way that one page carries 4 - 6 pictures--> can't see them clearly in this size, the two pictures with her classmates, for example.

Ms Darc's writing style is easy to read & understandable. She chose things from her life that she thought interesting for this book. I really enjoyed reading this book. For me, what I like most is to read about her life with Alain Delon, her heart surgery, and the terrible car accident. She is an independent woman, very strong, yet very kind. Not much photos here as she burned them when she started a new life with her husband, Pascal Desprez, an architect.

She met Alain Delon in 1966, but only 2 years later they became close. After Alain Delon finished the filming of La Piscine, Markovic Affair started. That day, he called her, asked her to accompany him to watch an opera. Mireille Darc went to Yves Saint Laurent to borrow a dress/gown for the event and Pierre Bergé (the owner) asked her whom she went with. She told him that she would be going with Alain Delon. 
Pierre Bergé : Ah, OK... OK... with Alain... But you know?
Mireille Darc : Yes, I know.

It was a difficult time for Alain Delon, but she stood by his side. In this book she wrote about one incident when she was interrogated and threated by the police. She was truly a friend and that is why she is the only woman who stayed with Alain Delon for 15 years. They didn't have any children because she had a heart condition, a result of her poor childhood.

I say she chose interesting things for this book because there was this embarrassing story where she and Alain Delon went to an event in Lido. She wore the phenomenal dress from Le grand blond avec une chaussure noire and when she and Alain Delon were dancing, someone touched her natal cleft. If I myself ever published an autobiography, I would have omitted embarrassing things.

In March 1980 she had a heart operation where the surgeon opened her heart so she was clinically dead for a while. Even now, in 2014, I still think it was a difficult and very expensive operation.

In July 1983 she had a terrible accident in tunnel of Aoste where her Mercedes 500 was hit by a truck (she was in passenger seat, sleeping). Although her relationship with Alain Delon had been waning, she still worked for him. At that time she had visited some furniture factories for Alain Delon label and was visiting perfume and glasses factories. Because of the accident, her body was broken, and also her heart, because he left him for a girl half of her age. However, Mireille Darc was (and is) a very wonderful lady, since we all know that she and Alain Delon are still good friends.

The book was written in 2005. 343 pages.

Alain Delon contributed some pictures for this book. See the left side of each pic.

Alain Delon - en plein soleil

Published in 2012, this hard-covered book is smaller than I expected : 16,8 x 24,6 cm. The paper used are in good quality, though, so the photographs - which are quite a lot - have been very well reproduced. In 144 pages (not include covers), the book by Christian Dureau tells the story of Alain Delon: from his troubled childhood, his days as a marine in Vietnam, how he began to work as an actor, how he worked with great directors like Rene Clement, Luchino Visconti, Michelangelo Antonioni, Jean-Pierre Melville. Quotes from Delon himself are scattered throughout, in blue letters, inserted at right places for the readers' benefit. Most of his memorable movies' synopsis are also there, separated in pale pink backgrounds.

This book followed his steps as an actor, so if you are looking for juicy gossips you will not find them here. Even the Markovic affair was only told in 1 paragraph. [In Bernard Violet's Les Mystères Delon , an unauthorized Delon biography, the affair dominated several chapters.]

contents

A scan from The Sicilian Clan days. Click to zoom in.

Delon: Les femmes de ma vie

Delon: Les femmes de ma vie is one of the most beautiful books I own. First Alain Delon himself is one of most beautiful persons ever, I'm never tired looking at his pictures. This book contains more than 200 pictures (so it's said, I haven't counted them and never will) well reproduced on glossy papers. The size of the book is quite big: 29,7 x 29,8 cm, that I had difficulty finding it a place in my little room.

The description at Amazon says that Alain Delon is one of the authors, and I was curious, I wondered whether he really had had the time. After I got the book, it turned out that he only gave comments on the photographs, with his handwritings. The book is divided into 3 parts: The women in my life, my co-stars, and my friends. Then, little stories about them. Stories of each woman in 'The women in my life' is told in more details (one page each), one page of story for 'my co-stars', one page for 'my friends', and one page for his two dogs. It was a surprise to see the two dogs were included in this 'les femmes de ma vie' book.

La Piscine - Edition Prestige (1969)

I bought Alain Delon 5-Film Collection back in 2008. This DVD box-set from Lionsgate, released on March 25, contains 'La piscine' by Jacques Deray. One day later, the Edition Prestige was out in France. I enjoyed this box-set from Lionsgate, although in La piscine, the restoration work is not perfect; which unfortunately very clear in one of my favourite scenes: when Jean-Paul, Marianne, and Pen waiting for Harry. Jean-Paul and Marianne looks so much in love with another that Pen asks "How long you two have been together?" I heard people talking about how good chemistry between 2 actors on screen, but none would be better than Alain Delon and Romy Schneider in La piscine.

I post here 2 sample screencaps of the defect. See the black line from bottom to right in pic#1 and the smear on pic#2. Also in this scene there are lots of black and white dots. I assume that this not happens only in my copy.

Later La piscine was broadcasted on TV5 and the quality was breathtaking. The colour of the skin was so right. I thought that perhaps it was from the new French DVD (or Blu-ray).

Time passed by and now I have a copy of the Edition Prestige. [It took me a while. It took a fortune.] What I wanted to see so much was actually the alternative ending - and after watching it I was a bit disappointed because it only lasted a few seconds, showing Inspector Leveque and several police officers come to the villa, perhaps to arrest Jean-Paul.

The quality of the DVD from SNC is excellent. The picture is very clear and brighter than the US DVD. Here is a screencap:

The set also contains the English version of the movie. Apparently, having done a scene in French, the cast did it again in English. Of course there are slight differences since the movie each is built from different takes. [In the English version, Jean-Paul doesn't eat melon in the dinner scene.] However, the scene where Harry goes into Marianne's bedroom to wake her up with breakfast is gone from the English version. The English version has the alternative ending, though.

Another interesting thing is in the scene of the party with Harry's friends. Pen leaves the party to run after Jean-Paul to the swimming pool area. They both listen to 2 guitar players and Pen kisses Jean-Paul's cheek. The French version ends here, the next frame shows Marianne watching them. However, the English version continues with Jean-Paul kisses her back in the ear. This is something as I always wonder how far these 2 would go.

Scorpio (1972)

Scorpio is a movie about spy, but very different from James Bond. An ageing CIA agent, Cross (Burt Lancaster), works well with a French hired assassin: code name Scorpio (Alain Delon), and has taught him many things. Their relationship is more like father-son than teacher-student. [In The Leopard 10 years before, they were uncle-nephew.] Cross's boss, McLeod, believes that Cross is a double agent, and who is a better choice to eliminate Cross if not Scorpio, the only one who can anticipate Cross's next step. Scorpio follows Cross from Washington to Vienna and back to Washington again, but he won't kill Cross if McLeod cannot convince him of Cross's betrayal.

In the beginning of the movie, there is an excellent scene on how Scorpio does his job in Orly - I like the footage style. Unlike Jef Costello in Le samouraï, Scorpio is full of life. He does still have that icy cold look - sometimes melancholic, but he has a sister and a girlfriend whom he loves very much and he's ready to leave everything behind for her. He loves street cats - perhaps because they are wandering around like him - and is happy when he is holding one. He also loves Cross as Cross loves him. He didn't kill Cross in Paris and Cross has saved him twice. For Scorpio, the worst sin is betrayal. When he finds out about Cross's betrayal, he shoots him while looking into his eyes - and without blinking.

The chase scene in the subway, which was being built, is one of the best moments. Burt Lancaster is an ex-acrobat and Alain Delon was a marine. Looks like to me that they both did their own stunts, which made the director could take good shots. Michael Winner (director), Burt Lancaster, and Alain Delon are Scorpions; that was why the assassin was given code name Scorpio.

Actor Paul Scofield plays Zharkov, an ageing Russian agent. Cross goes to him in Vienna to hide. How can a CIA agent befriends a Russian agent? I guess in that field, one has to have contacts everywhere. Zharkov, Cross, and Scorpio are one of the bests - unlike McLeod's agents, although Scorpio will know in the end that McLeod was not as stupid as he thought. I don't like the scene between drunk Zharkov and Cross. Dialogues between 2 drunkards are usually useless - but at least this one tells us how Zharkov still believes in the ideology although the people ruin it.

Sois belle et tais-toi (1958)

"Be Beautiful But Shut Up" is said to be one of director Marc Allégret's worst works. This comedy thriller were meant to feature Henri Vidal and Mylène Demongeot, and it didn't do well when it was released, but now it's wanted because it's the first film which brought Alain Delon and Jean-Paul Belmondo together, both as young criminals. The two monstres sacrés would reunite only in Paris brûle-t-il? (1966), Borsalino (1970), and Une chance sur deux (1998).

L-R: Olga, Virgine, Prudence, Loulou, Pierrot

The story of Be Beautiful But Shut Up is not hard to follow: Having escaped from a reform school, Virginie (Mylène Demongeot) joins a band of petty criminals led by Loulou (Alain Delon). She is caught by the police in a stolen car which has been used to rob emeralds. Inspector Morel (Henri Vidal) believes that she can lead him to Charlemagne - the robber (Roger Hanin). Virginie-Morel relationship begins by misunderstanding, but they end up in a marriage and they learn to love each other day by day. Meanwhile, Charlemagne's fence hides the emeralds into an old camera which should be transported over the border by Loulou and his gang. The very camera is now in the hand of Virginie. When the fence is dead, Inspector Morel has a suspicion upon his wife and he sets a trap on her.

I myself find this movie quite entertaining. The story is simple and easy to follow, plus there are funny moments with Inspector Jerome (Darry Cowl) - how he could reach that position is a big question. Mylène Demongeot's Virginie is a lovely, merry girl who doesn't forget her friends who have helped her when she was in troubles. Young Delon & Belmondo showed that dangerous scenes were not a problem for them.

Dancing Machine (1990)

I think there are too many dancing scenes in this movie, that the thriller doesn't work. It lacks the scenes to built tensions. It doesn't have a good story to start with as well. In the middle of 70's, disco-musician Marc Cerrone wrote the story with Alain Delon in mind, but this movie was realized about 15 years later - though I hoped it had never been at all. The ending is absurd and I wished for a better explanation.

Alain Delon plays Alan Wolf [In Le samouraï, Delon's character is "a lone wolf" or "a wounded wolf"], the director of a dancing school. Once a very good dancer, Wolf's career ended after an accident, which also killed his mistress Melissa. He and his associate Chico run the classes harshly. His ex-wife, Ella, tells Inspector Eparvier (Claude Brasseur) who lives in the same apartment as her, about her suspicion that Wolf has killed 2 female students. "They died in shocking ways" - she tells Eparvier. The 3rd victim soon follows: a student who has been dismissed and dances on the street to attract's Wolf attention, and dies due to exhaustion and heart attack. The inspector begins to look into the matter seriously, especially after Ella and Chico consecutively are found dead, with Wolf in both crime scenes. Melissa's sister, Daphné, now joins the school and becomes Wolf's mistress, warned by the inspector that she is the next victim. 

Alan Wolf wears black throughout the movie, as though he is always in mourning and blames himself for Melissa's death. After Daphné came, he changes the black with red, then blue, and returns to black again after she left. I think without Alain Delon and Claude Brasseur, not many people would bother to watch this movie. If I'm not mistaken, this is their reunion after George Lautner's Les seins de glace in 1974.

Fantasia chez les Ploucs (1971)

Based on The Diamond Bikini novel by Charles Williams, this Gérard Pirès movie is quite funny, although I think it's strangely edited. The director inserted little scenes here and there, which sometimes work and sometimes make me raise my eyebrow. Some parts have bad sound editing - although I'm not sure whether they did it deliberately. The underwater scene, for example, when Jean Yanne tries to grab the bikini while Mireille Darc screams; seems the timing is wrong.

A ruined bookmaker, Doc Noonan, brings his son Billy to visit his brother Sagamore who lives in Cicero county - that is in America. Sagamore owns a farm, but the sheriff has a suspicion that Sagamore is producing alcohol illegally. Nearby, lives Uncle Noé who believes the end of the world is coming, so he is building some kind of Noah's Ark. A couple arrive in the farm to stay for a while: Severance and Caroline Tchou-Tchou, a striptease dancer. The Noonan brothers will soon find out that the couple have stolen diamonds. Billy sees the jewels hidden in Caroline's bikini when she teaches him to swim. Some gangsters find it out as well and to escape them, Caroline runs in fear and is lost in the marsh. The Noonan brothers announce that whoever finds Caroline will get a big reward and this causes all inhabitants from the radius of 30 kms swarming the farm and the Noonan brothers get a lot of money from parking fee and the big fair.

There are funny moments, like the sheriff's failures to catch Sagamore red-handed, police cars which always burnt and blown, Caroline and Beethoven 5th Symphony which hypnotizes her to strip , and a dachshund with a broken leg. Both main actors, Lino Ventura and Jean Yanne as the Noonan brothers, are very good. Mireille Darc is very sexy here, and in many scenes she appears topless with only wears the diamond bikini. The gangsters have cool costumes.

Alain Delon made a brief appearance as a chief of gangsters. Most likely he was visiting Mireille Darc (they were a couple then) in the location and the director asked him to help in this scene.

The Girl on a Motorcycle (1968)

I got the Limited Collector's Edition DVD of this movie from Germany, hoped that the quality would be great. It is not. The movie is grainy and the sound is bad. I read that this movie had wonderful cinematography, because the director, Jack Cardiff was excellent in that field; so it's a pity that this movie was not properly restored.


The movie opens with a bizarre scene: Rebecca in a circus, standing on a white horse which runs around the stage, is undressed by Daniel with his whip. It is only a dream, yet it is bizarre. Rebecca wakes up in the morning and put on her leather riding suit [She wears nothing beneath. That is why the title of the German DVD is Naked Under Leather], leaves without saying goodbye to her husband - who is still sleeping - rides the motorcycle given by her lover Daniel as her marriage present, and heads to Heidelberg to meet him. During the trip from France, she thinks about how they met, how she surrendered to his seduction, and how he taught her to ride a motorbike. She also imagines what she will do when she arrives in Heidelberg and meets Daniel in his gazebo.

What is famous from this movie must be the psychedelic art, which Jack Cardiff used to blur the images of Rebecca and Daniel making love. At that time perhaps it was a daring idea, but watching this movie now, I must say I don't like those scenes. About the story, it touches a topic of free love vs conjugal life. Rebecca has already planned to marry Raymond when she meets Daniel, but she knows Daniel will never marry her because of his bitter experience.

I'm not sure how popular Marianne Faithfull (who plays Rebecca) in 1967, but when I hear her name, I always think of Mick Jagger and the song "As Tears Go By". As for Daniel, casting Alain Delon as a professor who is crazy about motorbike and easily seduces women, was a wonderful idea; especially when his rival was Roger Mutton (who plays Rebecca's fiancé - and later husband).

Another complain from me is the big number of scenes of Rebecca riding the Harley, speaking to herself. However, it's the title of this movie, right?

Carambolages (1963)

Like the title suggests, this comedy from director Marcel Bluwal, is like a carambole game. Once it hits, it hits more than 1 target. Jean-Claude Brialy played the lead role as Paul Martin, a smart employee in a giant company in tourism industry. Paul is about to marry his superior's daughter and needs money, but the company "rewards seniority, not talent". To achieve a higher position, Paul must wait until one of his seniors dies or retires, and that can take years. As he cannot wait that long, Paul has a little plan. What happen instead is a series of accidents which remove Paul's bosses one by one, and in the end of the movie we see him becomes the CEO.

The board of directors of 321

Louis de Funès played Charolais, the original CEO. He is the first victim because of his own undoing. Interesting that Paul's or Charolais's schemes to harm other fail. While Paul is lucky, at least for the time being, this proverb applies to the latter:"Whoever digs a pit shall fall therein: and he that rolls a stone, it will return on him." (Proverbs 26:27)

Paul himself doesn't go unpunished. When in the beginning he soon to be marry and has a son (with 2 different women, though), now there is no wedding and no son for him. Furthermore, he feels threatened when a smart, ambitious employee (played by Alain Delon), like himself in the beginning of the movie, appears and says to him exactly what he said to Charolais. Paul is afraid he cannot escape his karma.

L'ours en peluche (1994)

L'ours en peluche (=Teddy Bear) is the 9th and last collaboration between Jacques Deray and Alain Delon. Although the movie looks nice with lovely soundtrack, I think the weakest part is, unfortunately, the most important: the script. There are movies with simple plots, yet they are very good. It's not the case with this one.

Delon plays Professor Jean Rivière, a famous obstetrician who also owns a luxury maternity clinic in Brussels. His life goes well, until when he receives a strange phone call which threatens to kill him because he has murdered someone. From here, the movie reveals the answer bits by bits while Rivière tries to remember if he has done someone any harm. Later, he gets a parcel containing a little teddy bear, which reminds him of a young nurse who once worked in his clinic. What seems to him a little affair is the world to her.

For this kind of story, I think it would be better if the answer hadn't been given too soon. As soon as we know who is behind the threats and why, the movie follows Rivière's visits to his friends and family, in which he has an anguished night, thought to be his last night. One refuses him as he has shown indifference to this friend before, one suggests he should forget all this and go on living; but what I find interesting is when he visits his mother (only in French movies one can find a mother of that age in a casino), who tells him to take care of himself as her friend recently lost her son and it would break her heart to know her son die before her.

The ending is not what I've expected, but Delon is the right actor if you want the bad guy to go unpunished and the audience agree with that. Perhaps after considering the whole matter, Rivière concludes that the young girl's death is not his fault. It's only a little affair and if her mental was not strong enough, why he should be responsible? Was it true that if he had spoken to her she would have been saved?

Le Gang (1977)

Le Gang is the 2nd (and last) movie made by Alain Delon and Jacques Deray, based on Roger Borniche's book. Like the first, Flic Story, Le Gang is also set in 1945, when France is recovering after WW2. While Flic Story is serious, Le Gang has much more cheerful tone; the happy music for example. The leader of the gang, Pierrot le fou, has his name changed to Robert le dingue, and to play this character, Delon wore a curly wig and a pair of round sunglasses, and smoked cigars. This change of appearance, I must say, made his acting look better. Throughout the movie, he had these wild, crazy eyes; which are more exciting to watch than the usual blank expression he used when he played a hitman.

The gang profits from the situation after the war. They fill their pockets with money from robbery after robbery. In the beginning of the movie, we meet Marinette (Nicole Calfan), who rushes to visit the gravely injured Robert. Then she tells her story, how she meets him one year ago, when the gang involved in a fight with American marines in the bar where she worked as a hatcheck girl. Although there are many robbery scenes, no one gets hurt in the movie. The only person who gets shot and dies is Robert himself. If there is an almost violence here, it must be when Robert is about to hit the marine's face with a broken bottle. It shows that behind his wide grin, hidden a deep cruelty.

The gang - left to right: Jo (Xavier Depraz) - survivor of a concentration camp, Manu (Adalberto Maria Merli) the seducer, Robert (Alain Delon) the crazy, Raymond (Roland Bertin) the car mechanic, and Lucien (Maurice Barrier) ex Gestapo member.

One time, the gang robs a train station. After the robbers left, one of the victims begins to cry for help, but stops short because he sees Robert is still there. Robert's face is menacing, but this scene turns out to be funny. Well, at least it made me laugh. He runs to escape the police, who are coming, and he succeeds, only to be caught in a raid on illegal immigrants.

Robert's end is also foolish (although the gang often makes the police look ridiculous, especially when they successfully escape from a tight surrounded house) : after a successful robbery, he goes into a jewelry store to "buy" a gift for Marinette. Like The Lord gave Sisera into the hand of Jael, the adventure of Robert- the infamous lead of the gang - ends in the hand of a woman, the jewelry's seller's wife. Marinette has lost the man she loves and gets a beautiful bracelet for a change. However, if I were Marinette, and I feel she felt the same, I would have not exchange him for hundreds of gold bracelets.

Un crime (1993)

I heard that this movie was a disaster when it came out, but after watching, I must say that I like it. Most of the movie took place in the same apartment, with 2 actors only. It reminds me of one of the movies I like: Sleuth, with Michael Caine and Laurence Olivier.

Un crime is based on Gilles Perrault's book called Le dérapage, but director Jacques Deray made a very loose interpretation that it was said the author couldn't recognize it anymore. The story is as follows: The trial of young Frédéric Chapelin-Tourvel (Manuel Blanc), which has been going on for months, interests all people in Lyon. He is accused of double murder: killing his mother and father. His brilliant lawyer, Charles Dunand (Alain Delon), finally can convince the jury that the accused is not guilty. What is supposed to be a great victory to Dunand turns into a nightmare when Frédéric tells him that he is indeed the killer. Is Frédéric serious? They make a rendez-vous in the crime scene, where Frédéric tells Dunand what really happened in the night of the murder.


Although the cast is minimum, the movie is very gripping. Another interesting character is the concierge, whom Frédéric treats badly. It makes sense then when he testifies in the court against Frédéric; it can be said that he tries to get revenge. All through the night, Frédéric keeps changing his story to Dunand. First he says he is the killer, and next, her mother's lover is the killer. Dunand shows him holes in both stories and when he feels he has had enough and left the young man, Frédéric bumps himself into a running car to get his attention and to get the lawyer back into the apartment. The next scene shows Frédéric has a bath. I wonder if the nudity is necessary and I think it means he is now ready to bare it all. Dunand then learns that the root of the problem has started years ago, when Frédéric was 12, and for the first time, the young man is ready to open his heart to his lawyer, who after months of trial has become some kind of father to him.

Dunand knows the truth in the end, but of course he is not happy. Justice doesn't exist, he says. "It's enough to rub shoulders with the justice to know it doesn't exist." For men, maybe. Only God is just. What is just for one person is not always just for another. Justice is not exact, it's often like shadow. For Frédéric's father, justice is perhaps done, but what about Mr & Mrs Chapelin-Tourvel? Le monsieur, didn't he take care of Frédéric? Fed him and schooled him?

Manuel Blanc's Frédéric is full of anger and bitterness that I don't have sympathy for him. From the first he tells Dunand that he wishes to save the family's reputation. I myself would prefer he is not that angry and shows innocent on his face (it would be easier for his lawyer and jury to decide, right?) - like young Alain Delon's Tom Ripley. What did his mother's lover mean to him, anyway? He hardly recognized that man.

The movie features beautiful buildings in the city of Lyon, which are well photographed. In short, this movie is not to be missed.

Le toubib (1979)

It's hard to believe that this movie was handled by Pierre Granier-Deferre, who also directed the wonderful La veuve Coudrec and Le train. Alain Delon said that he bought Harmonie Ou Les Horreurs De La Guerre by Jean Freustié because he liked the novel, so I believe that they at least had started well. It must be the transfer to the screen which went wrong. Btw, Bernard Giraudeau who plays François, got the César nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

The story is set in June 1983. Famous surgeon Jean-Marie Desprée (Alain Delon) was left by his wife 1 month ago and now he works in a modern movable hospital, where the 3rd world war is taking place. He is a lonely man who opens his heart only to his sister Marcia and his dog Marius. A new nurse, Harmonie, arrives to join the team and Desprée is struck by her idealism, which gives him back something he thought has lost: hope. He tries to humiliate her at first and makes her leave, but these efforts only bring him to learn to love her. The ending, however, is a sad one.

I read that this is an anti-war movie, made to show the horror of war. If that is the intention, then the most successful scene must be the necropolis (=burial site) where Desprée and Harmonie find decayed bodies of the soldiers, most of them half buried. In contrast with this horror, the hospital is situated in a beautiful place, where there are swans on the lake nearby.

What really doesn't work for me here is the love story between Desprée and Harmonie, which I think needs more screen-time. I just don't believe that this young woman can make him change his mind. Like in the case with La race des seigneurs (also by Pierre Granier-Deferre), it seems a few scenes are missing.

Le battant (1983)

Le battant (=The Fighter) is the 2nd movie officially directed by Alain Delon. I must say that I like Pour la peau d'un flic better. This first work is more energetic and more humourous: the ending especially. Le battant is sombre with slower pace, and the main character's face is pale, perhaps after 8 years in prison.

Based on André Caroff's novel, the plot is actually good with many twists. Delon plays Jacques Darnay, a criminal wanted by the police and his old pals, because they think he has hidden a little bag of diamonds worth 6 millions. In 1974 a robbery took place in a jewelry store and the owner was murdered. Darnay was arrested because his alibi was weak and sent to jail because his lawyer was mediocre. However, was Darnay really involved in the robbery and was it him who killed the owner? After 8 years, Darnay gets out of jail, but it seems he is safer inside. The world has changed and he doesn't know who are his enemies. They kill his best friend Mignot and his mistress to show him that they are serious. Things turn better for Darnay when Gino Ruggieri, one of his old friends, sends his own mistress, Nathalie, to get the truth out of him. We can see how a woman can do when she is not treated right.

Although dedicated to René Clément, le battant pays homage to Jean-Pierre Melville. In the scene where Darnay goes to Mignot (Michel Beaune)'s hiding place, the room reminds us to Jef Costello's in Le samouraï. The refrigerator is placed outside the door. As if afraid we will miss this, there is a close up of the birdcage, completed with the music by Francois De Roubaix. To top this, François Périer is cast as Gino Ruggieri.

Like in Pour la peau d'un flic, the theme song is used again and again. I can understand why one of the guys who are following Darnay swears when he hears Oscar Benton's Bensonhurst blues and changes radio station immediately.

Borsalino (1970)

After the success of La Piscine, actor Alain Delon worked again with director Jacques Deray. This time Delon, who also co-produced, asked Jean-Paul Belmondo to join the project. In 1969, Delon and Belmondo were at the peak of their career. They worked together in 1957 when they started as actors in Sois belle et tais-toi and in 1966 in René Clément's Is Paris Burning?, but Borsalino was the first where both had lots of screen time.

Marseille 1930. Roch Siffredi (Delon) is out of prison and looking for his girlfriend Lola. She is now with François Capella (Belmondo). The fight between Siffredi and Capella ends with a friendship. These two starts with a little job and later do bigger and more important jobs, until when they defeat Poli and Marello who rule the town. They become the true leaders of Marseille, but Capella realizes that the time will come when he and his friend will kill each other, therefore he decides to leave France. However, like his motto "La chance, ça n'existe pas", Capella never has that chance.

Based on Eugène Saccomano's book, Bandits à Marseille, Jacques Deray did a wonderful job in re-creating the atmosphere of Marseille in 1930. The sets (I'm particularly amused with the train and the death scene of Nono - where there are lots of 1930's cars in the background. They must have blocked the whole area.) and the costumes are superb. We also must not forget the catchy soundtrack by Claude Bolling. The title Borsalino itself is taken from the brand of the fedora worn by actors in the movie. The plot is also not bad. We witness the 2 petty bandits who climb their status, first only hired to steal a race-horse until becoming the most powerful men in Marseille. The scene in the fish market reminds me of Ordralfabétix from Astérix and how a line like "Your fish is not fresh anymore" can cause mass fight. The ending is also perfect, both main characters are gone forever.

Forty years after the movie was made, finally the DVD is available. Interesting when I think about it: Forty years after, a movie was made. Now, for us the new generation, the DVD is available, again after 40 years. The DVD is full of extras: documentaries and interviews about the genesis of Borsalino, the filming, the premiere, and the success. I love watching Claude Bolling plays the theme song. There is also a 19' interview with Alain Delon, which is rare - because I have many of his movies on DVDs and if there is any interview, it is short. I usually search on YouTube -, where he shows us how to wear the hat and my most favourite part: when he mentions the other Roch Siffredi, that actor.