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Posted: |
Sep 29, 2024 - 11:49 AM
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By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
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In the 1968 film SPIRITS OF THE DEAD, three short stories by Edgar Allan Poe were adapted for the screen, each under the helm of a different filmmaker: Federico Fellini, Louis Malle, and Roger Vadim. “William Wilson,” Louis Malle’s segment, takes place in the early 19th century when Northern Italy is under Austrian rule. An army officer named “William Wilson” (Alain Delon) rushes to confess to a priest (in a church of the "Città alta" of Bergamo) that he has committed murder. Wilson then relates the story of his cruel ways throughout his life. After playing cards all night against the courtesan “Giuseppina” (Brigitte Bardot), his doppelgänger, also named William Wilson, convinces people that Wilson has cheated. In a rage, the protagonist Wilson stabs the other to death with a dagger. After making his confession, Wilson takes yet another drastic action. Alain Delon in the "William Wilson" segment of SPIRITS OF THE DEAD Louis Malle said that he did not enjoy working with Delon. Malle wanted Florinda Bolkan for the female lead, but the producers insisted on someone more well known, and Bardot agreed to make the film. Malle thought she was miscast. Diego Masson’s score for the "William Wilson" segment has not had a release. SPIRITS OF THE DEAD was a poor performer at the U.S. box office, grossing just $1.2 million.
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In FAREWELL FRIEND (Adieu l'ami), after serving together in the French Foreign Legion, “Franz Propp” (Charles Bronson) and “Dr. Dino Barran” (Alain Delon) go their separate ways, only to be reunited by an extraordinary coincidence. Barran is persuaded by a friend to sneak into an underground bank vault and help return stolen bonds. While he is hiding, he comes upon Propp, who is actually there to rob the safe. After getting locked inside the vault, the two very different men strike up a powerful friendship that binds them together through a series of shocking developments—from a miraculous escape to being framed for murder. Alain Delon and Charles Bronson in FAREWELL FRIEND Jean Herman directed and co-wrote this 1968 release. Alain Delon was looking for an American actor to play his co-star in the film. He had first considered Richard Widmark. He admired Charles Bronson's acting, particularly in movies like Roger Corman’s MACHINE GUN KELLY (1958), one of Bronson’s first starring roles. Delon had producer Serge Silberman approach Bronson when he was in Europe making VILLA RIDES. Bronson's agent Paul Kohner later recalled: “Silberman pitched Bronson on the fact that in the American film industry, all the money, all the publicity, goes to the pretty boy hero types. In Europe, he told him, the public is attracted by character, not face. Bronson had always resisted doing European films before ... This time he was only half convinced by Silberman's arguments, but I made the deal for him to do Adieu l'ami.” Bronson was signed in December 1967. The film was shot in Marseilles and Paris. It was a big hit in France, earning around $6 million at the box office. Ironically, the film did not get an American release until 1973, after Bronson had become a bankable star in the U.S. with his 1972 films THE VALACHI PAPERS and THE MECHANIC. The picture grossed $2.6 million in the U.S. Three tracks from François de Roubaix’s score were released on a French EP. Three somewhat different tracks were included in a 2003 Roubaix compilation CD from Disques Dreyfus.
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“Jean-Paul Leroy” (Alain Delon) and “Marianne” (Romy Schneider) spend lazy holidays around THE SWIMMING POOL at their villa in idyllic Southern France. However, when “Harry Lannier” (Maurice Ronet) and his attractive young daughter “Penelope” (Jane Birkin) show up, the dreamy summer days are suddenly filled with unspoken tension and jealousy. Romy Schneider and Alain Delon in THE SWIMMING POOL ("La Piscine") Jacques Deray directed and co-wrote the 1969 film, the first of nine films Delon and Deray made together, and the only one Delon didn't produce. Alain Delon and Romy Schneider had been romantically involved from 1958 to 1963. Delon ended the relationship with Schneider in 1963 and married French actress Nathalie Barthélémy. Schneider married German director and actor Harry Meyen in Berlin. Delon asked Deray to book Schneider for this role. He continuously pursued her, both before and after filming, with persistent attempts to reconcile. Despite Schneider's refusals, their shared history and emotional connection spilled onto the screen, infusing the film with raw authenticity. This was their fourth of five films together. Both French and English-language versions of the film were made, with the actors filmed speaking English for the international release, which was unusual at a time when movies were always either dubbed or subtitled. That 114-minute international release, 8 minutes shorter than the French version, also had slightly different editing, and differences such as Romy Schneider wearing a bikini top in the English version in scenes where she is topless in the French version. THE SWIMMING POOL was the fourth most popular movie at the French box office in 1969. Upon its release in the U.S. in 1970, the film did modest business, grossing $2.3 million. Michel Legrand’s score was released on a United Artists LP, but only in Japan. In the U.S., three tracks from the score appeared on a Legrand compilation LP, “The Windmills of Your Mind.” Universal Music France released the complete score on CD in 2008. Alain Delon said in an interview in 2011 that he could not watch the film again. Romy Schneider and good friend Maurice Ronet both died prematurely and under tragic circumstances. Revisiting the scenes was simply too painful for him. Schneider died in 1982, at age 43, of cardiac arrest due to a weakened heart caused by a kidney operation she had had months before. Ronet died of cancer in 1983, at age 55.
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Posted: |
Oct 1, 2024 - 11:24 PM
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By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
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In Paris, notorious thief and cop killer “Roger Sartet” (Alain Delon) is sprung from a prison truck by THE SICILIAN CLAN, a highly-organized group of brothers following orders from their father, family patriarch “Vittorio Manalese” (Jean Gabin). The Manaleses own a pinball machine company, but Vittorio indulges in profitable crimes to allow him to buy land back in Sicily, so he can return to a glorious retirement. Roger's cellmate in prison is a security systems expert and has given him the alarm layout for an exhibition of fine jewelry. Interested in a deal for a new heist, Vittorio flies to Rome to check it out for himself, with his New York Mafia buddy “Tony Nicosia” (Amadeo Nazzari). Working overtime to recapture Sartet, the dogged “Inspector Le Goff” (Lino Ventura) leans hard on Roger's sister “Monique” (Danielle Volle), some passport forgers, and other underworld contacts. Alain Delon, Jean Gabin, and Lino Ventura in THE SICILIAN CLAN Henri Verneuil directed the 1969 film and co-wrote it with Alain Delon in mind for the part of Roger. The two had worked together before in 1963’s ANY NUMBER CAN WIN. Ennio Morricone’s score was released on a 20th Century Fox LP. It made its CD debut from CAM in 1993. Quartet released an expanded version in 2022. The $4 million picture grossed $3.4 million when it was released in the U.S. in 1970, and was moderately profitable worldwide.
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Posted: |
Oct 2, 2024 - 11:25 AM
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By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
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Working again with director Jacques Deray, Alain Delon had Jean-Paul Belmondo as his co-star in BORSALINO. In the film, “Roch Siffredi” (Delon) is out of the big house and looking for his lover “Lola” (Catherine Rouvel). She’s now with “François Capella” (Belmondo), another criminal. Initially, they fight, but they soon become partners and attempt to rise to the top of the city’s gangdom. Jean-Paul Belmondo and Alain Delon in BORSALINO Alain Delon wanted to produce the film because he was looking for a project in which to collaborate with Jean-Paul Belmondo. However, the relationship between the pair broke down after filming was completed. Director Jacques Deray noted that, "All through production Delon was impeccable, never interfered. But when the film was completed ‘Delon the producer’ stepped in and took it over.” Under the terms of their contracts, Belmondo and Delon were required to have equal billing and the same number of close-ups. Belmondo later sued Delon over the manner in which their names were billed in the production. Belmondo was annoyed that the title card "An Alain Delon Production" appeared before his name in the credits. Delon's associate producer, Pierre Caro, said: “If you ask me, I think Belmondo was afraid from the first to make a picture with Alain. He demanded the same number of close ups. Alain had to cancel a lot of his best scenes because they made him look better than Belmondo. My own feeling is that they will never work together again. Alain says they will, but he lies.” Delon said while promoting the film in the US: “We are still what you in America call pals or buddies. But we are not friends. There is a difference. He was my guest in the film but still he complained. I like him as an actor but as a person, he's a bit different. I think his reaction was a stupid reaction... almost like a female reaction. But I don't want to talk about him anymore.” Claude Bolling’s score for the 1970 film was released on a Paramount LP. It was re-issued on CD by Milan in 1998. In 2019, Music Box released an expanded version of the score. The film was a big success at the French box office, breaking records throughout the country, and becoming the fourth most-watched film of the year. But in the U.S., the film struggled to a mediocre $1.5 million gross. It would be nearly 30 years before Delon and Belmondo worked together again.
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Posted: |
Oct 3, 2024 - 12:23 PM
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By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
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Alain Delon’s second film with director Jean-Pierre Melville was LE CERCLE ROUGE. The film follows four men: “Corey” (Delon), just released from prison, heading for Paris with insider information on a jewelry store in his head, and angry gangsters on his tail; “Vogel” (Gian Maria Volonté), a criminal suspect who has escaped his police escort and is on the run; “Mattei” (André Bourvil), the police inspector determined to recapture Vogel at any cost; and “Jansen” (Yves Montand), an ex-police sharpshooter looking for redemption from his self-imposed alcoholic hell. These four may start from different places, but their fortunes are inevitably destined to converge. Yves Montand, Gian Maria Volente, and Alain Delon in LE CERCLE ROUGE Writer-director Melville had originally written the part of “Vogel” for Jean-Paul Belmondo, but after the issues on BORSALINO, Belmondo and Delon were not willing to work together. Michel Legrand’s score for the 1970 film was rejected and replaced with one by Eric Demarsan. Demarsan’s score was released on LPs in France, Spain, and Italy. In 2000, Universal France released an expanded version on CD. LE CERCLE ROUGE was the fifth most popular film of the year in France, but did not appear in the U.S. until 5 November 1976 when it had a one-time showing at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s Contemporary French Film series. It didn’t open in New York until 1993.
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Alain Delon and Charles Bronson teamed up again for the “East meets West” western RED SUN. As opposed to their pairing in 1968’s FAREWELL FRIEND, this 1971 film found Bronson top-billed. Toshiro Mifune plays “Kuroda Jubei,” a samurai guard protecting the Japanese ambassador, who is traveling across the frontier of 19th-century America to meet President Ulysses S. Grant and bring him a special katana (Japanese ceremonial sword) as a gift. When bandits overtake their train, and a ruthless outlaw named “Gauche” (Alain Delon) steals the sword, Jubei is forced to team up with Gauche’s former partner, “Link Stuart” (Charles Bronson), to get the sword back. But there’s a twist. Jubei has only one week to return the sword to the ambassador, or he’ll be forced to commit harakiri (aka seppuku – a Japanese form of suicide) for dishonoring his country. During the quest, the two must deal with “Cristina” (Ursula Andress), Gauche’s love interest, and a small army of Comanche Indians. Charles Bronson, Alain Delon, and George Lycan in RED SUN Terence Young directed the 1971 film, which was shot in Spain. The film was the second of a three-picture deal that Young had with Charles Bronson, which had previously yielded COLD SWEAT (1970) and would also include THE VALACHI PAPERS (1972). The busy schedules of Alain Delon and supporting actress Capucine meant that they flew back to France and Switzerland, respectively, for weekends, and were helicoptered back to the location each Monday. Maurice Jarre’s score had LP releases in Europe and Japan, but not the U.S. The LP was re-issued on CD by Japan’s Soundtrack Listeners Communications in 1995 and by Universal France in 2001. Bronson was extremely popular in Japanese theaters at this time, and RED SUN set an attendance record in Tokyo, playing for a record 35 weeks in its first run engagements. The film also did well in the U.S., grossing $6.7 million.
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Posted: |
Oct 5, 2024 - 11:47 AM
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By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
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Alain Delon played Frank Jacson, the man who carried out THE ASSASSINATION OF TROTSKY in director Joseph Losey’s 1972 film. From half a world away, Stalin considered Leon Trotsky, living in exile in Mexico and writing provocative columns, to be a threat to a Russia staring down Hitler’s armies, so he had to go. We see Jacson meet with a handler who urges him on, but otherwise provides little facilitation. We watch Trotsky (Richard Burton) reciting passages from his writings into a Dictaphone, and passing time with his loving wife (Valentina Cortese). And we see Jacson’s girlfriend and Trotsky acolyte, Gita Samuels (Romy Schneider), attempt unsuccessfully to penetrate the taciturn mind of Jacson. Richard Burton and Alain Delon in THE ASSASSINATION OF TROTSKY THE ASSASSINATION OF TROTSKY would prove to be the last of Delon’s and Schneider’s five films together. Egisto Macchi’s score for the film was released by Beat Records in 1990. The $2.5 million picture garnered poor reviews and was a bomb at the U.S. box office, grossing only $200,000.
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Posted: |
Oct 6, 2024 - 12:03 AM
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By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
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Alain Delon’s third film with writer-director Jean-Pierre Melville was UN FLIC (A COP). In the opening sequence, a gang of robbers lay siege to a coastal town bank during a misty winter afternoon. Led by master criminal “Simon” (Richard Crenna), the looters escape and instigate plans for an audacious heist involving a moving train and a helicopter. Meanwhile, Simon's plans are being tracked by icy cool, jaded police commissioner “Edouard Coleman” (Delon), whose tumultuous relationship with blonde “Cathy” (Catherine Deneuve) is waylaid by his regrettable friendship with Simon... who's also in love with Cathy. Eventually both men must put their friendship aside and face off in a battle of wits. Catherine Deneuve and Alain Delon in UN FLIC The film's crew included Alain Delon's half-brother, Jean-François Delon, as first assistant director. During the filming, Jean-Pierre Melville told Jean-François that, although Alain Delon was on the set in body, his head and his spirit was already on his next film: LE PROFESSEUR which Delon was about to shoot in Italy. Melville was devastated because of this. It was unfortunate that the pair’s collaboration ended on such a note, as Melville dropped dead the next year at age 55. UN FLIC was his final film. Michel Colombier’s score for the 1972 film was released by Universal Music France in 2012. UN FLIC was not released in the U.S. until 1975, when Allied Artists distributed a dubbed version of the film under the title DIRTY MONEY. The film was marginally successful in America, grossing $2.9 million, but did much better in France, with an $8.8 million gross.
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Posted: |
Oct 7, 2024 - 11:08 AM
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By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
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Alain Delon again worked with Burt Lancaster (following 1963’s THE LEOPARD) in SCORPIO. Longtime C.I.A. agent “Cross” (Lancaster) wants to retire in peace with wife “Sarah” (Joanne Linville), but finds himself training a new recruit: “Jean Laurier” (Delon), alias “Scorpio.” Things go badly for Cross, and he is accused of treason. Cross finds himself in the agency's crosshairs, and, expectedly, Scorpio is the man strong-armed into hunting Cross down. The hunted travels to Vienna and seeks refuge with fellow operative “Zharkov” (Paul Scofield). Cross desperately seeks assistance to get Sarah out of the United States alive, and receives an unexpected offer from his once-and-future master. Gayle Hunnicutt played “Susan,” Laurier’s girlfriend. Alain Delon and Gayle Hunnicutt in SCORPIO Michael Winner directed this 1973 Cold War thriller. Alain Delon told Winner that everybody would recognize him in Vienna, where several scenes of the film were shot, because Delon once was in a relationship with Austrian actress Romy Schneider. But no one there seemed to recognize him. Jerry Fielding prepared an LP of his score for United Artists Records, but it was ultimately not issued. It was finally released in 1978 as part of the Elmer Bernstein Film Music Collection. It was re-issued on CD by Bay Cities in 1991. Intrada released an expanded edition in 2008, and an isolated score track appeared on the 2015 Twilight Time Blu-ray release of the film. Recently, it came full circle, with a 2022 LP release of the original by Quartet. The $4 million production returned just $4.2 million at the domestic box office.
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Two years after appearing together in THE WIDOW COUDERC. Alain Delon and Simone Signoret reteamed for THE BURNED BARNS (Les Granges Brûlées). In the film, the corpse of a beautiful young woman is found brutally murdered in the French countryside on the outskirts of The Burned Barns farm. The farm is owned by a stern woman named “Rose” (Signoret) and her husband “Pierre” (Paul Crauchet), and it is operated by them and their sons: “Paul” (Bernard Le Coq), who is married to “Monique” (Miou-Miou), and “Louis” (Pierre Rousseau) who is married to “Francoise” (Catherine Allégret). The police are, obviously, called in to investigate, with Judge “Pierre Larcher” (Delon) in charge of the operation. As Larcher starts digging about and exploring the specifics of the murder, he starts to wonder if Rose's two sons may be the ones to have committed the crime. Rose, for the most part, is cooperative when it comes to Larcher's investigatory tactics, until he starts to dig deeper than she'd like. Alain Delon in THE BURNED BARNS Jean Chapot directed and co-wrote the film. Reportedly, Alain Delon reproached Chapot, who was directing his third feature, because his direction was too smooth, too soft. Delon wished to be directed in a tougher manner. One rumor said that Delon partly directed the film. The 1973 picture was scored by Jean-Michel Jarre. The soundtrack—the younger Jarre’s second studio album—was released on LP by Eden Roc and re-issued on CD by Disques Dreyfus in 2003. THE BURNED BARNS did moderate business in France. The film never had a release in the U.S., either in theaters or on television.
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Based on a novel by Richard Matheson, Georges Lautner's 1974 picture ICY BREASTS (Les Seins de Glace) is a French-Italian co-production that tells the story of a writer named “François Rollin” (Claude Brasseur) who travels to the beaches of Nice, France in hopes of finding some inspiration for his latest endeavor. Here he meets “Peggy Lister” (Mireille Darc), a beautiful woman recently widowed. They hit it off, and while it's clear to anyone paying attention, except for maybe François, that Peggy isn't exactly what she might at first seem, he falls head over heels for her. François decides to follow Peggy to her home where he runs into her lawyer, “Marc Rilson” (Alain Delon). Rilson tells François that Peggy's past is more than a little shady - even violent. As François pursues his relationship with the woman with whom he's become so quickly obsessed, it soon becomes clear that there is a murderer in their midst. Mireille Darc and Alain Delon in ICY BREASTS Twenty-three minutes of Philippe Sarde’s score was released on a Phoenix LP in Italy in 1984. CAM released most of that music on CD in 1992 and again in 2000. Music Box Records released a slightly expanded version in 2021. ICY BREASTS did well at the French box office. When it was released in the U.S. in 1976, it received generally favorable reviews from the critics, but its box office exposure was limited to single theaters in major cities.
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Posted: |
Oct 10, 2024 - 11:29 AM
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By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
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Alain Delon starred in 1975’s ZORRO, a re-telling of the basic tale, showing how “Don Diego” (Delon) ends up putting the mask on and fighting for the people in the small town of Nuova Aragon, where the corrupt and arrogant “Colonel Huerta” (Stanley Baker) and his men will stop at nothing to protect their power. Don Diego is on his way back home when he stops to visit an old friend, “Miguel de la Serna” (Marino Masé). Miguel has just been appointed the governor of Nuova Aragon, following his uncle's death. Before Miguel can take the post, however, a group of men burst into the hotel where they are staying the night and fatally wound Miguel. Before he dies, he convinces Don Diego to go to Nuova Aragon and pose as him, but makes him swear that he will not use violence to help the people of the city. When Diego arrives, he puts on an exaggerated imitation of a rich and powerful man for Huerta and the other aristocrats, while secretly scoping out the lay of the land with his faithful mute servant “Joaquín” (Enzo Cerusico). Zorro's closest ally in the cause to help the people is the beautiful “Contessina Ortensia Pulido” (Ottavia Piccolo). Although she comes from a wealthy family, she despises the upper class. Ottavia Piccolo and Alain Delon in ZORRO Duccio Tessari directed the film. The film’s score, by Guido and Maurizio De Angelis was released on LP by EMI in France and CAM in Italy. CAM re-issued the LP on CD in 1991. Digitmovies released an expanded version in 2011 and again in 2018. When ZORRO was first released in the U.S. in May 1976, it was rated [PG]. The picture was a low-grosser in America, pulling in just $1.2 million. By November 1976, U.S. distributor Allied Artists edited the film and had it re-rated [G], so that it could be shown for children’s matinees.
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Posted: |
Oct 12, 2024 - 12:33 PM
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By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
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In 1942, in Paris, "Mr. Robert Klein" (Alain Delon) is a bon-vivant art dealer who exploits French Jews who need to raise money selling their artworks. Life takes a turn when he receives a Jewish newspaper in the mail addressed to a man of the same name. Though he notifies the police of the mistaken identity, it is exactly his curiosity and desire to clear up the matter quickly that piques their suspicion that he might be a Jew. He decides to carry out his own investigation, and search for the other MR. KLEIN. Suddenly another piece of mail arrives, a letter from a women named "Florence" urging Klein to come to her. Following the lead, Klein goes. The trip takes him to an aristocratic mansion, sequestered in the snow-bitten wilderness. He is received cordially and tells his story to the master of the estate and to Florence (Jeanne Moreau) who is interested in getting her letter back. They don’t know what’s become of the second Klein either. Jeanne Moreau and Alain Delon in MR. KLEIN Joseph Losey directed this 1976 tale of identity and paranoia. The film's score, by Egisto Macchi and Pierre Porte, was released on an EMI-Pathe LP. It was re-issued on CD by CAM in 1992. Alain Delon was nominated for a French César Award as Best Actor, losing to Michel Galabru for Bertrand Tavernier’s THE JUDGE AND THE ASSASSIN. MR. KLEIN received good reviews but fared poorly at the U.S. box office, grossing just $700,000. A 2019 restoration and re-release of the film added an additional $200,000 to the film’s U.S. total.
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Posted: |
Oct 13, 2024 - 11:43 AM
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By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
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Years ago, “Marinette” (Nicole Calfan) met handsome gangster “Robert” (Alain Delon) in a lousy bar and the two fell in love. Now, Robert is discussing a big job with his boys – “Jo” (Xavier Depraz), “Raymond” (Roland Bertin), “Manu” (Adalberto Maria Merli), and “Lucien,” ‘The Mammoth’ (Maurice Barrier) -- in his good friend “Cornelius'” (Raymond Bussieres) secluded house. Together, they comprise THE GANG (Le Gang). The gang is in the business of robbing banks. After each job, Robert and his boys gather in Cornelius' home and celebrate with their wives and mistresses. Early retirement is frequently mentioned, but Robert does not want to hear about it. Deep inside he feels that there is so much more that the gang can accomplish. But with the police desperate to stop them, how long will their luck last? Alain Delon in THE GANG Jacques Deray directed the 1977 film, his sixth with Alain Delon. Twelve minutes of Carlo Rustachelli’s score were released on LPs from EMI Pathé in France and CAM in Italy (paired with other scores). CAM re-issued the material on CD in 1992. The film was a moderate earner in France, but received no U.S. theatrical release.
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