You’d better create a rock-solid alibi, because Le Samourai is the Greatest Movie EVER!
Click on the DVD cover or the title above to download our review of the film, featuring Sean “Hollywood” Hunting.
Review in a Nutshell: Suggested by listener Eric Barroso as part of the IndieGoGo campaign, Le Samourai is a minimalist French neo-noir crime drama from 1967. It’s an exquisitely composed film that is at once bleak, ambiguous, and wonderfully suspenseful.
The Greatest Movie EVER! Podcast 
Been a fan for several years, i admit to be terrible for not posting feedback. But i broke and wanted to say thank you for your podcast. I jave had some rough times over the last few job money etc. And believe it or not listening to your podcast has been some good stress relief. Shaun is great so is catherine. Your M.o.m. is def cool. Please keep up the good work.
The Tournament is GODDAMNED STUPENDOUSLY GREAT and I will hear no dissent. As with all competitive assassin films, it and Smokin’ Aces are films in the “Daryl Surat” genre. It’s okay if you don’t like them, as they’re made solely for me.
Like a lot of people, I sought out this film years ago because John Woo would frequently cite it and Alain Delon’s performance as major influences upon his own approach to filmmaking, and it’d often come up in discussions of neo-noir, Quentin Tarantino influences, and formative influences on Golgo 13 (which started shortly after the release of this film). Sean’s dead on the money to note the similarities between it and The Killer.
I’s hard for me to rewatch movies I’ve already seen unless I’m showing them to people, so every time I visit friends in Orlando, it seems that I insist on watching crime/gangster movies. Le Samourai was, incidentally, a recent pick (though I’d been suggesting it for years it seems). Jokes about how everyone wearing a fedora/trenchcoat combo must think they look as cool as Alain Delon aside, it was quite well-received.
Absolutely a classic, Paul!
So – are you feeling okay? This is actually a good film….
Don’t worry, Tim. There’s plenty of Howard the Duck to balance this one out.
Bob The Gambler was also by Jean Pierre Le Melville. He is the Sergio Leone of ganster/noir films. Other good films by him, include Le Doulos and Le Cercle Rouge.
Le Doulos is Sin City level noir pastiche, but good. Le Cercle Rouge has a Riffifi type, heist.
The Killer was something I had unfortunately forgotten when I made the comparison to Leon the Professional on the FB thread. Really, I was commenting on the various tropes of the hitman genre like ‘the last job’ and ‘falling for the witness’ as well the whole ‘keeping a plant/pet as a reminder of their humanity’ trope. Also, I’m certain that Alan from “Hard Boiled” was named because of Alain Deleon.
Luc Besson’s track record has become really shitty as of late. Don’t have to mention “Lucy” but I knew he was in a downward spiral with “The Family”.
Also, since you brought up “The Tournament”, I wepuld have to recommend seeing an earlier example of the genre, Albert Pyun’s ” Mean Guns”, starring Ice-T and Christopher Lambert dueling it out with other hitmen in a newly-constructed prison.
Paul – how come GME never shows up on my Facebook feed any more…?
No idea, Tim.
Tim- For pages you now have to go and click “show in my feed” or something of the like.
Rachel, Thanks! Yes, it actually worked….
Thanks for another wonderful podcast, chaps; but might I offer a bit of information for Sean regarding one of the threads of discussion that came up to do with heist movies? The “Season 2 MacGuyver episode” Sean was referring to was actually an early installment from Series 1 (episode 3: “The Thief of Budapest”), and what appears in that episode does not appear to be footage filmed for the show itself. It really appears to be footage from the original “Italian Job” (1969) – although the footage that has been used focuses on the cars from the film, as opposed to offering a unexpected guest appearance from Michael Caine…
Apologies – “MacGyver”. (Unexpected guest appearance from the letter “u” there…)