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Borsalino
1970 Crime / Drama / Thriller
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Credits
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Director: Jacques Deray
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Script: Jean-Claude Carrière, Jean Cau, Jacques Deray, Claude Sautet, based on the novel "Bandits à Marseille" by Eugène Saccomano
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Photo: Jean-Jacques Tarbès
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Music: Claude Bolling
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Cast: Jean-Paul Belmondo (François
Capella),
Alain Delon (Roch Siffredi),
André Bollet (Poli),
Michel Bouquet (Rinaldi),
Nicole Calfan (Ginette),
Françoise Christophe (Mme Escarguel),
Mireille Darc (A prostitute),
Mario David (Mario),
Arnoldo Foà (Marello),
Julien Guiomar (Boccace),
Corinne Marchand (Mme Rinaldi),
Hélène Rémy (Lydia),
Catherine Rouvel (Lola),
Laura Adani (Siffredi's mother)
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Country: France
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Language: French
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Runtime: 126 min
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Summary
Marseilles, 1930. A young crook, Siffredi, leaves jail after serving a six month
prison sentence, to find his girlfriend in the arms of another man, Capella. After
the inevitable brawl, the two men agree to join forces with the aim of becoming the most
notable crime syndicate in Marseilles. Their growing success begins to earn them some
dangerous enemies amongst the incumbent gangster community...
Review
Borsalino, one of the most lavish French thrillers
of the 1970s, sees rival actors Jean-Paul Belmondo and Alain Delon (at the time, the two
most popular actors in France) sharing the limelight. The pairing works surprisingly
well, Delon’s feline coolness and brooding introspection making the perfect complement
to Belmondo’s warmth and amiability. The two actors had previously appeared together
(when they were virtually unknown) in the 1958 film
Sois belle et tais-toi, and would later work
together on Patrice Leconte’s 1998 film
Une chance sur deux.
Alain Delon not only starred in Borsalino,
he was also the film’s producer – his second production credit after Alain Cavalier’s
L’Insoumis
(1964). The film's director was Jacques Deray, who had previously directed
Alain Delon in La
Piscine (1969) and who had acquired a solid reputation for his slick crime
thrillers, which showed the influence of the great French filmmaker Jean-Pierre Melville.
Borsalino is among Jacques Deray’s most
successful and memorable films, a respectful yet slightly tongue-in-cheek homage to the
classic American gangster films of the 1930s and ’40s. With its gangster theme,
stylish look and strong production values, the film presages Francis Ford Coppola’s The
Godfather (1972). Deray’s recreation of 1930s Marseilles shows a meticulous
attention to period detail, with sets, costumes and a catchy score that are instantly
evocative of the era. The film is beautifully shot and includes some impressive
set piece action sequences. Deray does occasionally get a little too preoccupied
with the film’s background, including sequences that look pretty but which serve neither
the characterisation nor the plot.
The film was based on a novel by Eugène
Saccomano which recounted the real-life exploits of the notorious gangsters Carbone and
Spirito. Indeed, the provision title for the film was "Carbone and Spirito", but
that was changed to Boraslino (the name of a
hat favoured by gangsters of the period) when the production team became very nervous
about reprisals from the gangsters’ descendants.
Despite their good working relationship
when making the film, Delon and Belmondo fell out over the placing of Delon’s name on
the film’s poster. In his contract, it was stipulated that Belmondo’s name would
precede Delon’s. Delon justified the placing of his name on the poster because he
was the producer. This led to a court case which Belmondo ultimately won, although
the two men claim that the affair did not injure their friendship.
Probably on
the strength of its star billing, Borsalino was
a huge commercial success, one of Alain Delon’s most successful films as a producer.
The film’s popularity led Delon and Deray to make
Borsalino & Co. (1974), a formulaic sequel
which lacks the charm and pace of the original film.
© James Travers 2007
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