Le choix des armes (1981)

Note des utilisateurs:

7.0/10   

Réalisateur:

Alain Corneau

Writers:

Alain Corneau (writer)
Michel Grisolia (writer)

Release Date:

19 août 1981 (France)

Genre:

Crime | Drame

Plot:

Two men break out of prison; a rival gang ambushes them. One is mortally wounded and tells the other...

Plot Keywords:

Gangster | Trash | On The Run | Police Officer | Bank Robbery

Avis des utilisateurs:

Competently Structured Tale Of Criminal Society.

Ensemble

Yves Montand	...	Noel Durieux
Gérard Depardieu	...	Mickey
Catherine Deneuve	...	Nicole Durieux
Michel Galabru	...	Bonnardot
Gérard Lanvin	...	Sarlat
Jean-Claude Dauphin	...	Ricky
Jean Rougerie	...	Raymond Constantini
Christian Marquand	...	Jean
Etienne Chicot	...	Roland Davout
Richard Anconina	...	Dany
Pierre Forget	...	Serge Olivier
Roland Blanche	...	Fernand
Marc Chapiteau	...	Savin
Jean-Claude Bouillaud	...	Andre
Antoine Baud

Autre(s) titre(s):

Choice of Arms (USA)

Durée:

135 min | USA:114 min

Pays:

France

Langue:

Français | Anglais

Couleur:

Couleur

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Son:

Dolby

Classification:

Australia:M | France:-12 | West Germany:16

Company:

Antenne-2

Soundtrack:

Si ...

Competently Structured Tale Of Criminal Society.

A gracefully paced and ably directed work featuring highly talented players, including Gerard Depardieu and Catherine Deneuve, along with Yves Montand, LE CHOIX DES ARMES is generally successful as cinematic art, although it must be stressed that it should properly be viewed in its French language format, since the subtitled American release is harshly cut and reveals post-production efforts not at all sympathetic with the original release. An escaped convict and killer, Mickey (Depardieu), chooses to hide from police pursuit upon the lavish estate of former organized crime doyen Noel Durrieux (Montand) and his wife Nicole (Deneuve, with a wonderfully layered interpretation of her rôle), but when detectives come near, Mickey flees to Paris, although he soon returns, bringing about a conflict between two criminal codes after Mickey believes that Durrieux has informed police of the escapee's location. There are carefully fleshed out parts here for numerous characters as the two principal antagonists career toward an inevitable climactic meeting, it becoming increasingly apparent that there are lessons to be learned beyond those of the scenario and they may not be divulged by ancillary figures. Auteur Corneau's metronomic tone mates well with the script's finely balanced, rather spare, dialogue, and with a complex plot not immediately pervious to a viewer, the film benefits from the director's ability to weave a diverse cast of characters into a discriminatory dramatic construction. Deneuve earns acting honours, while Depardieu is highly effective as a sociopath savaged by paranoia yet displaying a wide range of emotional engagement with disparate characters, and Montand is icily persuasive as a "retired" mob leader who is forced to reenter his past in the hope of achieving safety for him and his wife. Following a slowly gaited but logical storyline is difficult with the extensive cutting performed upon the film's U.S. version, that is burdened as well with poor sound transference and largely inferior processing, very unfortunate in this instance of a solidly crafted motion picture that deserves better.