Événement

NOIR CITY 15: RIFIFI / CLASSE TOUS RISQUES

Sunday, January 22

The price of admission gets you into the double bill.

1:00, 6:30
RIFIFI
(France, 1955. Pathe Consortium Cinema (Rialto). 122 min.)

Screenplay by Rene Wheeler and Jules Dassin, from the novel by Auguste Le Breton
Produced by Rene Bezard, Henri Berard, and Pierre Cabaud. Directed by Jules Dassin

The only word for it: magnifique. So influential the title became international shorthand for heist films. Blacklisted American filmmaker Jules Dassin went to France and, with the encouragement of fellow director Jean-Pierre Melville, a tiny budget, and a novel he didn't even like, crafted a crime drama par excellence. The bravura break-in sequence, running thirty minutes without dialogue or music but with cunning use of ballet slippers and an umbrella, remains a landmark of suspense. Is it the greatest heist film of all time? Judge for yourself. Presented digitally

3:30, 9:00
CLASSE TOUS RISQUES
(France, 1960. Mondex Films / Les Films Odeon (Rialto). 108 min.)

Screenplay by Jose Giovanni, Pascal Jardin, Claude Sautet, from the novel by Jose Giovanni
Produced by Robert Amon and Jean Darvey. Directed by Claude Sautet

Abel Davos (the gloriously hangdog Lino Ventura) is a wanted French gangster ready to end his exile in Italy. He sends his family ahead, planning one last job to cover expenses. Only his old cronies aren't thrilled to see him, and his sole ally is an untested kid played by Jean-Paul Belmondo (Breathless). The title means "Consider All Risks," but you're taking no chances with the movie the New York Times called "a missing piece of film history ... a link between the great postwar policiers and the brooding 1960s gangster dramas of Jean-Pierre Melville." Presented in 35mm