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      The Big Risk

      Released Jun 12, 1963 1h 50m Mystery & Thriller List
      100% Tomatometer 28 Reviews 84% Audience Score 500+ Ratings As the police close in, a wanted Frenchman assesses his relationship with his estranged family and his former friends. Read More Read Less

      Critics Reviews

      View All (28) Critics Reviews
      David Gritten Daily Telegraph (UK) Never wastes a minute of your time, right up to its abrupt ending: this is condensed, intense story-telling that never once loosens its grip. Sep 12, 2013 Full Review Peter Bradshaw Guardian This Franco-Italian production feels like a classic - with all the traditional punchings, slappings, shootings and coshings - and yet it's utterly unformulaic. Rated: 5/5 Sep 12, 2013 Full Review David Jenkins Little White Lies A splendid showcase for the great Lino Ventura. Rated: 4/5 Sep 12, 2013 Full Review Kathy Fennessy Seattle Film Blog The resulting thriller may not surpass [Jean-Pierre] Melville for cool, but rivals him in the hood-with-heart department. Rated: 4/4 Sep 15, 2021 Full Review Amber Wilkinson Eye for Film Ranging and enjoyably unpredictable. Rated: 4/5 May 16, 2015 Full Review Michael Joshua Rowin Stop Smiling What we're left with 45 years after Classe's awkwardly timed entrance into French film history are some superbly assured performances and well-drawn characters. Mar 2, 2014 Full Review Read all reviews

      Audience Reviews

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      andrey k A nice French crime film shot in the best traditions of the 60's. The message of this movie if very straightforward: once you are in the "game" there is no way out, there's no such thing as a retired gangster, it's simple as that. The film studies the code of honour among gangsters and makes it in a very interesting and enjoyable manner: the relaxed acting, swift camerawork and refreshing feel of the then still new cinema style make this movie a pleasurable viewing. Belmondo is very handsome in the role of a young smiling thief who still believes in the infallibility of the code of honour in the criminal world. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member It's like the long drawn-out moody denouement from another film in which Lino Ventura has lived a successful life of crime but which culminated in his escaping from France to live in exile. However, there was no other film! Classe Tous Risques begins abruptly with Ventura seeking to return to Paris after a long exile with his wife and two young kids and a partner. After stealing money for the road and nearly getting caught, they run into tragedy when they are confronted at the border by customs officials and a shoot-out leaves only Ventura and his two boys (7 and 5) alive. So, he calls up his old friends in Paris to come get him out of Nice and back home - but they don't want to know him anymore, now that they are all set up in new profitable lives. They send a hired hand instead, who turns out to be Belmondo, who turns out to be a good egg. He helps Ventura to get the kids taken care of and then they turn their minds to revenge. But Ventura is running out of steam, feeling low, more empty than stoic; Belmondo is full of vigor, falling in love with Sandra Milo, as a counterpoint. The film follows the usual course of French noir, carefully observing the mechanics of each moment, whether it be a heist or a conference amongst gangsters. There's action enough but the mood is sombre. Melville owned this genre but his great films (except Bob le Flambeur, 1956) all came later. Perhaps Touchez Pas Au Grisbi (1954) and Rififi (1955) are the best earlier examples. Still, this hit the spot. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/04/23 Full Review Audience Member Ah, the French can make those gangster movies laden with Fate, failed loyalties, and - well before the Godfather and the Sopranos - family. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/08/23 Full Review Audience Member The good end happily and the bad unhappily. Plus all you want from a film noir. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/23/23 Full Review Audience Member It's tough to make a movie about the consequences of the gangster lifestyle without glamorizing the very thing you set out to critique. This film does not fall into that trap. I should note that the location shooting is stunning. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review Audience Member A well filmed sequence of interesting events, but lacking a hook, or characters in whom I felt invested, or sufficient narrative drive for me to really call it a story. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/12/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      The Big Risk

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      Movie Info

      Synopsis As the police close in, a wanted Frenchman assesses his relationship with his estranged family and his former friends.
      Director
      Claude Sautet
      Genre
      Mystery & Thriller
      Original Language
      Italian
      Release Date (Theaters)
      Jun 12, 1963, Original
      Release Date (DVD)
      Jun 17, 2008
      Box Office (Gross USA)
      $37.0K
      Runtime
      1h 50m