Quai des Orfevres

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Audience Member A fascinating French Film Noir. Every element of the film is meticulously produced. The last few minutes disappointed a bit, but did not harm my appreciation for this superb work of art. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/13/23 Full Review Murty C A gem of a movie! And it didn't bother me that I had to read the subtitles to understand the dialogues; anyway, I also love the sound of French so it was quite pleasant in terms of watching-a-foreign-movie experience. I also happened to watch it on Turner Classic Movies and benefited from a great intro by Eddie Muller. I wouldn't call it a "noir" film, though, at least not in the Hollywood sense - it is far superior to that category. It can be categorized in many ways, including police procedural drama and the many types of love (marital, unrequited, or parent/child). This movie has so many dimensions to it and is so satisfying in that it is a detective story set in regular people's lives with the many facets of each person's life getting entangled in a vast net brilliantly directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot. And the actors are equally brilliant: Suzy Delair and Bernard Blier as the artistic couple suspicious of the other because they madly love each other, Louis Jouvet as Inspector Antoine (a French Detective Columbo) and Simone Renant as the unrequited lover. What I especially love about the movie is it weaves a broad tapestry of Parisian life while simultaneously showing us its texture, be it the entertainment industry, police procedures, private lives of police, photographers, and business tycoons - Clouzot masterfully weaves it all together. And makes us realize that detectives too have private lives and loves. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/06/22 Full Review Audience Member Between 2.5 and 3 stars. Photography and actors are OK, it is well directed. But the script is not enought to be a good film noir. Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/25/23 Full Review paul d Very well done, complex film noir that reveals the gritty side of a poor, post-war Paris and develops each character deeply. Highly recommended. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review laurent b Louis Jouvet plays one of his most interesting and touching character, in this brillant thriller, once again so well-written and acted. The black & white is beautiful. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member A dogged policeman (Louis Jouvet) investigates a married music hall couple after a repugnant film producer and pornographer turns up dead in Clouzot's first post-war film (prior to well-known thrillers Les Diaboliques and The Wages of Fear). Not exactly noir and not exactly police procedural but blending elements from these genres with the backstage musical (albeit the particularly French kind). Bernard Blier (the husband and accompanist) is spurred to passionate jealousy by Suzy Delair's (the wife and singer) willingness to flirt with producers to advance her career. Thus, he is suspect number one when she gets mixed up with the soon-dead producer - or perhaps she is suspect number one - or perhaps their lesbian friend downstairs is suspect number one? With Jouvet on the trail, the clues start to fall into place in a satisfying way - although Clouzot is much more interested in l'affaire de coeur than in any diddly-squat murder investigation. Top notch. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/04/23 Full Review Read all reviews

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