Tagarchief: Point Blank

The Outfit (1973)

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

Nobody plays rougher than The Outfit…Except maybe Earl, Cody and Bett!

Directed by:
John Flynn

Written by:
Donald E. Westlake (novel ‘The Outfit’ as Richard Stark)
John Flynn (screenplay)

Cast:
Robert Duvall (Earl Macklin), Karen Black (Bett Harrow), Joe Don Baker (Jack Cody), Robert Ryan (Mailer), Timothy Carey (Jake Menner), Richard Jaeckel (Kimmie Cherney), Sheree North (Buck’s Wife), Felice Orlandi (Frank Orlandi), Marie Windsor (Madge Coyle), Jane Greer (Alma Macklin)

Forgotten, gritty ’70s crime flick loosely adapted from a novel by Richard Stark (a follow-up to ‘The Hunter’, the book that inspired Point Blank and Payback).

The novel’s central character, Parker – named Earl Macklin here for some reason – has a score to settle with the crime syndicate known as the Outfit. After they murder his brother in retaliation for a robbery the two pulled on one of their banks, Macklin decides they owe him payback.

True to Parker’s nature, he demands compensation in his own way: together with his buddy Jack Cody and girlfriend Bett Harrow, he begins hitting the Outfit’s operations one by one. In return they set a trap for him, but Macklin is not a man easily cornered. It ends in a memorable shootout in the mansion of the Outfit’s top boss.

The film is directed by John Flynn (Rolling Thunder), who also wrote the screenplay. Flynn was a fine, efficient, and sadly underrated filmmaker who specialized in lean, mean crime pictures. He’s a director admired by Quentin Tarantino – as Tarantino noted in ‘Cinema Speculation’, his book on ’70s cinema – and it’s easy to see why. The film is stylishly shot and Robert Duvall is great in the lead tough guy role.

That said, it misses the real hard-boiled coolness or cinematic innovation that made John Boorman’s Point Blank, which was again based on similar source material, such a memorable film.

Rating:

Quote:
EARL MACKLIN: “Now, the Outfit’s gonna pay me money for my trouble. I figure 250.000 to make things right. Tell your friends. That’s the bill: 250. I hit you until you pay me. What I take in between is extra.”

Trivia:
The Outfit (1973) (much like The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973) and other crime films of this period) has been included on many lists of lesser known films recommended by 21st century film analysts.

Le samouraï (1967, Review)

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

Directed by:
Jean-Pierre Melville

Written by:
Jean-Pierre Melville
Georges Pellegrin

Cast:
Alain Delon … Jef Costello
Francois Périer … Superintendent
Nathalie Delon … Jane Lagrange
Cathy Rosier … Valérie, The Pianist
Jacques Leroy … Man in the passageway
Michel Boisrond … Wiener
Robert Favart … Bartender
Jean-Pierre Posier … Olivier Rey
Catherine Jourdan … Hatcheck Girl
Roger Fradet … First Inspector

‘There is no greater solitude than that of the samurai. Unless it is that of the tiger in the jungle. Perhaps…’
– BUSHIDO (Book of the Samuraï)

As the above quote that opens Le samouraï indicates, this film revolves around a loner. Hired killer Jef Costello (Alain Delon) lives in a greyish apartment with a bird as his only company. As soon as he gets up from his sofa, he engages in a dangerous mission: a contract murder in a crowded nightclub. Many patrons spot him in his conspicuous outfit: a raincoat, a hat and white gloves, much like how the gangsters in old Hollywood movies dressed.

After the murder, the police start to round up the usual suspects including Costello. He turns out to be a professional however; the beautiful Jane provides him with a watertight alibi. There is something strange at work though. The nightclub’s pianist, who clearly had a good look at Jef, lies to the police and says it wasn’t him. The cops are forced to release him, but the superintendent doesn’t trust it and has him tailed. In the meantime, we meet Jef’s employers who are unhappy with the many eyeball witnesses and plan to have him removed.

Le samouraï is a very minimalist film with also a sense of avant garde in it. It reminds a lot of John Boorman’s Point Blank that was released in the same year. The story is deceivingly simple, but leaves much room for various interpretations. Rather than on storytelling, director Melville focuses on style and he does so in a brilliant fashion. This movie is just perfectly crafted. Every image, many just showing uber-cool protagonist Jef roaming around in Paris, is shot amazingly and serves a purpose as well. The colour pallet consists of solely cold colours.

Although inspired by American gangster flicks, Le samouraï is still very distinguishable due to Melville’s master’s touch. In turn, it has inspired many modern gangster authors including John Woo and Quentin Tarantino. The films from Woo – most notably A Better Tomorrow and The Killer – feature scenes almost literally lifted from Le samouraï.

The first viewing is a bit awkward because of the cold, distant tone. But multiple viewings are bound to reveal a lot of hidden substance in the multi-layered screenplay. Both critically and commercially this is considered as one of Melville’s greatest successes.

Quote:
OLIVER REY: ‘A wounded wolf. He’ll leave a trace now. No, we have to get rid of him and quick.’

Trivia:
This is Johnnie To’s favourite film.