Der Greifer

Philippe Labro is a director who studied in the US.He has always thought he was born to give an American touch to his works:but it's wishful thinking ;his most satisfying works remain his early efforts :"Tout Peut Arriver" and "Sans Mobile Apparent",the latter based on an Ed MCBain thriller ;when he writes his own material ,it spawns the horribly pretentious "philosophical " "Le Hasard Et La Violence".His other screenplays are not better.

"L'Alpagueur" is some kind of follow-up to "L'Heritier ",both works featuring Belmondo as Belmondo ;in both , the "hero" in untroduced by a voice over who tells us,should we have doubts about it,that we deal here with an iron man, an undefeated superman .

The screenplay is patchy ,inconsistent ,and seems to have been written in a slapdash manner ;Belmondo 's face is deadpan,only wearing a smug smile , and he always wins ,so do not expect any suspense .On the other hand, Bruno Cremer ,as the ruthless cold killer ("the sparrowhawk") is able to give the jitters ,and had he been well directed -and had the screenply been more focussed on him- ,he could have provided a poor thriller with an interesting character.

The last scene , which comes at the most awkward moment ,is almost a "Goldfinger " rip -off.

Word to the wise : choose Verneuil's "Peur Sur La Ville" if you want to see an effective Belmondo- versus- killer movie.

Nail-biting Jean-Paul Belmondo film , full of frantic action , intrigue , twists , turns , a lot of murders and a suspenseful as well as surpring ending . This is a French ¨Polar¨ packing thrills , emotion , non-stop action , good performances , spectacular pursuits , and a moving finale . It concerns a French secret agent nicknamed L'Alpagueur , he's really a free-lance spy from the French secret agency . He is sent to execute a dangerous mission : to kill a series murderer . He's put on the investigation about L'epervier , a serial-killer who employs young boys to help him robbing banks before killing them . To attempt to communicate a jailed witness he's put in imprisonment . After a daring getaway he encounters some tracks about the heinous killer . And so begins a relentless manhunt . As L'epervieris (Bruno Cremer) being relentlessly chased by L'Alpagueur (Belmondo). Some animals get away with Murder, rape, torture. Doesn't it make your blood boil? Well - THE HUNTER did something about it.

This is an intriguing film that contains frenetic action , suspense , thrills , double-crosses , chases , violent denouement and anything else . Not the least bit believable , but quite entertaining , especially towards the end. It's one of those roles in which Belmondo does things , which is what made him so attractive as a New Wave anti-hero . He's still playing the anti-hero, of course, but there are no heroes , just middle-aged , corrupt people , thugs , and an extremely villain assassin . Belmondo lets you see the years and weariness creep up on him , particularly in the scenes with Bruno Cremer . Mostly , though , he is what the title of the movie suggests , a thorough professional , who takes well-calculated risks that confound the people who attempt to stop . He's just doing a job as a bounty hunter , and as always he survives , as Belmondo is a complete show , as he runs and leaps ; he escapes , and executes his own stunts . Belmondo sports an inimitable smile while jumps , shots and kills ; as usual , he combines action with sympathy . The movie highlights result to be the thrilling getaway and the final confrontation between Belmondo and Bruno Cremer . Enjoyable acting by the two main star names , Jean Paul Belmondo and Bruno Cremer . Belmondo steals the spectacle , as usual at the time , playing splendidly the secret agent who's double-crossed and is bent on taking his sweet vengeance on those who betrayed him and bring war along the way . Belmondo makes as his own stunts , in fact he always performed all the stunts himself but ceased to do so after the accident during the filming of ¨Hold Up¨(1985) . Interesting and twisted screenplay by Philippe Labro himself , along with Jacques Lanzmann , though it has some flaws and shortcomings . Colorful and evocative cinematography by Jean Penzer , considered to be one of the best French cameramen , who photographed various Belmondo films . Wonderful soundtrack by Michel Colombier , including a catching and emotive leitmotif .

The picture was successful at box office , ranking one of the highest grossing movie of its year in France . The motion picture was well written and directed by Philippe Labro , though it contains some gaps , shortfalls and some non-sense scenes . Labro is a writer and director, specially known for Tout peut arriver (1969) , The Heir (1973) and L'alpagueur or The Hunter Will Get You (1976). Journalist, songwriter and author , his parents are deemed Justs having sheltered members of the family of Maurice Bernart . He was an expert on action genre , and realized various vehicles for famous French actors , such as Yves Montand (Chance and violence ), Gerard Depardieu (Rive Droite, Rive Gauche) , Claude Brasseur (La Crime) and, of course , Belmondo (The Heir , L'alpagueur or The Hunter Will Get You) . The director Philippe Labro was a disciple and a great friend of Jean-Pierre Melville, who died three years before this shooting. Rating : 6/10 , acceptable film for Jean-Paul Belmondo fans and action aficionados .

To answer to the previous comment: finding a person knowing where he lives is quiet easy. A name on the mail box, any letter or paper in his home will give his identity. Belmondo is in the villain's house alone. OK, they could show us, but we can imagine.

What I think is worse in the story is that the "Epervier" would NEVER have let live the young man who helps him in the jewelry robbery. He kills everyone, except this young man, leaving him only injured. It's nonsense, this particular villain could not do that. He was not in such a hurry, he takes time to kill the two cops and doesn't take the time to shoot the kid! And also it's using a very bad facility in the scenario than to just make this young man, the only one the "Epervier" let live knew exactly who he was and where he lived...

I think the scenario would have been better if either the story was only between the Alpagueur and the Epervier OR between the Alpagueur and the Prison story. Two stories in the same movie makes one of them writtent quickly. I would have loved to see the Epervier character a little more explained, this was an interesting character that was underused in the movie and lost for another scenario.

A good thriller, with a very good cast and Belmondo at his best. Excellent photography, and everything you may wish, but a very important thing is missing: How did Belmondo identify the criminal? Nothing is explained. He just happens to find him, and we are not part of the secret. It is a pity, for the picture was doing well, and is very entertaining. But the rating of 8 went down to 6 in the two or three last minutes. The French are good at this type of thing, and Belmondo excels. But in this case they committed the unpardonable sin.

Good solid action for a Belmondo in great shape! Bruno Cremer is very convincing as well as a coldblooded killer using lost youth to help him carrying out his crimes. It's a very entertaining and fun to watch movie, with a very nice musical score.