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Now that French cinema surrendered to metro-sexual archetypes, a movie like "Monsieur Gangster" is one breath of masculine air to refresh those among us who stuck to the old-fashioned ways, when men listened to other men twice their weight, where a good face-punch was the most eloquent authority assessment, when roles-wise, the leader was the dealer, when guns gunned, silencers silenced and men shot first and asked the questions later.

If you're a fan of classic Warner-era gangster movies, of Tarantino before he imitated Scorsese imitating Spielberg, if you adore Jean-Pierre Melville and abhor the so-called New-Wave -this celebration of existential boredom committed by a privileged group of elitist onanists, defined as the new standard of the silver screen- "Monsieur Gangster" and his gang of buffers to please all the movie buffs, is tailor-made for you. So welcome to that exclusive clan! (Yes, that sounds like elitism but it's a reverse one, one that takes its stuff seriously enough not to take it seriously, even through the lousiest comical devices and comedic vices, just for the sake of a male-bonding good time).

"Fatheads dare everything, that's even how we recognize them" the line exceeded the film and became a real-life proverb, proved right all throughout the film, with this joyful gang of fatheads, questioning the authority of their new leader: Fernand Naudin, played by Lino Ventura in his comical break-through role. The film starts when Naudin leaves his provincial tractor's shops to meet an old friend, known as the "Mexican". He finds "The Mexican" in a deathbed and one last request: the poisoned gift that will give the film its irresistible spice: Naudin must take care of his business, including his daughter. Naudin soon starts wondering which of the racket, not-so legal, or the girl, not-so angelic, is the most insufferable.

However, we know Naudin is a man of his word not to the former lieutenants' pleasure, "you didn't take that seriously" asked one of them, "let's say I was wrong" dryly retorts Naudin. The cards are set, the antagonists are the Volfoni brothers Raoul and Paul, played by Bernard Blier, one of the most defining faces of French popular cinema, an actor whose presence enhanced every type of personality, and the droopy-eyed Jean Lefebvre, a sure value in the lovable losers' department. But he's the one who frontally threatens Naudin : "you prepare yourself for sleepless nights, migraines, nervous breakdowns as they say", the last one is said in English with a delightful French accent, only rivaled by Naudin's butler played by the Jean Gabin (literally) of characters actors: Robert Dalban.

To complete this irresistible ensemble, there is Maitre Folace, a meek and polite lawyer played by Francis Blanche, eager to protect his master's interest no matter what. His "don't touch the money, you bitch" outburst, with tickling eyes betraying a menacing nervousness, followed by a shot on Blier and Ventura, staring at the "bitch" as if their eyes pointed guns is one of the film's most hilarious moments, proving that none is to be underestimated. Yet Raoul spends half the time being punched in the face by Naudin (the film's trademark, always followed by catchy banjo music) and the other half stating that he won't take it anymore. The villains are so laughable that the film needed a German killer to keep a cloud of danger floating on Naudin's solidly-built shoulders, but it never distracts from the comedy.

The film was directed by George Lautner, who signed one of the most memorable French gangster films (including "The Professional") but it's mostly praised for its writing by Michel Audiard, the street-wise dialog-expert who gave an indelible magic poetry to Parisian slang, making him the Rimbaud of Vulgarity. Audiard is probably the most likely writer to be lost into translation, hence my fear that subtitles might kill the experience of "Monsieur Gangster", if only for the little bits in English uttered by the scene-stealing butler. Still, it's impossible to resist the dialogues, whose charm transcended generations and became catchphrases in French Pop-Culture. In one of Audiard's other written films, a woman wants to go to Rio with her boyfriend, "We don't bring sausages when we go to Frankfurt" is his laconic reply.

That's the Audiard touch; it's a man's world, made of acid dialogues and muscular confrontations. The film does lose its pace at parts, the girl, the German gangster, the soon-to-be son-in-law, played by Claude Rich, suffer by comparison with the glorious cast, but the film is redeemed by some brilliant pieces of acting and writing, immortalized in the mythical kitchen scene when the four men challenge themselves to drink one tough liquor. Lino Ventura feared that scene because he would challenge other actors used to comedy... well, the look on his face after the first drop probably cleared his doubts. Watching these four giants, speaking of alcohol, money and women is indeed the highlight of the film. And I learned that after the shooting, Ventura came back home and told his wife "we finally made it!" and from his relief, it didn't feel as they've been drinking chamomile.

Surprisingly, the film met with poor reception, abandoned by a youth, brainwashed by the Cinema's Cahiers and the Nouvelle Vague, before they realized the Emperor was as naked as Brigitte Bardot in any film she did. And if "Monsieur Gangster" was loathed by the critics, today, it's an indisputable classic of French cinema, all it took was Audiard's writing and French actors with talent as huge as their noses. A breed of men that can only invite for a sorrowed observation : "they don't make like this anymore"

So, if subtleties in subtitles, 'bang bang' in slang and Frenchy frenzy give you allergy, "Monsieur Gangster" might not be the wisest choice, no sir. This is one hell of an evening, so froggy it'll leave you groggy.

This French film is a marvel for its dialogues, they are, unfortunately, and like most French comedies, completely untranslatable into another language. Not only is it humorous expressions, but in addition, a number of expressions are comical in their employment against, by transforming nouns into adjectives or the reverse, by the use of expressions that do not match social milieu of the characters through the use of games typically french words without equivalence in another language. Most situations can be understood only if we know the French life, so it is normal that this cinematic gem have only limited success outside the French public.

Former taxi driver, sports journalist and all-round 'character' Albert Simonin, wrote his Max le Menteur trilogy in the mid-1950's. All three were filmed but the vagaries of film-making and different directors combined to make each film a separate entity. The only connecting thread between the trio is the splendid dialogue of Michel Audiard. By far the best is of course 'Touchez-pas au Grisbi' featuring Jean Gabin as Max. He turns up again in 'Le Cave se rebiffe' seven years later as a counterfieter named Ferdinand. Two years on we have 'Les Tontons Flingueurs' in which the character has morphed into Fernand and is played by the only actor capable at the time of filling Gabin's shoes, namely Lino Ventura. 'Grisbi' is pure Film Noir whilst 'Le Cave' is a gentle comedy. 'Flingueurs' is made in the same spirit as 'Le Cave' but is anything but gentle! The title literally translates as 'Gun-toting Uncles' which is not exactly 'catchy' but far stronger than the insipid alternative 'Crooks in Clover' which is more appropriate to something made by Ealing Studios. In terms of the mise-en-scene by Georges Lautner the latter is probably the weakest of the three but the characters, the 'slang' and some hilariously comic scenes have made this a cult film in France. To call the characters 'colourful' would hardly do them justice. Fernand's 'business associates' are all simply frightful and utterly devoid of redeeming features but are portrayed as a bunch of clowns and losers, especially the Paul Volfoni of Bernard Blier who suffers from delusions of adequacy. Even the teenage daughter and her composer boyfriend are terminally irritating. The best scene and ironically the one that Audiard liked the least, is where the gangsters bond and try to hold an intelligible conversation whilst imbibing a disgusting alcoholic brew described as 'a mans drink'. Another highlight is the bullet-dodging scene involving Fernand and the half-deaf president of the International Monetary Fund! Blier is as always good value and Ventura's strong presence holds the film together. They both prove that Comedy is most effective when played straight. Liberties have been taken with the original and the mix of Noir/Gangster/Comedy genres is not to everyones taste but the sheer entertainment value of this bizarre, surreal film is undeniable.

It seems like everyone makes a big deal about having to speak french, understand older french slang, etc. in order to enjoy this movie. I know about ten words of French, and still found this movie hilarious.

To assert that the dialogue is the central virtue of the film does the actors a HUGE disservice, in addition to limiting comedy to merely spoken jokes and gags. Lino Ventura is a great comedic presence, which may strike many as odd, taking into account his more well-known "serious" roles in films like Francesco Rosi's "Cadaveri eccellenti," and Jean-Pierre Melville's "Army of Shadows." He is a very underrated, and often over-looked actor who could play comedy just as well as he could play seldom-speaking leaders of the French resistance.

Although I could understand a knowledge of French culture and language enhancing some of the nuances of the dialogue, do not be swayed away from this great film by the words of others declaring it is "too French." It is a classic comedy that transcends language barriers, and certainly serves as a great light-hearted companion piece to the many distinctive French gangster films of the era. Perhaps even surpassing many of them in sheer entertainment value.

For a number of years now they have fed us movies about the adventures of mutant superheroes (o.k., I admit I have seen and enjoyed one or two of them). This was preceded by the surreal Schwarzenegger-Stallone-Van Damme-decade (also called the eighties), with action-flick actors whose muscle mass far exceeded their acting skills. Before that, there was Dirty Harry and a wild selection of anti-heroes of all sizes, shapes and colors. But when, exactly, was it, that real men disappeared from the screen? The event that caused the extinction of such dinosaurs as Lino Ventura, Jean Gabin, Lee Marvin, Humphrey Bogart and the like must have been the counter-culture of the sixties. But what a loss it caused. We had movie-stars who were real, gentlemanly (sometimes), cool, human and funny as well as ugly but sexy and we went and replaced them with a bunch of guys in a mask and cape (and I don't mean Zorro).

Luckily we all have our VCRs and DVD players and blockbuster and amazon and are able to enjoy movies like Les Tontons Flinguers, one of the funniest, coolest and yet silliest movies of all time. Every actor a character, every dialogue a gem, every scene a revelation about how to make it look easy. Go see this film before you even contemplate to watch Spiderman III!

After the Killer Tomatoes we now have the Killer Uncles (a more or less literal translation of an untranslatable movie). The level of word-play may be guessed at even by non-French speakers when the credits announce it is based on the novel 'To grisbi or not grisbi', which is, in itself, a nod to another novel and classic French movie 'Touchez-pas aux grisbi', with 'grisbi' in both cases being underworld slang for 'loot' in the sense of 'hot' money. Although it has all the trappings of a 'gangster' entry this is actually a comedy of bad manners involving two factions led respectively by Lino Ventura and Bernard Blier. While ex-wrestler Ventura has no problem acting tough Blier, arguably the best actor in the piece by light years and equally at home across the acting spectrum, plays it for laffs so that what we wind up with is a melange. Another French classic. 8/10

What is so special about this movie ? Its density... It lasts about two hours, and you don't have any time to breathe, because of the intelligence, and the spirit of every quote. It is a shame that there are no exemples of quotes from it on this site, it would make you laugh just to read them. Under the appearance of a classic dark detective movie, it is one of the funniest comedy ever made. The only thing is that, to keep the atmosfear, you ought to see it in original version (french). But, for Audiard and his humor, for Launtner and his inspired direction, and, most of all, for the actors (especially Bernard Blier) everybody in the whole world must see it at least once. One of the greatest french movies ever made (and God knows the quality of the french cinema) !

This first begins kind of schmaltzy like where is the comedy, lots of talking, only in the beginning, because then the comedy appears and it is like yes. Highlight is the action sequences. Indeed this is about the gangster element, something that is made for movies, a pedestrian subject for me preferring more fantastical elements (spies, sword busters, etc) however the movie just uses it as a dressing because the main salad is the domestic farce mixed with shootouts, happening at the same instance in numerous sequences while the gangsters try not to interfere with the regular 'civilian' people's happenings which is the hilarity happening.

Les Tontons flingueurs is a real master piece! Audiard was a genius writing in "green language" (la langue verte, slang from 50's/60's full of sharp metaphor) its really irresistible.... Unfortunately this movie cannot be translated, too bad it deserve at least 10 oscars! for acting / senario / directing / etc... JP nyc

It was one of the greatest french comedies.

Dialogs were from Michel AUDIARD, but you must listen them in French.

It's theses dialogs which have made the notoriety of this movie. Five great actors are these "Monsieur GANGSTER" (Lino Ventura, Francis Blanche, Robert Dalban, Bernard Blier and Jean Lefebvre).

The greatest scene is when these five gangsters are drinking alcohol in the kitchen.

It's one of the funniest movies I've seen. If you don't speak french, it's more difficult to understand dialogs because translation is often different that original language.

Forty year later, I love always this film "cult".

Excuse me for my poor English.

For the times, but, very light fare. Too light. Bordering on bad.

This is a great comedy where everyone knows his work and do it perfectly. There's something of the cartoon in the direction. It's interesting that's this movie of 1963 is still funny today. George Lautner created with Michel Audiard a perfect melancholy remedy.

I agree with all reviewers of this film, though they don't seem to agree one with the other. The thing is they're all right depending on how you focus on it. The other point is most of the reviewers, if not all of them, are French. And that is the point. You have to be French, otherwise, you'll pass over what makes this film so brilliant. In other words, what would be the point watching "gone with the wind" being deaf and blind? Still, if you are able to catch the delicious subtleness and unbelievable richness of Parisian argot (slang spoken for over 500 years makes it vintage. doesn't it ?), it is definitely a must see. Still, I gave it a 10 -1 rating. 10 because it's worth it, minus 1 because it's French.

Probably one of the most poorly directed classics of French cinema, but valued for Audiard's dialogue and the acting of the whole ensemble: you will still find French people able to quote huge chunks of the dialogue, and to remember the detail of performances by Ventura, Blier et al.

In mid New Wave, with its many refinements of mise-en-scene and montage, Lautner's film is a crude mix of zooms, inapposite close-ups and ugly compositions. Lautner does not pretend to rival Chabrol or Godard, though in the last sequence he includes a New Wave type allusion to his 'Monocle' films with Paul Meurisse. Without the linguistic knowledge to appreciate the subtlety of the vulgar French, or the cinematic knowledge to appreciate the nuances in the performance of the actors, I doubt if this film is accessible to an international audience, which is as it should be. There is a part of all national film cultures that is precious because it is particular. Personally, I would find it impossible to teach this film in the French Cinema courses I run, because it is too French.

I watched this movie in two sittings. It was so boring that I had to make a pause and continue the following day. The story is very silly. That is usually OK for comedies but silly do not always means funny. And this movie is not funny at all. I like intelligent comedies but this was not the case either. Until about half the movie I was quite puzzled because it seemed to me simple like a bad gangster movie, nothing funny happened. I don't get why it was funny to see the same smacking scene again and again. Some have commented about the use of French language. I guess it all went over my head as I watched it subtitled. I can speak some French but probably not to the level needed to appreciate those subtleties. I would not recommend this movie to anyone.

For performances, humor, lovely portrait of a small world and Lino Ventura in a role who seems be one of his admirable works. A story of duty, revenge, mafia and love. Using, as basic trait, great science to do the right comedy. A lovely film. Who, at the first sigh, works as parody. In fact, a film about appearences and truth. Having , as great good point, the best actors and the perfect plot.

Almost every reference to 'Les tontons flinguers' includes the phrase 'cult film'. To be honest, I don't know exactly what this expression means, but I suspect that what is meant in this case is that director Georges Lautner's film has gained a loyal audience, who enjoy watching it again every time they get the chance, and that it includes some scenes that fans know by heart and several lines that have entered popular folklore, even if not everyone knows their source. But this film also has an interesting positioning. It was released in 1963, in the midst of the 'Nouvelle Vague' revolution in French cinema. A series of "cinema du papa" filmmakers - to use the expression attributed, it seems wrongly, to Truffaut - reacted by making films in the tradition of the 40s and 50s. Some of them were really good, and 'Les tontons flinguers' was one of them. In addition, it is also a parody of 'film noir' in the American style, the genre they were in love with and which the young 'Nouvelle Vague' directors imitated. Gaumont studios initially did not believe in the success of this film and to secure financing they allied themselves with German and Italian studios for a co-production. They were wrong both on the short term, with the film having over 3 million viewers in the year of its release, and of course in the long term, 'Les tontons flinguers' becoming, deservedly, a cinematic landmark.

'Les tontons flinguers' is the last film in a trilogy of adaptations of Albert Simonin's novels that have Max le Menteur (The Liar) as their hero. Unlike the previous films in which the main role was played by Jean Gabin, here the hero, renamed Fernand Naudin, is played by Lino Ventura. Withdrawn from the business of crime for 15 years, 'Uncle Fernand' is called to Paris by his friend Louis le Mexicain (the Mexican), who is on his deathbed, to take over his small illegal business empire and especially to take care of his daughter Patricia. The heads of the different 'branches of activity' of the Mexican, who hoped to inherit and administer them as they pleased, do not come to terms with the situation. What follows is the outbreak of an underworld gangs war parallel to young Patricia's adventures that prove as difficult to control as the crime empire.

Lino Ventura fits perfectly into the role of Uncle Fernand. His comic talent is evident today, but that was not the case at that point in his career, with the actor specialized in 'tough' gangster or cop roles almost turning down the role in this film. He is surrounded by a group of lesser-known actors, although you probably know many of their figures from supporting roles in many other films. I'll give special mention to Bernard Blier, Robert Dalban, Francis Blanche and German actor Horst Frank with an icy stare that makes him look like a Daniel Craig replica (just that Craig was not born yet). Jean Lefebvre, who would later become famous in comedies, had yet to demonstrate his full talent. The story is simple and therefore can be easily followed, and Michel Audiard's dialogues, combining jargon with the language of the rich, make us constantly wait for the next memorable line. Michel Magne's music is also worth paying attention to. It is about a single theme (composed of four notes!) that is repeated throughout the film in about 13 different styles, from baroque to twist. Maurice Fellous' cinematography also serves the comedy well and helps create some memorable scenes. Watched today, 'Les tontons flinguers' seems uneven and many of the jokes have lost their effect, but those few scenes of situation and language comedy that are very successful place it among the most memorable films of the period. The actors are said to have had a blast during the shooting. This can be seen, and we, the viewers, share the feeling even after 60 years.

This reviewer was expecting to see Jean Gabin again, after having starred as "Max le Menteur" in Touchez pas au grisbi (1954) and The Counterfeiters of Paris - original title: Le cave se rebiffe (1961). Instead, Lino Ventura is now the antihero of the story.

Michel Audiart's dialogues are not as funny and sharp as in the previous films, the gun fight in the backyard is just ridiculous (the attempt at slapstick comedy with the hard-of-hearing old man fails miserably) and the famous kitchen scene only shows very bad "drunk acting".

Not to mention Ventura's obvious wrestling moves and the absence of a decent plot.