Borsalino

Borsalino tells the rise and fall of two small-time crooks in 1930 Marseille. Their rivalry soon becomes a strong friendship, allowing them to reach a place in the sun among other gangsters, even threatening the truce between the two ruthless families that control the city.

Jean-Paul Belmondo and Alain Delon shine in this enjoyable recreation of the ever-corrupted French city. The sets and costumes are terrific, and the music by Claude Bolling became an instant classic. So classic in fact that the director Jacques Deray over-uses it in some parts. The secondary characters are interesting somewhat but clearly overshadowed by the two leads. As for the script, it manages many enjoyable moments wandering between funny and tragic bits, however it is too hammy to totally convince and is not helped by a very dated type of editing. I don't know if it was to mimic the style of older gangster movies, but the movie should've been tighter on that point.

All in all, a very decent French movie. Far from flawless, but recommended.

Very good movie. I watched the original French version without English subtitles and although I struggled a bit with the language it was easy to follow even though my French is not fluent. What really surprised me is that the ratings for Borsalino so far have not been higher - as far as French gangster movies go I would consider it within my top 5. It is pacey with lots of action and unlike some French movies,I was never bored once watching it. The combination of Jean Paul Belmondo and Alain Delon as Capella and Siffredi worked very well and Michel Bouquet's performance as Rinaldi was also very good. My only criticism of Borasalino was that there were too many female characters linked with Capella and Siffredi and we never really learnt more about them as the story progressed. Otherwise a movie I would recommend.

I liked this film and became a Belmondo and Delon fan because of it. The story fosters traditional friendship values : Loyalty , affection , and it underwrites pursuit of dreams.

All production values are a little over dramatic , which worked for me given the slightly hammy machismo of the stars. These guys looked like they really are friends off-screen and maybe had a lot of fun making the film. They are a couple of real characters and it shows through. They're better at playing themselves than at acting

Interesting sepia stills for credit backgrounds which predate Butch Cassidy's use of them as nostalgia evocation.

Somewhat typical of foreign films of the period , the continuity was sometimes uneven . But that wasn't particularly disruptive because of the un-complex story line.

I watched this movie for the first time when i was 15 and continue watching it today,this movie is timeless, i was already familiar with Alain Delon and most of the works by Jean-Paul Belmondo,the two actors are phenomenal by themselves and were electrifying together in this movie.I find no fault in this representation of french mobsters in the 30's, and further feel that this movies should have received similar praise to movies such as our more recent "the Godfather".The movie starts off in a french Bistro with François Capella(Belmondo)shooting pool, and a lady sitting at the bar, Roch Siffredi(Delon)storms in and request the lady(Lola) to leave with him, and this results in a fist fight between Capella and Siffredi, and the movie catapults from their first meeting.The movie is well shot even by todays standards, the story is quite complete and will not leave questioning much once it is over. if you can get hold of it, it is definitely worth watching.

"Borsalino" is one of the all-time fun French gangster films. I saw it in a cinema in Paris when I studied there eons ago, but just try to find the DVD or videotape! I guess they're trying to increase its rarity value by foisting a much inferior film, Borsalino & Company, on Delon and Belmondo fans. Well, this is the genuine article, more Marseille than the real city, perhaps 70 years or so ago, so just enjoy the great dialogue and scenarios IF YOU EVER MANAGE TO GET YOUR HANDS ON THIS TAPE OR (BETTER) DVD, NOT DUBBED but with subtitles s'il vous plaît. The soundtrack by Claude Bolling (sporadically available on CD) is the perfect accompaniment, and the combination of the French cinema's two most popular young actors made this an all time favorite in France. In the final analysis, style certainly triumphs over substance, and you'll never forget you are seeing Delon and Belmondo. This film has stuck in my mind all these years, and I think you'll be just as impressed as I was... bonne chance!