Mort d'un pourri

The doorbell rings twice, then Delon wake up, open the door where his friend a politician come in and tells him that committed a murder to takes a deadly files which was been blackmailed by an assistent having to kill him, that's the opening this fabulous french movie, besides those files contains several powerful politics of a high level of the government, bribery scandals unleashed many bodies along the way, an intricate net of corrupted politicians are in danger under those hot files, even reaching at state department which includes the Minister of justice himself, the police splited in two separate investigating were on relentless pursuit.

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First watch: 2019 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 8.5

Those who anticipate, as I did, that this will be yet another of the Alain Delon 'policiers' of this period, are in for a pleasant surprise.

In the classic French policier/film noirs the goodies and the baddies are sharply defined but in the hybrid 'neo-polar' genre that flourished in the 1970's one is none too sure whom to trust. The dark and sinister forces at work here are the corrupt politicians, dodgy policemen and shadowy multi-nationals.

This stylish piece directed by Georges Lautner is arguably one of the best of its type. It is a little verbose but with dialogue by Michel Audiard spoken by this excellent cast one doesn't mind too much.

The 'uncredited' contribution to the screenplay by Claude Sautet serves to enhance the film's quality.

Alain Delon is at the height of his popularity here and received a César nomination for his performance as a moral crusader. He both produces and stars and again plays opposite the splendid Maurice Ronet while Stéphane Audran, Daniel Ceccaldi and Klaus Kinski are great value as always. By all accounts Herr Kinski, much to everyone's surprise and relief, turned out to be a real pussycat. Delon's partner at the time, Mireille Darc, who made a few films for this director, has a pretty thankless role as Delon's partner! The eye candy is supplied by Ornella Muti. Who is the murderer? Well, as Agatha Christie reminds us, it is always the one you suspect the least.

Tremendous production values here with legendary Henri Decae replacing Lautner's regular cameraman Maurice Fellous. Lautner has again used the much respected composer Philippe Sarde and as a bonus we have the sound of the saxaphone played by the brilliant but troubled Stan Getz. The film just about sustains its length.

France is certainly no stranger to political scandals so this particular genre must really have struck a cord but of course the French do not have a monopoly in this regard.

As a certain Henry Kissinger once observed: "Corrupt politicians make the other 10% look bad"!

"The Death of a Corrupt Man" is an outstanding French thriller with elements of the political and psych thriller, gangster movies and the typical conspiracy films of the seventies. Casted with some of the best European actors of that time - Alain Delon, Ornela Muti, Stephane Audran, Mireille Darc and madman Klaus Kinski - it tells the story of a big conspiracy with a corrupt politician getting rid of all his opponents. Now it's lawyer Alain Delon's turn to fight the power. Of course he's becoming the target of some killers soon, a wild hunt begins where several people lose their lives until Delon finds the real villain. The pacing is fast, the plot twisted and thrilling, and the really good actors and clever direction add much impact to this powerful thriller with some furious action scenes including a great truck chase. If you get a video or DVD copy of that film or find it in your TV guide, watch it!

When Xavier 'Xav' Maréchal (Alain Delon) is awaken by his old friend Deputy Philippe Dubaye (Maurice Ronet), he learns that Philippe has killed the also politician Serrano (Charles Moulin) that has a dossier with documents proving the corruption of several politicians and businessmen including Philippe and was blackmailing him. Xavier accepts to provide an alibi to his friend and to follow the investigation to help Phillippe, who has stolen the dossier. But soon Xavier finds that a network of powerful men wants to retrieve the documents and he has to run to survive.

"Mort d'un pourri", a.k.a. "Death of a Corrupt Man", is a thriller based on politics and the related corruption of the Powers That Be. The plot is full of action with a hopeless conclusion. The beauty of Ornella Muti is impressive. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "A Morte de um Corrupto" ("The Death of a Corrupt Man")

Terrific cast, lovely score and views of Paris, but Georges Lautner was always a mediocre director and it shows badly here with a very challenging script including many monologues and action scenes (a couple of car chases).

Delon as a producer-actor is always the same type: boring, verging on irritating hyper-cool hyper-straight... a supercharged common man. Since the dozen top actors in the supporting cast are all excellent (despite the pedestrian directing) it does not bog down the movie. But the heavy dialogue about political corruption all-around does put the movie in a merry-go-round that lasts for two hours. Not really my idea of a sharp noir.

The car chases (Rémi Julienne) are well-paced but kind of repetitive. Nice try to have one with trucks but it does not add much to the movie. All in all the 'irremediably corrupt political landscape' subtext is nicely impregnating the whole movie, thanks to Michel Audiard, but it gives a damp movie, like a fine pastry dumped for too long in an alcohol-laced preparation.