Peur sur la ville

Oh, how I love the raw and gritty 70's action cinema! Most of it was all about rude and extremely unorthodox macho police detectives hunting down utterly deranged psychopaths that leave a trail of terror and bloodshed throughout the most major cities of our world. The US delivered a couple of brilliant milestones in the genre (like "Dirty Harry" and "The French Connection"), Italy is probably world record holder with all their masterful "Poliziotteschi" classics, and also France proudly owns a handful of goodies. Henri Verneuil's "Peur sur la Ville" is a prototypic 70's cop thriller, and this definition basically translates into: high adrenalin action from start to finish, straightforward but tense plot lines, cool cops, nightmarish criminals, sharp dialogs, pitch-black humor and an awesome soundtrack! J-P Belmondo is absolutely terrific as the dry and sarcastic Commissioner Letellier, charged with the case of a misogynic killer who menaces his victims via the phone prior to actually strangling them. Letellier is initially quite reluctant to lead the investigation, as he's too preoccupied with catching the bank robber that killed his previous partner, but then manages to conjoin the two man hunts. The killer, who baptized himself Minos, is a delightful lunatic with one creepy-looking glass eye and a rather peculiar opinion on femininity. "Peur sur la Ville" features many recurring highlights, like the many sardonic interactions between Commissioner Letellier and his partner Moissac, but of course the most obvious aspect to worship here is the action. Belmondo literally bounces around Paris, from the rooftops of apartment buildings to all the way down in the subway network. One particular chase sequence lasts for nearly twenty minutes and includes both of Letellier's suspect targets. Making it all even more impressive is the fact that J-P Belmondo performed his own stunts. Gazing at some of the set pieces, I can assure you that he repeatedly must have risked his neck throughout this production. Nearly forty years later now, films like "Peur sur la Ville" may indeed come across as somewhat dated and overly clichéd, but it's still tremendously exhilarating and entertaining. Besides, back then those clichés weren't clichés just yet. It's just indescribably charming and fun to watch car-chases featuring those typical light European automobiles making random casualties left, right and center. The climax is tense, albeit a bit tedious and overly stretched, and you won't notice for a second that this is actually quite long for an action/thriller (+120min). Last but definitely not least, the always reliable Ennio Morricone delivers a dazzling soundtrack as well. Hearing his eerie tones during the opening credits, and you just know you're about to witness an overall excellent movie.

This movie was a replacement in France. It marks the entry of a new criminal type(Minos) in a scenery unprecedented(the cold tower).The introduction is very efficient,a woman alone in her apartment,harass by the voice of Minos. Commissaire Letellier will be change his méthods for catch Minos. The opposition between the old-fashion criminal(Marcucci) and the modern(minos) is the symbol of a new area. The stunts are incredible(belmondo=keaton and Jackie Chan)specially the chase on the subway.The Veber's dialogues are very punchy. 8/10

Jean Paul Belmondo and his associate, Charles Denner, play tough cops after two killers in "Fear Over the City." Although not listed in the credits, the city of Paris plays a major supporting role. One killer, Marcucci, is a bank robber Belmondo's character is after for killing a fellow cop during an auto chase. At one point later in the picture, Belmondo is on the roof of a Paris Metro car above ground as it goes though Paris, with the cop killer inside the train. The viewer gets a chance to see the city sights as the train zips along.

The second killer, who uses the name "Minos," wants to rid the world of sexual immorality by targeting women he finds objectionable. Belmondo gets into a gunfight with Minos while on the sloping roof of a store, apparently the Galleries Lafayette. Director Verneuil does a great job of adding thrills as Belmondo slips on the sloping roof several times, almost falling off, all the while shooting it out with Minos. The pursuit of Minos after the roof fight leads to a chase through Paris, past the Eiffel Tower and through downtown streets, Belmondo's police car after Minos, on a motorcycle.

In this movie Belmondo gets a chance to play a real tough cop, one who shoots back at a suspect, hitting him, and then ignores him as he asks for an ambulance. Instead, Belmondo takes a break, reading a magazine in the wounded man's apartment until the guy talks. There is that scene in the basement of a bar, where 38 illegal aliens from Mali rent space from the bar owner. 1975 and this movie shows illegals forced to live in double or triple bunk beds in a storage basement. Belmondo's bell bottom pants have dated, but not that basement scene nor the professionalism the cast and crew bring to this movie.

"Peur Sur La Ville" (aka. "Fear Over The City"/"The Night Caller") of 1975 is a great and excellently made French Thriller with the great Jean-Paul Belmondo in the lead. While this film was clearly inspired by American cult flicks, such as "Dirty Harry", "Bullit" or the "French Connection", and furthermore took its influence in early 70s Italian Gialli and Poliziotteschi, it remains very French and quite original. The story may not be the most original ever, but the way it is executed, the brilliant photography and director Henry Verneuil's great sense for stylistic tricks give this an immense originality. Commisaire Jean Lettelier played by Belmondo is the French equivalent to Clint Eastwood's Dirty Harry and the tough coppers of Italian cinema played by actors like Maurizio Merli and Henry Silva. While the cop played by Bebel is an unorthodox tough guy like his American and Italian counterparts, he is also a typically French macho, talkative, chain-smoking and always wearing elegant clothes. This is a a French/Italian co-production, and while its characters and mood are very French, it uses many elements of contemporary Italian genre-cinema.

Comissaire Jean Lettelier (Belmondo) is a tough Paris cop, who is in desperate search for a gangster named Marnucci, who has once shot a civilian while escaping from Letellier after a bank robbery. But Lettelier has little time to focus on the gangster he is after. A psychopathic killer who calls himself Minos terrorizes the French capital, murdering women whom he considers morally reprehensible... The film delivers the popular 'tough cop vs. murderous psycho' formula in an excellent and visually stunning manner. Both the action- and the suspense-sequences are photographed brilliantly, in supreme camera angles and using great visual gimmicks (I won't spoil anything by giving examples). The performances are great. I'm a Belmondo-fan in general, and the role of the the rough-and-ready copper fits Bebel like a glove. Charles Denner makes a very good sidekick as Inspector Moissac, and the rest of the performances are also very good, especially Adalberto Maria Merli. With 120 minutes, the film is quite long for a cop-thriller, but it never seems long. Since the film is brilliantly shot, full of action and maintains the suspense from the beginning to the end, these two hours go by very quickly. Apart from great suspense and action, a brilliant visual style, and a great leading performance and supporting cast, the film profits from an ingenious score. All things considered "Peur Sur La Ville" is a tantalizing and great Thriller that no fan of 70s cinema should miss. Highly recommended!

What we have here is a crime thriller that includes most of the clichés of the genre, but does it in such a way that it feels original due to the execution. Henri Verneuil's film is really not what I was expecting it to be at all; it's actually a lot more than just a film about cops hunting a vicious psychopath and while not everything about the film works, what does work works brilliantly and this is certainly among the best European crime thrillers of the 1970's. The film is a French and Italian co-production, and while it's clear that the film is much more French than Italian; we still get some trademarks of Italian cinema thrown in and the film has elements of both the Polizi and Giallo genres. The plot simply focuses on an unknown serial killer that targets loose women in Paris by way of phone calls and later murder. Commissioner Jean Letellier and Inspector Moissac are put on the case and have to go through the Parisian underworld before coming close to catching the killer and discovering his insane reason for murdering the women of Paris.

The thing that really makes this film stand out is the leading performances courtesy of Jean-Paul Belmondo and Charles Denner. The pair fit into their roles excellently individually and have a great chemistry also, which director Henri Verneuil is keen to exploit as much as possible as the two actors provide the film with most of its best moments and also deliver some comedy. The film is not overly gory and the focus is never on the murders; although there are a few featured and the way that the director focuses on the killer's black gloves is a nice nod towards Giallo. The film features many of the crime film staples such as car chases and shootouts; a sequence that sees the main protagonist chase the killer in the middle of the film is excellently staged and very thrilling. The film changes pace many times throughout but the director always manages to keep things interesting. Adalberto Maria Merli's portrayal of the villain is suitably demented and detestable and the way that the film boils down towards the conclusion is well done and completely unexpected. Overall, this is an excellent film that doesn't deserve to be forgotten about and therefore comes highly recommended!