Per la pelle di un poliziotto

French cinema of nineteen eighties was known for its numerous popular films which gave a new dimension to box office collections."Pour La Peau D'Un Flic" is one such film which is not so much known by ordinary film viewers both in France and elsewhere.This might have something to do with the manner in which this film was distributed. It is sure that loyal Alain Delon fans would be aware that this film marked the beginning of his directorial career in 1981.Alain Delon gives one of his career's finest performances as a detective who would go to any length in order to bring cold blooded criminals to justice.As a film director he has not fought shy of portraying what ails police forces in France.In "Pour La Peau D'Un Flic",policemen are shown as real human beings with their fair share of weaknesses.Alain Delon's acting performance has too many shades of similarities with American actor Al Pacino although it would be politically incorrect to suggest such a comparison.This is a good film for all those people who would like to see Alain Delon both as an actor as well as a director in a same film.

In Paris, the ex-cop Choucas (Alain Delon) is a private detective that works with a mysterious partner, Tarpon, and the secretary Charlotte (Anne Parillaud). He is presently working in an embezzlement case of an employee of the pharmacist Jude (Pierre Belot). When the middle-aged Isabelle Pigot (Annick Alane) hires him to investigate the disappearance of her blind twenty year-old daughter Marthe Pigot (Ariele Semenoff) that worked at the Drillard Foundation for blinds, the Police Inspector Coccioli (Daniel Ceccaldi) seeks Choucas out and asks him to drop the case. But Choucas proceeds with the investigation and schedules an encounter with Isabelle in a square, but she is murdered with a shot on the forehead. Chouca continues to investigate and soon the dirty Chief Inspector Madrier (Jacques Pisias) tries to kill Chouca, but he is only wounded and kills the inspector in self-defense. Then two criminals abduct Chouca but he succeeds to escape. He meets his secret partner, the retired Chief of Police Haymann (Michel Auclair), and Charlotte and they disclose a case of narcotics. Further, Choucas learns that he has been manipulated by Coccioli and other Chiefs of Police.

"Pour la peau d'un flic" is a violent, funny and complex story of murder and manipulation in the debut of Alain Delon as director. He follows the genre of Jean-Pierre Melville, and the movie has violence, murder, rape, torture but with humor. Anne Parillaud shines in the role of the cynical and funny cinephile Charlotte. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Na Pele de um Tira" ("In the Skin of a Cop")

Obviously I'll watch anything with Tyrone Power or Alain Delon, but even I surprised myself with this. And I enjoyed it! Of course.

First off, may I say again that if there's anything I hate it's dubbing. Here Delon sounded like Robert Conrad. Everyone spoke English with American accents although the film takes place in France.

Someone here saw it in French because when Delon is injured and screams, his secretary tells him Burt Lancaster would never scream like that. The person who reviewed it said the name used was Belmondo. I wish I'd seen it in French.

Ex-cop Choucas, now a PI, is presently working on an embezzlement case at a pharmacist's. Then Isabelle Pigot hires him to investigate the disappearance of her blind daughter, Marthe Pigot, who worked at a foundation for the blind. Police Inspector Coccioli urges him to drop the case. But Choucas doesn't.

Choucas not only witnesses a killing, but is nearly killed himself, wounded, fights off two men in his office, and then his secretary is abducted. It doesn't seem as if anyone wants him to find Marthe.

Most of this film is a routine PI film, but it has humor, some good action, a little romance, and a bang-up finale. Delon is so sexy - and he wears the tightest pair of jeans I've ever seen. In fact, here his body has matured and the jeans push up some skin...when he shows his secretary where he was wounded, his short is off; he pulls the jeans down a little and sucks in that gut for all it's worth. Just a little trivia: This was something they always taught actors who stood in profile, but they don't seem to do it any longer. Dick Powell turned down the TV show Richard Diamond because "I can't hold my stomach in for 28 weeks."

Anyway, an enjoyable film.

This is not a real review, it should be taken more as a collection of impressions on the film.

Very simple film but at the same time very beautiful and intriguing. Classic detective story with the usual conspiracy stuff to pull the threads of this story which would like to be very convoluted but is quite simple even if with some small plot holes which make some passages complex to understand or even real forcing done just to make everything proceed otherwise it would have been almost impossible to continue. So all in all the film is very nice, it's a shame about the small plot holes but you can get over it by looking at the film as a whole.

Sometimes we need to get reminded that even cheaply produced movies can be great fun. Alain Delon's Director Debut here comes as a thirteen in a dozen French "policier" flick. The difference is that the actors are obviously having great fun on the set while the movie is presented with a well mixed variety of Violence, fun and some smart lines.

Alain Delon is cool on camera and even behind the camera. A smart fun but further unmemorable film. Alain continued to direct his next to films as well (although only credited for le battant).

Pour la peau d'un flic is an inseparable part of my Delon movie collection.