Les Tontons flingueurs

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!

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.

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.

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.

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) !