Le Gendarme et les Extra-terrestres

Louis de Funes and company discover that a flying saucer has landed, and the alien can imitate humans almost perfectly, if you ignore minor details like drinking gasoline, shooting lasers from its eyes and sounding like a hollow metal drum. But then nobody is perfect.

Jacques Tati once said that if he wanted to, he could have made Hulot movies and wound up a millionaire. He offered some titles, including 'Hulot in St. Tropez'. A bunch of standard gags are included, including de Funes dressing up like a nun and riding a bicycle.

I saw this movie at the cinema back in the day, and I remember I was slightly disappointed then because there were no actual alien monsters, just humans making metallic noises and stiff movements. However, rewatching it today I'm impressed what a clever little movie this is. Going into a genre which is clearly beyond its budget, arming its heroes only with a bucket of water, it plays virtuously on the classic doppelganger theme. Again and again, aliens and their flying saucer appear, but who will believe the eyewitnesses that they are among us? Cruchot and his team on their 5th mission (of 6 in total) are fighting an amusing battle, dedicated to the max. The flick was definitely better than I remembered it.

Botcher Cruchot encounters himself attempting to save people of Saint Tropez from an outer space invasion carried out by humanoid aliens . As always , there appears customary gendarmes partners , Marechals (Michael Modo, Maurice Risch, Jean Pierre Rambal, Guy Grosso) , chief adjutant Jerome (Michael Galabru) , but this time isn't the sympathetic Jean Lefevre . When they aware an outer space saucer the Gendarmerie Nationale is revolutionized , Ludovic Cruchot (Louis De Funes) goes into in action , and he's secretly moving in disguise , dressing as a nun . The only way to discover the Extra-Terrestres from real human is which they feel deep thirst and take compulsively oil drinks ; furthermore they sound like empty metallic cans when they punch them . Then , the highlights happen as when the aliens impersonate as gendarmes and the events go wrong .

This is an amusing story and pretty entertaining farce with the master comic Luis De Funes . Lively situations full of slapstick , slapdash and too much fun . The pic contains a light criticism to French police called Nationale Gendarmerie . Louis De Funes undertakes several adventures , overacting , as always , as he puts intense mocking faces , grimaces , tongue twister and lots of mimic gesticulation . Claude Gensac , as ordinary Ludovic Cruchot's spouse, she collaborated five films as wife , however this time doesn't appear , being substituted by Maria Mauban . Fine local photography with luminous sun under St. Tropez's blue sky . Lively and catching musical score by Raymond Lefevre includes usual leitmotif with musical background on habitual ending parade where the gendarmes are replaced by false aliens . However , it packs cheesy and ridiculous special effects referring the flying saucer . The movie is ingeniously written and directed by regular director series , Jean Girault . If you like Funes' nutty acting, you'll like this one.

Other movies about our intimate gendarmes are the following : ¨Gendarme of St. Tropez¨ , ¨Gendarme get married¨ , ¨Gendarme at New York¨ , ¨Gendarme takes off¨ and the last acting of the great Louis De Funes , an authentic Farceur: ¨Gendarme and the Gendarmettes¨.

This comedy is full of background jokes which you don't spot the first time round, (or even 3rd time). Funes is brilliant. We saw this several times on a rainy holiday! My kids loved it.

The plot meanders a bit. Comedy without gross-out, those were the days!!

Actually all the films Louis de Funés participated are great. Especially the gendarme films. I watched this one last week an I am rather impressed. He and his partners played convincingly once again. It always makes lots of fun to watch them, particularly if Ludovic drives through the picturesque landscape of Saint Tropez.

Saint Tropez is like a dream. But not for the gendarms. This time an UFO is sighted by one of the gendarms. However, nobody believes him. Until Ludovic himself sees the UFO landing - and flying away at once. But nobody believes him as well. And then the first aliens come to Saint Tropez...

Well, the film is even a little creepy and eerie as I think. Perhaps I would have expected another end; the film ended a little sudden. But that's a matter of taste.