The Boss (1972)

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Movie
German title The boss
Original title Un flic
Country of production France , Italy
original language French
Publishing year 1972
length 98 minutes
Age rating FSK 16
Rod
Director Jean-Pierre Melville
script Jean-Pierre Melville
production Robert Dorfmann
music Michel Colombier
camera Walter Wottitz
cut Patricia Nény
occupation
synchronization

The boss (original title: Un flic ) is a French - Italian crime film by Jean-Pierre Melville from 1972 with Alain Delon and Catherine Deneuve in the leading roles.

action

In the French coastal town of Saint-Jean-de-Monts , a bank is robbed by a gang of gangsters shortly before Christmas. During the robbery there is an exchange of fire in which one of the gangsters is hit by a bullet. His three accomplices escape with him and then take him to a Paris hospital. However, his chances of survival are slim. The head of the gang is Simon, who runs a nightclub in Paris. It is there that he meets Police Commissioner Edouard Coleman, who is as intelligent as he is unscrupulous. They have known each other for a long time, are good friends and respect each other, even though they love one and the same woman - Cathy.

While the newspapers are reporting on the attack, Simon meets with his accomplices Louis Costa and Paul Weber in the Louvre . They decide to get their injured gangster brother Marc Albouis out of the hospital before the police can track him down and interrogate him. Disguised as a paramedic, they appear in the hospital the following evening and pretend to have to take Marc, registered as Monsieur Schmidt, to another hospital. However, the nurse on duty points out that Marc is unfit for transport. While Simon is discussing with her, Cathy, disguised as a nurse, sneaks into Marc's room and gives Marc a fatal injection. After Commissioner Coleman and his colleague Morand searched the deceased's belongings, but could not find any evidence of his true identity or possible connection to the robbery, he meets with Cathy. He pretends to arrest her. Cathy suddenly pulls his gun, but throws it on her bed and they kiss.

Through an informant, a transvestite , Coleman learns that the gang is planning an even bigger coup and is also involved in a drug smuggling ring. Simon wants to rob a train with Louis and Paul in which a rival gang is trying to smuggle drugs from Paris to Lisbon . While a storm was raging, Simon got into the moving train via a helicopter controlled by Louis. There he pretends to be a normal passenger and breaks into the cabin of the sleeping drug courier Mathieu. He knocks Mathieu down, steals two suitcases in which the drugs are hidden, and escapes by helicopter.

After the identity of Marc Albouis is established, Commissioner Coleman becomes aware of Albouis' criminal friend Louis Costa. When Louis is eating out in a restaurant a short time later, he is arrested by Coleman and his colleagues. After Louis' interrogation and confession, Coleman visits Simon in his club. However, he pretends not to know Marc Albouis, Louis Costa and Paul Weber. Coleman finally leaves the club, whereupon Simon rushes to call Paul to warn him about the police. His call comes too late, however, because the officers are already at Paul's door. When Coleman and his colleagues storm Paul's apartment, the latter shoots himself in the head. Simon then wants to flee with the drugs. From his hotel he calls Cathy who is supposed to pick him up. However, the phone call is tapped by Coleman. When Simon leaves the hotel and wants to go to Cathy's car, Coleman appears behind him. The unarmed Simon reaches into his jacket, whereupon the inspector shoots him in front of Cathy's eyes. Without paying any more attention to Cathy, Coleman moves on to his next case.

background

The coastal road in Saint-Jean-de-Monts , a location in the film

The shooting took place in Paris , Bordeaux , Saint-Jean-de-Monts and in the film studios of Boulogne-Billancourt . Director Jean-Pierre Melville and leading actor Alain Delon had already worked together successfully for The Ice Cold Angel (1967) and Four in the Red Circle (1970). The Boss was the last film Melville directed before he died of a stroke on August 2, 1973 at the age of 55 .

The film premiered on October 25, 1972 in France , where it was seen in cinemas by more than 1.46 million viewers. It was shown in German cinemas on January 16, 1973. In the GDR it was shown for the first time on March 15, 1975 on DFF 1 under the title A Police Officer on television. From March 24, 1978, the crime thriller was also shown in GDR cinemas.

Reviews

According to the lexicon of international films , the “cool narration” of the story is “of fascinating precision”. However, the film “also shows a certain formalism in the design”. For Cinema , the film was in short a "[cool], precise and intelligent gangster ballad".

At the time , Hans C. Blumenberg found that director Jean-Pierre Melville had "neglected the characterization of his characters in favor of a formally perfect staging". The result corresponds to an “idle”, but is “of a stylistic quality that still makes Un flic a very worth seeing film”.

German version

The German dubbed version was made at Aura Film in Munich .

role actor Voice actor
Commissioner Edouard Coleman Alain Delon Christian Brückner
Simon Richard Crenna Harald Leipnitz
Cathy Catherine Deneuve Helga Trümper
Paul Weber Riccardo Cucciolla Leo Bardischewski
Louis Costa Michael Conrad Gernot Duda
Morand Paul Crauchet Erich Ebert
Gaby Valérie Wilson Karin Kernke
Shooting instructor Henri Marteau Norbert Gastell

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Certificate of release for Der Chef . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , May 2012 (PDF; test number: 45 328 V).
  2. ↑ cf. jpbox-office.com
  3. ↑ The boss. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed February 19, 2020 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  4. ↑ cf. cinema.de
  5. ↑ Hans C. Blumenberg : robbers equal gendarmes . In: Die Zeit , No. 5, January 26, 1973.
  6. ↑ The boss. In: synchronkartei.de. German dubbing file , accessed on March 22, 2020 .