I don't think that anyone who admires and respects Melville approaches this, his last film, more than probably aware of the negative notices and general feeling of disappointment, prepared to add another voice to the chorus of condemnation. One approaches - or should approach - it in search of positives and hoping against all the evidence to find something worthwhile. The opening augurs well, a brilliant set piece involving a small crew, a bank, an off-season seaside town, raw, blustery weather, and muted pastel photography. For reasons never made clear the leader of the gang, Richard Crenna, is a minor American actor who is dubbed. Melville of course made no secret of his admiration for Hollywood gangster movies so maybe he hired Crenna - when there were dozens of equally talented French actors available - as a form of indulgence. Almost inevitably the heist goes wrong leaving one of the gang badly wounded and then the eponymous character, Edouard the cop (Alain Delon) appears in what at first seems to be a parallel story emphasizing the boring routine of police work. If you're a candidate for Mensa you will eventually work out that Delon and Crenna are friends and that they share a girl friend, Catherine Deneuve, though it remains ambiguous whether or not any of the three realize the full extent of the twisted relationship. Melville also indulges his love of American Jazz by having Delon play an acceptable piano in the club owned by Crenna. The second set piece involving a train, a helicopter, and a courier is great on paper but almost risible in practice with little or no attempt to disguise the models involved. On balance this is a film that all Melville admirers will want to see ....Once.