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Reviews
Le battant (1983)
How cliché can you get?
Okay, I won't tell you the story, just warn you about the avalanche of clichés in this film.
Well directed, Alain Delon was a good actor; as a director and producer, I just hope he did not take his stuff seriously. From the girl who can't keep her dress on for five minutes to the Colombo-style commissary, from the sped-up car chases to the horribly banal one and only musical theme, the only way to enjoy this flick is to laugh it through.
Speaking of music, one thing for sure: Delon has no taste whatsoever in that area. I wonder what Michel Colombier's job was here (he is credited for "music coordination" or something). This is not the first instance where Delon-as-director wears out the same theme over and over throughout a film. In "Pour la peau d'un flic", a certain Bensonhurst Blues is randomly cued in and out for two hours. I jumped on my seat when I saw this tune credited at the beginning of the movie. About an hour and a half through it, two bad guys turn on their car radio; you can hear the said blues for half a second (enough to recognize it if you've heard it for two hours the week before and have anxiously been waiting for it for 90 minutes) and one of the goons exclaims: "Ah non! merde!" before switching the station to a Mozart concerto. That's it for Bensonhurst this time. This is, sad to say, the best moment in the film.
Diaboliquement vôtre (1967)
Lots of loose ends
Cinematography, set decoration and wardrobe are magnificent, but what a botched-up screenplay! You just know something is amiss and the final explanation just won't stand the least scrutiny. Ever tried to place a reel-to-reel tape recorder under the victim's pillow and operate it without a remote control? Ever gobbled a suspicious medication for weeks without inquiring what the heck it might be? The ever-watching drinking-pal-turned-doctor who just happens to be out overnight when the hero discovers all about the diabolical setup, the leading lady who certainly was not selected for her acting talent, the fetishist clone of Inspector Clouzot's Asian servant, Claude Piéplu's outré decorator number, everything in there will just make you scream uncle. Well, there still remains Delon, waking up from a 3-week coma after a car accident without a scar, just a stiff maxillary, and yes, the very good trombone jazz tune during the very "moving" opening credits (no mention of the composer, though). Lots of second-degree fun, not unlike a "good" monster movie. Try it as a double-header after Lelouch's Marriage, for instance.