Magic Lantern Video & Book Store
Jean-Pierre Melville
[1917-1973]
 |
short profile
movies by Jean-Pierre Melville |
"At birth man is offered only one choice – the choice of his death. But if this choice is governed "Godard is about ideas, Melville is about style, and Truffaut is about people."
by distaste for his own existence, his life will never have been more than meaningless."
— Jean-Pierre Melville
— G.E. Nordell
Jean-Pierre Melville entry at Wikipedia
Movies By Jean-Pierre Melville
Jean-Pierre Melville credits at Internet Movie Database
browse Jean-Pierre Melville on DVD at Amazon
· ·
"Vingt-quatre Heures de La Vie d'Un Clown"
{"Twenty-four Hours of The Life of A Clown"} [France 1945]
Produced, written & directed by Jean-Pierre Melville • video/DVD not available •
full credits from IMDb
"Le Silence de La Mer" [France 1949]
 | The family where a German officer is billeted in a small French village refuse to talk to him, but he chatters away anyway about his country and his idealistic views of a peaceful relationship between Germany & the French – until he visits Paris and sees what is really going on • Written & directed by Jean-Pierre Melville; starring Howard Vernon, Nicole Stéphane & Jean-Marie Robain
DVD not available; Water Bearer Films b&w subtitled VHS [11/98] out of prodn/used full credits from IMDb |
"Les Enfants Terribles" [1950]
"Quand tu Liras Cette Lettre (When You Read This Letter)" [France Nov 1953]
 | A cruel & handsome garage mechanic's seduction of a young girl turns to rape, and the girl's sister plans revenge • Co-produced & directed by Jean-Pierre Melville; starring Philippe Lemaire, Juliette Gréco, Irène Galter, Daniel Cauchy & Yvonne de Bray
video/DVD not available • full credits from IMDb |
"Bob le Flambeur" [France 1955; USA 1981 & 2001]
 | A compulsive gambler of Paris on a losing streak learns that the Deauville casino keeps a fortune in its vaults during Grand Prix weekend, and begins to plot a robbery • Co-produced, co-written & directed by Jean-Pierre Melville; starring Roger Duchesne, Guy Decomble, André Garet, Isabelle Corey & Daniel Cauchy
Criterion b&w subtitled DVD [4/2002] for $26.99 Sony b&w VHS [12/93] out of prodn/used Homevision b&w dubbed VHS [4/2002] out of prodn/used full credits from IMDb 11"x17" poster from Amazon for $9.99 |
"Fever Heat" [1956]
"Deux Hommes dans Manhattan (Two Men In Manhattan)" [1959]
"Breathless"
aka 'À Bout de Souffle' [France 1960, USA Feb 1961]
 | A small-time crook finds love (maybe) when his life is at its most dangerous point. This triumph of cinema noir reveals the truth behind our truths, thru the lives in the movie that are contami- nated by American movies and avant garde posing. The viewer is left uncertain where truth may indeed exist. Directed by Jean-Luc Godard, written by Jean-Luc Godard & François Truffaut; starring Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jean Seberg & Jean-Pierre Melville
27"x40" 'A Bout de Souffle' poster from Amazon for $17.99 Fox/Lorber b&w DVD w/Engl. subtitles [11/2001] for $21.49 Timeless Video b&w VHS w/Engl. subtitles [7/94] for $14.99 full credits from IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia |
"The Forgiven Sinner" [1961]
"Léon Morin, Prêtre (Leon Morin, Priest)" [1961]
"L'Aîné des Ferchaux (An Honorable Young Man)" [1963]
"Le Doulos (The Finger Man)"
[Pathé France Feb 1963, USA March 1964]
 | A burglar just out of prison murders a fence, steals the loot, and attempts a robbery, where he is shot by police. He gets away, and concludes that a friend informed on him • Written & directed by Jean-Pierre Melville; based on the novel by Pierre V. Lesou; starring Serge Reggiani, René Lefèvre, Philippe March, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jean Desailly, Fabienne Dali & Monique Hennessy
DVD available for Region 2 PAL-format only Interama b&w VHS [undated] out of prodn/used full credits from IMDb • watch official trailer [1/2009 upload; 2:16] online at YouTube posters from Amazon: 27"x40" white for $19.99 • 11"x17" white for $9.99 • 27"x40" red for $19.99 |
"Le Deuxième Souffle (Second Breath)" [1966]
"Le Samouraï" [France Oct 1967; USA July 1972]
 | Double-crossed by the men who hired him to kill a nightclub owner, a perfectionist hitman tries to find the people who betrayed him before either the police or his employer's thugs find him • Co-written & directed by Jean-Pierre Melville; based on the Joan McLeod novel "The Ronin"; cinematography by Henri Decaë; starring Alain Delon, François Périer, Nathalie Delon, Cathy Rosier, Jacques Leroy & Michel Boisrond
Criterion subtitled widescreen color DVD [10/2005] for $21.99 New Yorker Video letterbox color VHS [6/2000] out of prodn/used full credits from IMDb 11"x17" poster from Amazon for $9.99 |
"L'Armée des Ombres (Army of Shadows)"
[France 1969; USA April 2006]
 | A leader of the French resistance is betrayed to the Germans and sent to an internment camp; he escapes and exacts revenge on the traitor • Written & directed by Jean-Pierre Melville, based on Joseph Kessel's novel; starring Lino Ventura, Simone Signoret, Paul Meurisse, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Claude Mann, Paul Crauchet & Christian Barbier
Criterion widescreen color DVD [5/2007] for $35.99 full credits from IMDb official movie site |
 | "L'Armée des Ombres" [1943 novel] by Joseph Kessel
French & European Publns pb [10/86] for $16.95 Pocket French-language pb [5/2001] out of print/rare |
"Le Cercle Rouge (The Red Circle)"
[France Oct 1970; USA Dec 1990]
 | Newly released from prison, an aristocratic thief robs a mob boss and then enlists an escaped murderer and a sharpshooter in a jewel heist, while a cat-loving police superintendent patiently pursues them Written & directed by Jean-Pierre Melville; color cinematography by Henri Decaë; starring Alain Delon, André Bourvil, Gian Maria Volontè, Yves Montand, André Ekyan, René Berthier & François Périer Criterion widescreen subtitled color DVD [10/2003] 2 disks for $35.99 full credits from IMDb |
"Un Flic" aka "A Cop" or "Dirty Money"
[France Oct 1972; Allied Artists USA 1975]
 | A tired cop chasing a bold gang of thieves is having an affair with the gorgeous wife of his best friend, a Paris night club owner (and leader of the gang) • Written & directed by Jean-Pierre Melville; starring Alain Delon, Richard Crenna, Catherine Deneuve, Riccardo Cucciolla, Michael Conrad & Paul Crauchet
Anchor Bay widescreen color DVD [7/2001] for $21.99 Anchor Bay letterbox color VHS [7/2001] out of prodn/used full credits from IMDb |
"The Good Thief" [Fox Searchlight April 2003]
 | Color remake of Melville's "Bob le Flambeur" [1955]: A heroin addict/retired thief plans one last job, the double robbery of a casino • Adapted & directed by Neil Jordan; cinematography by Chris Menges; starring Nick Nolte, Nutsa Kukhianidze, Ouassini Embarek, Emir Kusturica, Tchéky Karyo, Gérard Darmon, Mark & Michael Polish, Saïd Taghmaoui & Marc Lavoine
Fox widescreen color DVD [5/2003] for $4.97 Fox color VHS [1/2004] out of prodn/used full credits from IMDb |
Works About Jean-Pierre Melville
"Jean-Pierre Melville" [Paris, 1964] by Jean Wagner
not available in America
 |
"Melville On Melville" [London, 1971] by Rui Nogueira Viking pb [4/72] out of print/used Viking hardcover [4/72] out of print/used |
"Underworld U.S.A." [London, 1972] by Colin McArthur
Viking pb [11/72] out of print/scarce
Viking hardcover pb [11/72] out of print/scarce
 |
"Le Cinéma selon Jean-Pierre Melville" [Paris, 1973] by Rui Nogueira Editions de l'Etoile mass pb [11/96] out of print/used |
"Jean-Pierre Melville" [Paris, 1983]
by Jacques Zimmer & Chantal de Béchade
Edilig French-language pb? [1/83] out of print import/scarce
"Jean-Pierre Melville: De l'Oeuvre et l'Homme" [France, 1996]
by Denitza Bantcheva
not available in America
 | "Kino der Nacht: Gespräche mit Jean-Pierre Melville" [2002] by Rui Nogueira, Herausgegeben von Robert Fischer English title: "Cinema of The Night: Discussions With Jean-Pierre Melville" Alexander Verlag Berlin pb [10/2002] not available in America |
 | "Jean-Pierre Melville: An American In Paris" [2003] by Ginette Vincendeau British Film Institute 9¼x6 pb [9/2003] for $22.00 British Film Institute 9½x6 hardcover [9/2003] for $85.95 |
L i n k s
Jean-Pierre Melville entry at Wikipedia
Jean-Pierre Melville credits at Internet Movie Database
here on the Jean-Pierre Melville [1917-73] Page at Magic Lantern Video & Book Store
top of page • short profile • movies by Jean-Pierre Melville • works about Jean-Pierre Melville • links
v v
Visiting this webpage from outside the U.S.A.? It is possible to make purchases from these coded Amazon (USA) links
via other Amazon sites: just follow these instructions.
Online sales in association with 
top of this page • • back to Magic Lantern's Cinema of France Pages
back to Magic Lantern homepage