Kattiera Nana I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Solemplex To me, this movie is perfection.

Curapedi I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Borserie it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.

Edgar Soberon Torchia A beautiful film, "Casque d'Or" refuses to be cataloged as a tale at the edge of melodrama and opts for tragedy in a poetic tone rarely expressed with so much visual richness and verbal economy. The story is set during the "belle époque," between prostitutes and "Apaches" (name given to marginal Parisians in late 19th century and early 20th century), based on a real case occurred in 1902, a love triangle between a streetwalker and two ruffians, played by a radiant Simone Signoret as the prostitute Marie (nicknamed "Casque d'Or" for her blonde mane), Serge Reggiani as the carpenter she falls in love with, and Claude Dauphin as a ruthless ruler of pimps and wine dealer. The story evolves with violent effusions and moments of intense lyricism, expressed through beautiful black & white images and characterizations where gestures and glances shine with precision - especially Simone Signoret's eyes, as when she says goodbye to her future lover in a ballroom next to the river. Jacques Becker turned it into a masterpiece, so by the late 1950s he was not targeted by the attacks of the "nouvelle vague" rebels (Chabrol, Truffaut, Godard et al). It is good to remember that these young men, although they made good films, quite often made unfair judgments of the cinema of old masters, as Carné, Clouzot or Duvivier... because they wanted to make cinema and the industry did not give them entrance. I do not know if Carné, Clouzot or Duvivier, who made "cinéma de papa" (pejorative term coined by Truffaut) had any fault, but some of the films that were rejected are far from being despicable productions, and in many cases far superior than their detractors' own movies. In any case, Becker did two more great works, "Hands Off the Loot" in 1954 with Jean Gabin and Dora Doll, and in 1960 his last film, "The Hole" (Le trou), a classic drama about a jailbreak. "Casque d'Or" is absolutely recommended.

Teyss "Casque d'Or" has long been an underrated movie and Jacques Becker an underrated director. When it came out, it was a complete flop in France. Criticisms revolved around the mismatching star couple (Simone Signoret was almost as tall as Serge Reggiani, and more corpulent), the simplistic love story, minimal psychology and tragic ending. It was reassessed years later, notably by the "New Wave" directors, and now stands as a masterpiece, the best film of one of the best French directors.The title literally means "Golden helmet", the main female role's nickname, after her blond hair. The movie is seemingly of the classic genre: image is black and white with a standard ratio of 4/3; the story is linear with regular pacing and no flashbacks; symbols are traditional (city versus countryside, interiors versus exteriors, the ill-fated café, the blind men at the end). However, this is only apparent. Image is exceptionally delicate, with subtle tones of grey, very sharp texture and extremely deep views. Psychology is condensed to emphasise form and other content: a modern feature. We could hence qualify the movie as the quintessence of classic cinema announcing modern form, a "meta-classic". Likewise, it is more than a brilliant reconstitution of late-19th century France: its story and themes are timeless.*** WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS ***The movie is structured around social milieus: criminals, prostitutes, workers, bourgeois, policemen. Each milieu has its own rules. You immediately recognise persons by their clothing: bourgeois criticise the prostitutes at the beginning; "don't wear a cap when coming to my place", Leca tells his men, etc. Criminals kill but do not betray. Prostitutes help each other. Workers do not take money if it is not earned. Symbolically, because Leca thought he could act above these rules, he will die: he has a cover-up work, he mingles with the police, he kills Anatole, he betrays Raymond, he breaks his promise to Marie.Milieus do not mix. When they do, there generally is trouble. Manda joins the group at the beginning: he fights with Roland. Marie meets Manda around his workplace: she is insulted by his fiancée. Manda goes to the café: he kills Roland. Anatole warns the police: he is murdered. The final murder of the criminal Leca by the worker Manda happens at the police station: three milieus are involved.In such an environment, the love story develops against the lovers' milieus. It is love at first sight, there is no explanation why they fall for each other, and it does not actually matter: what counts is their relationship and its consequences. Marie and Manda barely talk, which does not reduce, but on the contrary increase the strength of their relationship (although she does somewhat play with him at the beginning, maybe to test him).Social segregation increases the importance of windows and openings through which characters look at other milieus: Raymond looks at Manda working, the bourgeois look inside the café, the policemen look at Manda after he killed Leca. In this context of social postures, people intensely stare at each other. Gazes are crucial, more important than words. When Manda announces Raymond is about to die, looks immediately turn towards his best friend Paul. After Raymond died, the four criminals angrily look at Leca who goes away: without a word, we instantly understand Raymond told them about Leca's betrayal before dying, and so does he. Logically, the movie ends on a final important gaze: Marie specifically goes to a hotel to see Manda being executed. These are only a few examples, towards the end.Visually, gazing is articulated by formidable depth of field (we see sharply very close and very far, as in real life), frequent close shots (we seem to be part of the scenes) and frequent subjective shots (we see what characters see, notably Marie and Manda). We are hence immerged in the movie: we watch characters like they watch each other.This "in situ" viewing is reinforced by life-like elements: apparent simplicity of dialogues; strong presence of secondary roles, while the two main characters' dialogues are voluntarily reduced; collateral and seemingly pointless images (e.g. the memorable shot on the newly-wed in the church). All these increase the authenticity of the movie, yet transcended by superb image and direction, like artistic photos beautify reality.In this movie where eyesight is key, the ending is signalled by two blind men singing: this exterior element disrupts all-important gazing and tragedy unravels. Their famous song "Le temps des cerises" (the period of sherries) conveys a nostalgic message of short-lived happiness: it tells about summertime (that is brief) and love (that is gone); historically, it was an iconic tune during the 1871 Parisian revolt against oppression (that was crushed). Hence the song represents a transition between the beautiful hopes of the two lovers and the coming tragedy. This compelling allegory is reinforced by the repetition of the musical theme in different forms, binding the last scenes together in progressive culmination: the blind men sing, then an orchestra distantly plays off-screen, then a flute plays and ultimately the orchestra plays full-scale."Casque d'or", fundamentally, is a story about impossible redemption and happiness. We believe the lovers can succeed when they spend idyllic moments in the countryside, away from the violent city, close to where they initially met. However there is no escaping one's milieu. Marie thought she could give up prostitution, but has to go back to Leca. Manda thought he could avoid being a delinquent (he previously spent five years in jail) to become a worker, but kills twice and is executed. In parallel to the love story, the infallible friendship between Manda and Raymond also cross milieus; yet both eventually die.This tragic message and ending is somewhat smoothed by the movie's final image: Marie and Manda dance together, alone at last in the sunny open-air dance hall where they first met. They swirl to the background, as if fading in Marie's memory.

Polaris_DiB This film doesn't work for me, which is weird considering that I'm familiar with both the director and the lead in "passionate" films, and yet this one didn't give what it pretty much advertised itself as being. Becker's "Touchez Pas au Grisbi" seemed to have a lot more personality and emotion, while Simone Signoret's part in "L'Armee des ombres" was a lot more love-able.The story is of a love-triangle (or square of sorts) within a small gang that gets set off by the introduction of reformed criminal Manda. Jealous boyfriend Raymond, boss Leca, and Manda find themselves all charged with getting the girl, but Manda's reformed nature makes him pure and true to his world, Raymond's jealousy makes him impotent, and Leca's hidden approaches creates the tragic ending.It's a good story, and in fact is well-shot and directed. The problem is that it all happens so quickly and needlessly. Marie and Manda fall into each-other's arms practically immediately, aspects like the fact that Manda is engaged gets mentioned and then forgotten as if unimportant, the character that introduces Manda to the gang disappears until he's needed for backstabbing Manda, and so on, everything just sort of tossed around until it's needed again (even some shots just fade-out in the middle of the action, once the story no longer cares for what's going to be said). The problem with a movie of this type being this way is that it hinges on romantic notions of love, which Serge Reggiana manages to present well enough with his acting, but which happens with none of the other characters. It's biggest flaw as far as I can tell is that I couldn't fall in love with Marie, who really didn't seem like that beautiful or interesting person at all--except that I was told to love her through the copious glowing "love shots" with the classic approach to soft lighting.What's fascinating to me is that Marcel Carne worked on this movie too, which seems that between he and Becker, you'd think that this would be one of the most romantic and passionate movies ever. None of it really presents itself, and it's Belle Epoque period stylization makes it look more goofy than, say, carnivalesque or romantic.--PolarisDiB

jotix100 Jacques Becker's "Casque d'or" is a fine example of the best in the French cinema. At times, this splendid 1954 film, keeps reminding us about paintings of the impressionist school, especially Renoir, because it takes us back to that era. In fact, the beginning of the film almost gives the impression we are witnessing characters that inspired the painters of that art movement."Casque d'or" is enhanced by the magnificent black and white photography of Robert Lefevbre who has a poetic way to get the best of what M. Becker intended him to do. The atmospheric music of Georges Van Parys takes the viewer back to those places one has seen in different paintings of that era.The lovely young woman at the center of the picture, Marie, gets taken with Manda the moment he enters the country restaurant where she is seen with some of the petty criminals she is friendly with. One realizes this is a passion that is not meant to be from the start. Marie belongs to one of the Felix Leca's gang. When Roland senses his girl has an eye for another man, he wants to take get rid of him.Georges Manda has also been to jail, but now is a carpenter and trying to go straight. Fate is not kind to Manda, who, when provoked, reveals he is not to be made a fool. Leca, who is also quite smitten by Marie's beauty plans to get rid of Manda so he can have the blonde woman all to himself. Leca, who knows his way around the law, and is friendly with the police, will prove to be Manda's undoing.What Jacques Becker achieved with this film was to create the right atmosphere to set his story. Working in France he had the access to the great movie locations one sees in the movie. The film evokes that period convincingly. The director adds touches, that even when watched today, are a delight to watch.M. Becker got good performances out of his cast. Simone Signoret at that point of her life was at her prime. Her Marie is a fine example of what she was able to project without much effort. Her beauty is evident and she plays Marie with elegance. Serge Reggiani plays Manda with conviction. M. Reggiani covered quite a lot of ground in the French cinema. Aside from his good looks, he was an accomplished actor and singer. His contribution to our enjoyment of the film made "Casque d'or" to be a classic it became. Claude Dauphin is Felix Leca, the unscrupulous man in love with Marie who will stoop so low in order to get the woman that he wouldn't have otherwise. M. Dauphin conveys the evil in Felix Leca with an economy that works well in his portrayal of this sophisticated monster.Finally, this is Jacques Becker's triumph. "Casque d'or" is one of the best films of all times.