Huievest
Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.
Gurlyndrobb
While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.
Asad Almond
A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.
david-546
Rififi is a classic heist film that is right up there with the best of its peers - The Asphalt Jungle and The Killing. Yet in many ways it feels like it is overlooked. This is a great film worthy of inclusion not only with the best heist films but with the best noir films. The film is directed by Jules Dassin. Dassin brought us other classic noir films including Brute Force, The Naked City, Thieves Highway and the brilliant Night and the City. Dassin was also blacklisted and went to Europe where he successfully revived his career. Of his later caper films Topkapi stands out. The actual heist done in complete silence, not even any music, is classic. Subtitles.
quinimdb
The greatest scene in "Rififi" is of course the heist scene, but the way each of the characters and each of their fatal flaws causes their downfall in one way or another in the final 45 minutes in the film is right up there with that scene. And the first 45 minutes of the film, which is required to set up the stakes and the tension of the heist scene and the characters and each of their traits that are important in the last third of the film, is also great. OK, so the entire movie is really great, but let's start at the beginning.The film starts by showing a tired looking old man named Tony le Stephanois at a poker table, then running out of money before his friend, Jo, who we learn has a kid and wife, picks him up. He tells him about a possible heist, but turns the opportunity down. We then learn that Tony has just gotten out of prison and is looking for a woman who he used to be with in his life. He finds out she is with another man named Remmie Grutter and has been with another before that since he left, and then he confronts her. He brings her to his house in a very tense scene and whips her with a belt. He kicks her out, and at that moment he calls the man and decides to do the heist. I believe at this moment he realized that this was the man he was, this tough guy, or what we later learn is called a "rififi". But Tony wants to take the heist one step further and steal the mother load, the vault, instead of just taking what's at the store window. And so they begin planning. We learn that they need to pull of the heist before six o'clock so no one witnesses the heist. One of the men goes to the store to scope out the alarm system and the layout of the place. Once they figure out what the alarm system is, they begin experimenting with it in a great, long scene, exhausting every possibility and showing how airtight the system is. This scene is instrumental in establishing most of the tension in the heist scene, because we now know how fragile the alarm system is, and how just barely the wrong move could set off the alarm and ruin the entire heist. Then once they figure out a method of silencing the alarm, they begin the heist.The heist is hands down one of the most intense scenes of all time, and not a single word is spoken. In fact, there is no music or non diegetic sound in this scene in general. But in spite of this, we understand everything that they are trying to do in this scene even though we haven't even heard them outline their entire plan yet, largely due to the fantastic editing and directing. We actually only know what we really need to know in order for there to be tension in this scene, and that is the alarm system and the time that they need to be done. It's a largely silent scene, and this is to emphasize the importance of the noise they make. Too loud, and it's over. This makes every move a risk, and increases the tension with every accidental, or purposeful, sound. We know how sensitive the alarm is to vibration. Hit anything too hard, and it's over. This makes each strike to the ground as they chip through it tense. We know the time they need to be done by, which means each time we get a glimpse of the clock, we grow more and more tense that they won't finish in time. So everything they do in this scene increases the tension, and to top it all off they need to make a FAST get away from two lurking cops near their car.It's a GREAT scene, and a great plan, but the tension isn't over yet, because the plan all comes tumbling down thanks to the various traits we've learned about the character so far. In fact, the cause of each of their downfalls is laid out in the scene where they are each saying what they will do with the money. One says him and his wife can try out beds in all the chic hotels, and his wife's loyalty to him is what gets them both killed in an interrogation scene. One talks about his sisters, and the ring that he gets one of them is what results in Remmie Grutter and his gang finding out about the heist and trying to interrogate and kill Tony's gang for the money. The first thing Jo thinks about is his kid, and his unstoppable drive to get his kid back from Remmie, who takes him as a hostage, is what gets him killed. Tony... well, he doesn't really know. He did this heist because it is what he does, it's what he is. He didn't really think about the money, and he ends up being the last one to die, only after killing Remmie and saving Jo's son by driving him home after he had been shot in the stomach, in another tense scene in which Tony grows dizzier and closer to dying as he drives this car with a young boy in it.
Antonius Block
This smart and gritty French film about a heist does not disappoint. Jean Servais plays a tough guy who has just gotten out of prison and gets an offer to knock off a high-end jewelry store. The opening scenes that establish the four thieves are memorable – Tony (Servais) running out of money while playing cards, Jo (Carl Möhner) and his young family, who will figure prominently in the film, Mario (Robert Manuel) getting bathed by his buxom wife (Claude Sylvain), and Cesar (director Jules Dassin), the expert safecracker who falls for Viviane (Magali Noel) as she sings the playful title song in a nightclub. The club is owned by Grutter, the leader of a gang, and rival for Tony's old girlfriend Mado (Marie Sabouret), and it's these two guys, Grutter and Tony, who will ultimately have to square off. I have to say the early scene in which Tony tracks Mado down and then forces her to completely strip before beating her with a belt (off-screen) is very disturbing, particularly as we're going to find ourselves rooting for him later in the film. It does establish him as a heavy though, loyal to the gang but if betrayed, merciless, which is consistent how he acts later. I can't recall Servais cracking a smile in the entire film, and he plays the role beautifully.The robbery itself is shown masterfully by Dassin. In the planning stages, only a couple of the ways in which the thieves will pull it off are shown, an example of which is figuring out how to use a fire extinguisher to muffle the then state-of-the-art alarm system. The execution of the crime is highly realistic, and I love how he used minimal dialog and music, so that the actions and facial expressions of the actors tell the story. If only there were more films today that took a lesson from him! We also see a flaw that will lead to problems for them, and the film is far from over after the crime – further drama and real tension await, but I won't spoil it.If you're looking for a caper film that among a few others set the blueprint for the genre, this is it. I found out later Dassin had been blacklisted by Hollywood, and was even happier for the triumph of his fantastic direction here. The script is taut, there are no wasted scenes, and on top of it all there are great shots outdoors in Paris. Don't be frightened by the subtitles or by the fact it's black and white and was made in 1955 – it all holds up very well, and is superior to most of the action films of today.
William Samuel
Nobody does noir like the French. They invented it, and although American and Japanese directors have made exceptional entries in the genre, the French still do it best. For evidence, I present exhibit A, Rififi, one of the greatest gangster/heist movies ever made. Aging gangster Tony, just out of prison, gathers his friends for one last job; cracking the safe at Paris's finest jeweler. It will be the most ambitious job of their careers, with an incredible payoff. And it doesn't end with the heist either. When rival gangster Pierre realizes what they've done and decides he wants in, everything they've accomplished is put in jeopardy.Rififi doesn't waste much time establishing the characters or the setup. Back-story isn't a major concern here. Each man has his own life and personality, but the important thing is that when it comes to business, Tony, Jo, Mario and Caesar are dead serious. They know the rules, and the stakes, and are the absolute best at what they do. Their preparations are complex and painstaking. Casing the joint, memorizing the opening times of the surrounding businesses, finding a way to defeat the alarm system, all are done with the utmost care.All of this leads up to one of the tensest scenes in all cinema; the heist itself. Over half an hour, with no music or dialogue, only the (very quiet) sounds of the men at work. And what work it is. Watching these four men chisel their way through the roof, disable the alarm, and crack the safe is like watching Michelangelo sculpt or Arnold Palmer play a round of golf. It is pure precision, with no margin for even the slightest error. And what creativity they bring to their trade! I have never seen such ingenious uses for a tube of caulk or an umbrella.Most films would have difficulty going this long without sound, but here the silence is an asset. The lack of sound underscores the fact that their work relies on near-total silence. Because there is no music or other background noise, we are keenly aware of every clink of the hammer, every rattle of loose concrete, and the fall of every footstep. The silence creates tension more effectively than any ominous music could. And all the while the clock is, quite literally, ticking. Time itself is their enemy. If Rififi ended with the successful conclusion of their daring burglary, it would be a very good movie. But it does not satisfy itself with a simple happy ending. As in so many of the best noirs, the second half tells how the best plans go awry, and everything begins to fall apart. A minor act of carelessness makes them targets of the most ruthless crime boss in Paris. The body count rises alarmingly, and the bad guys soon gain what is arguably the ultimate leverage.The last act is a masterwork or growing tension, sudden reversals, and hard decisions. And the final scene, which I will not give away, is probably the best of all. The pounding, ominous music, the rapid series of cuts, and the gravity of the situation contrast with the innocence of a young child in a way that is simply incredible. Rififi is fully equal- and perhaps superior to- Chinatown, The Big Heat, or Le Samourai. If you are a fan of classic noir, I highly urge to see this film.
