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Bob the Gambler Reviews
In 1954 Jean Gabin's flagging career was rebooted by Touchez pas au grisbi, a gritty crime film about an aging gangster protecting the last of his loot from the younger competition. The next year American expatriate Jules Dassin (blacklisted in the communist witch hunts back home) directed the brilliant Rififi, father of caper films, which featured a 30 minute heist sequence without dialogue or music. In his 1956 Bob le Flambeur, Jean-Pierre Melville combined basic elements of both films in a minimalist film noir that directly inspired the upcoming French New Wave directors. Working with a small budget that he was raising as he went along, Melville had trouble casting the title role, and settled on down-on-his luck 1930s actor Roger Duchesne, who had done jail time for his shady relations with the Gestapo during WWII and hadn't acted since. This turned out to be a perfect match for this character study of inveterate gambler Bob, who sees his life is going nowhere and decides to pull one last big robbery. This film is beautifully photographed by Henri Decaë, documenting the street life of Montmartre in the 1950s in an oddly wistful manner. Bob represents pre-war criminals who followed a code of sorts, and he sometimes seems like a badass Monsieur Hulot as he moves through a postwar world where honor doesn't count any more. This is the first of Melville's films to present coolness as a way of life, and Bob is the most accessible of his stylish, unflappable criminal characters, since actor Duchesne, a wounded being in his own right, lets his vulnerability show through his smooth exterior. Melville couldn't pay much, but he often got by with limited actors as long as they looked right. Thus he could use nonactors to great effect – the thugs Bob hires for his heist were played by actual criminals with just the right bad boy faces for their part (and they worked cheap).
A classic heist flick with all the problems of a classic - there is so much that draws from earlier gangster films, and so much of the burglary storyline that has been emulated in years since, that you get the nagging feeling watching Bob le Flambeur that you've seen much of it before. Actually, it's less of a nagging feeling and more of a burglar alarm ringing in your ear, but you can hardly fault the film for incorporating common genre elements or being influential. Duchesne is still effortlessly cool as Bob - suave, experienced, but still willing to take risks when they present themselves; having now seen this film, the parallels to Philip Baker Hall's Sydney in Paul Thomas Anderson's feature directorial debut Hard Eight are hard to ignore. It's hard not to enjoy a well-realized depiction of any underworld, and Melville's cast of Parisian smooth-talkers is an easy crowd to get lost in. The film ends on a surprisingly uplifting note, given the fact that the heist itself fails and one of their number has just been gunned down moments before. Despite its familiarity, Bob le Flambeur is still dripping with style and remains notable for its role in film history, with many citing it as a progenitor of the French New Wave. (3.5/5)
A great heist picture. If only Bob had kept to his gambling!
Bob le Flambeur is a movie with a very light touch about some important themes: gambling, addiction, friendship, and honor among thieves, just to name a few. It is also a deep character study and a beautifully-shot look into the world of small time gamblers and gangsters in post-war Paris. It is a visual treat, with spare dialogue and a slow pace that allows all the rich details of place, character and story to emerge.
Bir yandan Kumarbaz Bob'un kumarın her türüne dair doymak bilmez bir iştahı, diğer yandan soygun planı... Kumarbaz Bob, Fransız sinemasının kendinden sonra gelen soygun filmlerine yol gösteren, Yeni Dalga'nın ayak seslerini hissettiren, dış ses kullanılan filmlerinden biri. Final sahnesi zayıf ama kişilerin tutkularına, bağımlılıklarına düşkünlüğünü gösterebilmesi açısından pek başarılı. Isabelle Corey de cabası.
1001 movies to see before you die. So glad to finally see this French noir. A good heist caper with plenty of intrigue and style. RUS.
I struggled a lot with Bob le Flambeur. This is a film about a habitual gambler and the people who surround him. I thought the setup had some potential, but the pace and style of the film was so lackadaisical that I fell asleep at least three times while watching. I did rewind in order to avoid missing any key plot details, but it was a strain to keep my interest. I kept waiting for things to happen, and it seemed that the movie was content to have very little going on. There are times when I can be enthralled by a slow-paced drama, but there has to be something to hook me first. I was not finding that no matter how hard I tried with this film. The cast was full of bland actors, which did not help a lot. They tried to set up Bob as this wise old gambler who everyone admires, but Roger Duchesne didn’t exude the kind of charisma that is needed to pull that off. Isabelle Corey is the female lead and she looked totally bored by every single thing that was happening in the movie. The intent was to make her an aloof person, but she takes it to an extreme so that she is monotone and uninteresting. It makes it impossible for me to see why men are falling for her left and right. The most compelling character is Ledru, the police chief, and he doesn’t have a major role in most of the film. There I was, struggling with the entire movie, even when they start planning a heist. I should have been delighted when it became a heist movie, but I was too checked out at that point. And then something magical happened. It hit the climax and the rug was pulled out from under me. I had it all mapped out in my head how this was going to conclude, and Bob le Flambeur surprised me. I was so delighted by this unexpected turn of events that it almost atoned for all the trouble I had with the movie in the first hour and twenty minutes. I still have to say it was a disappointing and overly boring film, but at least it finished on a high note.
A french film inspired by American noir, said to be known as Jarmuch's favorite film and one of Tarentino's too. It's about a gambler and retired crook is a known man in his area. Everyone nows Bob. He's got lots of friends and a few enemies. He treats most people nicely and knows what's up in his surroundings. This true G is starting to get short on money, so he's planning a robbery at a casino. It's planning takes time and effort, but we he get around in stylich ways. The film looks really good. It got some tension and is filled with cliches but they are not badly played at all - it gives a classic vibe. It even got that pretty girl music when the young bi-role enter her scenes. A smart piece of work with especially a great last part. Brilliant stuff, actually! My second film in ten days from Melville and I'm planning to see more the next couple of weeks. 8.5 out of 10 casino chips.
It's a crime to give this movie a bad review, but in my opinion, it is a fallacy to give this movie a great one. Its plot is flimsy, the script is out of wack, the editing is all wrong, and most of the acting is decidedly below expectations. Yet, in all its undeniable flaws, this is a competently directed, atmospheric noir.
An aging former gangster who earns his living by gambling plans one last job ... robbing a casino on the most profitable day of the year. Melville solidifies his style with this film. Ultra cool characters in a crime drama where the characters drive the plot. It's a very low budget film, so Melville works with what he can afford. Roger Duchesne, who stars as Bob, was a veteran actor, but apparently had alcohol issues. Daniel Cauchy and the truly stunning Isabelle Corey were amateurs. Although the acting is not incredible, Melville gets good performances from this cast. In a way, it reminds me of a more laid back version of "The Asphalt Jungle" with an even stronger existentialist/fatalist streak.
A great Noir film that has great pacing from comedy, to suspense. The writing, acting, and cinematography are absolutely wonderful.
A down-on-his-luck gambler gets the chance for a top score when his crew gets privy information about the casino's safe. An amazing precursor to French New Wave that adds an oddly American pulpy "Ocean's Eleven" vibe. It's fair to say that I love this film.
Paris never looked more beautiful at dawn and dusk. But you tell me: is Bob a good guy or a monster?
I hadn't seen this in years. Still quiet, still unassming. Bob Le Flambeur is a cool, breezy film about a gambler in 1960's Paris who puts together a heist when he money well dries up. Roger Duchasne is fantastic as Bob, and is directed light as a feather by Melville. Well worth watching.
Jean-Pierre Melville's "Bob the Gambler", a slick meat and potatoes crime drama set in France's casino-heavy Montmarte district, is a small triumph of precursory New Wave style. Tensions at the roulette and blackjack tables (where title character Bob, well played by Roger Duchesne) are tightly exacted by sharp editing and visually efficient photography. Despite its rote narrative about greedy and corrupt gangsters spelling their own downfall from prosperity as a result of the compulsive risk-taking that brought them riches in the first place, "Bob the Gambler" remains a memorable and entertaining exercise in smart storytelling.
Bob le flambeur becomes an exercise in myth-making, reinforcing and refiltering the Hollywood cinema the director so adored through his own creative drives, into the self-conscious construction of a cherished screen legend... Read the full article here: http://www.deepfocusreview.com/reviews/bobleflambeur.asp
Fascinating heist film done with humor and style.