Rififi
Rating (M)
Synopsis
The Radar - Located. Chosen. Screened
“The underworld of Rififi’s Paris has an undeniable and timeless appeal.”
-Gordon Bass, FILMCRITIC.COM
Just released from prison and livid at his girlfriend’s infidelity, the gristly Tony joins Jo and Mario in an ambitious crime. With Italian safe expert Caesar, the men meticulously plan the burglary of a ritzy but well-protected jewellery store and its basement safe. It seems like it is to go off without a hitch, but it only takes one error of judgement to bring the whole plan crashing down.
Roger Ebert claimed the modern heist movie was invented in Paris in 1954 by Jules Dassin with Rififi, the father to Ocean’s Eleven, Reservoir Dogs and Mission Impossible. An incredible French masterpiece that won Best Director and was nominated for the Palme D’or at the 1955 Cannes International Film Festival, Rififi set the benchmark in the film noir genre, described by masterful French New Wave director Francois Truffaut as “the best film noir I’ve ever seen”. Despite the inevitable bloodshed, the underworld of Rififi’s Paris has an undeniable timeless appeal captured in moody black and white.
The now infamous and much imitated heist scene is breathtakingly staged - 28 gripping minutes long and void of a single line of dialogue or music. Any sound was their mortal enemy in the astonishing burglary, armed with nothing more than rope, a suitcase of simple tools and an umbrella. So meticulous was the construction and so specific the detail of the robbery that on its 1955 release, several countries pulled the movie from theatres after multiple burglaries were committed employing methods similar to those shown.
When will this screen next?
Sunday 19 September 4:30 PM
Encore Screenings
Monday 20 September 10:50 AM
Thursday 30 September 1:30 AM
Thursday 30 September 10:30 AM
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