Genre Grandeur – Rififi (1955) – MovieRob – Encore Review

For this month’s next review for Genre Grandeur – French Film Noir here’s a review of Rififi (1955) by me

Thanks again to Howard Casner of Ranting and Ravings for choosing this month’s genre.

Next month’s genre has been chosen by Patty of CaftanWoman.com and we will be reviewing our favorite Medical Dramas.

Please get me your submissions by the 25th of Aug by sending them to medicalpatty@movierob.net

Try to think out of the box! Great choice Patty!

Let’s see what I thought of this movie:

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“There’s something I always wanted to tell you. There are kids, millions of kids who’ve grown up poor. Like you. How did it happen? What difference was there between them and you, that you became a hood, a tough guy, and not them? Know what I think, Jo? They’re the tough guys, not you.” – Louise

Number of Times Seen – Twice (24 Apr 2018 and 29 Jul 2020)

Link to original review – Here

Brief Synopsis – A recently released thief joins together with 3 others in order to perpetrate the perfect robbery of a jewelry store.

My Take on it – This is a film that I knew would be my choice to rewatch once Howard informed me of his choice for this month’s theme.

I haven’t seen many film in the genre beforehand, but this has always resonated in my mind as one of the very best French Film Noir movies ever since I first saw it slightly over two years ago.

They find a way to tell such a great tale that works so well as a heist film.

The characters are developed really well and we get to see them in small situations early on that help explain the various flaws that they each have yet are trying to overcome.

The way that the heist aspect of the film is filmed is done exceptionally well because the attention to detail is what helps make things work so well.

The way that they film the 32 minute heist in almost absolute silence works really well in raising the suspense level of the story to very high levels.

The characters are all dealing with various flaws in their character and the story allows them to be challenged by these flaws.

This adds so much to the story because the viewer can get very curious as to which of the characters will be able to overcome these flaws and which will not.

They are all given opportunities to try and save themselves or ‘rat out’ on others and it’s intriguing to show which characters choose which way to act.

This is an obvious reference to the fact that Director Jules Dassin was blacklisted in America when someone ‘ratted’ him out.

The pacing of this story is also done well because we get to see how smoothly everything flows while keeping it all so fascinating and intriguing to watch.

The best part about this film is the attention to details and that helps make things seem so realistic the whole way through.

Bottom Line – Amazing heist film that works so well. The characters are developed really well and they manage to show us the personalities based on short events that they partake in. The heist itself is beautifully filmed and they find a way to film it in almost complete silence which raises the suspense level over the 32 minutes of the heist scenes. The characters all have moral issues that they are dealing with and this also adds much to the story because we get to see how they react in certain situations where things are connected to what they must do in order to either save themselves from an ordeal or risk everything for someone else. The story is paced really well and they manage to find ways to keep it interesting throughout. The film’s best part is the fact that it all feels quite realistic in all that transpires along with the attention to details as things progress. Highly Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – Mexican authorities pulled the movie from theaters after multiple burglaries were committed employing methods similar to those shown. (From IMDB)

Rating – Oscar Worthy (9/10) (no change from original review)