Le samouraï

press release: France | 1967 | 35mm | 105 min. | French with English subtitles 

Director: Jean-Pierre Melville; Cast: Alain Delon, François Périer, Nathalie Delon 

In what may be his coolest screen portrayal, Alain Delon is the detail-oriented, fedora-wearing hitman named Jef Costello. Betrayed by his underworld employer and hounded by a persistent cop (Périer), Jef tries to survive his predicament without violating his personal, Bushido-like code of honor. Perhaps the most iconic and stylish movie of director Melville’s career, the hypnotic and meticulously planned Le samouraï delivers a lot of movie thrills from its minimalist story of crooks and cops. 35mm print courtesy of Cultural Services of the U.S. French Embassy.

All summer screenings take place at 4070 Vilas Hall, 821 University Avenue. Admission free for all screenings, seating limited. No admission 15 minutes after scheduled start times. Please visit our website for a complete listing of programs and descriptions.

One of the most handsome and coolest of 1960s/'70s European leading men, Alain Delon is the subject of a three-film summer series of thrillers in which he stars. First up is Jacques Deray’s erotic and suspenseful La piscine, which became a repertory theater hit sensation when it was re-released in the summer of 2021. A real discovery, Georges Lautner’s Les seins de glace features Delon in a character role, a secondary lead to the lovers played by Claude Brasseur and Mireille Darc. Rounding out the selections will be a rare 35mm screening of Jean-Pierre Melville’s ultra-stylish, ultra-cool hitman saga, Le samouraï.