Jean-Pierre Melville

Directing

Jean-Pierre Melville

Born October 20, 1917 · Paris, France

Died August 2, 1973 · aged 55

Jean-Pierre Grumbach (20 October 1917 – 2 August 1973), known professionally as Jean-Pierre Melville (French: [mɛlvil]), was a French filmmaker. Considered a spiritual father of the French New Wave, he was one of the first fully-independent French filmmakers to achieve commercial and critical success. His works include the crime dramas Bob le flambeur (1956), Le Doulos (1962), Le Samouraï (1967), …

Known For

BreathlessBreathless · 1960
Breathless
★ 7.51960
MovieDramaCrime
A small-time thief steals a car and impulsively murders a motorcycle policeman. Wanted by the authorities, he attempts to persuade a girl to run away to Italy with him.
Le SamouraïLe Samouraï · 1967
Le Samouraï
★ 7.81967
MovieCrimeThriller
After carrying out a flawlessly planned hit, Jef Costello, a contract killer with samurai instincts, finds himself caught between a persistent police investigator and a ruthless employer, and not even his armor of fedora and trench coat can protect him.
Le DoulosLe Doulos · 1962
Le Doulos
★ 7.41962
MovieDramaThriller
Enigmatic gangster Silien may or may not be responsible for informing on Faugel, who was just released from prison and is already involved in what should be a simple heist. By the end of this brutal, twisting, and multilayered policier, who will be left to trust?
The Good ThiefThe Good Thief · 2003
The Good Thief
★ 6.12003
MovieCrimeDrama
An aging gambler on a losing streak attempts to rob a casino in Monte Carlo. But someone's already tipped off the cops before he even makes a move.
Le Cercle RougeLe Cercle Rouge · 1970
Le Cercle Rouge
★ 7.61970
MovieCrimeDrama
When French criminal Corey gets released from prison, he resolves to never return. He is quickly pulled back into the underworld, however, after a chance encounter with escaped murderer Vogel. Along with former policeman and current alcoholic Jansen, they plot an intricate jewel heist. All the while, quirky Police Commissioner Mattei, who was the one to lose custody of Vogel, is determined to find him.
OrpheusOrpheus · 1950
Orpheus
★ 7.71950
MovieRomanceFantasy
A famous poet in postwar Paris, scorned by the Left Bank youth, is in love with both his wife Eurydice and a mysterious princess. Seeking inspiration, the poet becomes obsessed and follows the princess from the world of the living to the land of the dead.
Un FlicUn Flic · 1972
Un Flic
★ 6.61972
MovieCrimeThriller
A Parisian police chief has an affair, but unbeknownst to him, the boyfriend of the woman he’s having an affair with is a bank robber planning a heist.
Ghost Dog: The Way of the SamuraiGhost Dog: The Way of the Samurai · 1999
Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai
★ 7.31999
MovieCrimeDrama
A Black hitman who models after the samurai of old finds himself targeted for death by the mob.

Filmography

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Belmondo: The IncorrigibleBelmondo: The Incorrigible · 2022
Belmondo: The Incorrigible
★ 7.82022
MovieDocumentary
Charismatic and resourceful, seducer and daredevil, Jean-Paul Belmondo has always played his roles as he lived, at a thousand miles an hour. He had only one passion: to entertain the public with his smile, his naturalness, his energy, his stunts. But contrary to appearances, his destiny was full of pitfalls. This film lifts the veil on a founding childhood that allowed him to overcome many obstacles throughout his life thanks to the tutelary figures of his father and mother. Told from the inside with the help of his autobiography, interviews and unpublished archives, this epic story traces the career of this turbulent young actor who launched the New Wave in Breathless before becoming the popular Bebel, an indestructible and provocative vigilante. From film to film, this documentary paints an intimate portrait of a man who built himself up to reach the top: his triumphs but also his trials, his doubts, his secrets, his angers, his clowning, his disappointments or his personal dramas.