Le Doulos

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• Country: France
• Year: 1962
• Running time: 108 Minutes
• Language: French
• Sub-Titles:English Sub-Titles
• Other Countries: Italy

Melville’s (Army of Shadows) second foray into the Parisian underworld after Bob le Flambeur is a much darker and more treacherous descent. This tale of duplicity and ambiguity stars Jean-Paul Belmondo as Silien, a Parisian gangster who’s a police informant. (The meaning of doulos in French underground argot is one who wears a doul—a hat—or stool pigeon.) The plot is so full of crosses and double-crosses it’s mind-boggling, but Melville is working at the top of his game. His sense of style—the trench coats, snap brim hats, the pulp B picture look —were unique to French cinema of the time. And his mastery of film language is evident here: When the cops haul Silien in for a grilling, Melville captures it in an eight-minute, single, 360° pan in a room full of reflecting glass. This new 35mm print captures the shadowy b&w of cinematographer Nicolas Hayer (Cocteau’s Orphée, Clouzot’s Le Corbeau) and features an all-new translation and subtitles by Lenny Borger.