Customer Reviews

Fabio Montale

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Alain Delon plays again his favorite role, that of a rugged "seen it all, done it all" police inspector, in this made for TV series of movies. All action is happening in Marseille, with its corrupt political and police systems, with its new French social problem, aka a significant Arab minority. Fabio Montale, the central character is investigating crime in the city, in the background of a beautiful Marseille, haunted by his childhood and his friends gone on their separate ways. One can still get glimps of Delon's boyish charm and his unique style of acting. It is a pretty good show.

I liked this movie a lot, because it's not an artificial action movie. It doesn't have special effects and all the unreal movements. But it keeps your attention.

I would like to find on Amazon more European, not only French, but German, English, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, Romanian, Polish, Bulgarian movies, from all the European coutries, and not only, from Asia too, from Africa.

They are like a breath of fresh air.

Really enjoyed , next best thing to being able to get Montabano DVD's which aren't available here.
Wish there were more of these.

The mini series is beautifully made and Alan Delon's performance is as great as ever before. The location is beautiful. The story is interesting and plots move along very fast and gripping. All main characters are well established. A totally enjoyable experience. Worth watching it again and again. Yes, I have it in my DVD collection.

Koch Vision present "FABIO MONTALE" (Released: 3 January 2002) (291 mins/Color) (Dolby Digital) --- In Marseille, France, is the location for this crime-thriller, anything can happen which follows a cop (played by Alain Delon) as he tries to fight corruption at every turn --- for the first time for the U.S. audiences, the best-selling crime novelist Jean-Claude Izzo's riveting character Fabio Montale comes to life in a TV Mini-Series.

Under José Pinheiro (Director), Jean-Claude Izzo (Screenwriter), Philippe Setbon (Screenwriter), Jean-Pierre Guérin (Producer), Véronique Marchat (Executive Producer), Serge Perathoner (Music Score), Jannick Top (Music Score), Jacques Boumendil (Cinematographer), Jean-Daniel Fernandez-Qundez (Editor) While the French may not be known for their explosive TV, this summer, KOCH Vision may change minds with the release of the gripping mini-series, FABIO MONTALE, based on the crime fiction of best-selling French writer Jean-Claude Izzo --- When they were first published, the "Marseille Triology" and its protagonist cop Montale were a smash among French readers and beyond --- And, in 2002, the trilogy ("Total Chaos", "Chourmo", and "Solea") was explosively adapted for the small screen, with César award-winning French actor Alain Delon in the titular role --- Now, U.S. audiences will have the opportunity to experience the seedier side of France in this collectible 2-DVD set from Koch Vision--- get your passport stamped for excitement, intrigue and danger at every turn in this explosively intriguing series, a sure thrill ride for all the fans of this genre!

BIOS:
1. Alain Delon
Date of Birth: 8 November 1935 - Sceaux, Seine [now Hauts-de-Seine], France
Date of Death: Still Living

2. Jean-Claude Izzo (Author/Screenwriter)
Date of Birth: 20 June 1945 - Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône, France
Date of Death: 26 January 2000 - Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône, France.

3. José Pinheiro (Director)
Date of Birth: 13 June 1945 - Paris, France
Date of Death: Still Living

SPECIAL FEATURES:
This set contains all three episodes:
1. Fabio Montale: Total Chaos
2. Fabio Montale: Chourmo
3. Fabio Montale: Solea

Great job by Koch Vision --- looking forward to more high quality titles from the BBC Collection film market --- order your copy now from Amazon or Koch Vision where there are plenty of copies available on DVD, stay tuned once again for top notch releases --- where they are experts in releasing long forgotten films and treasures to the collector.

Total Time: 291 mins on DVD ~ Koch Vision KOCV6449 ~ (8/14/2007)

I enjoyed this wonderful series. Every role is played superbly and the setting was beautiful. Mr. Delon's character evocation of sadness is masterfully done. I recommend it.

If you loved the Marseilles Trilogy, you'll hate these movies. Frankly I could only bring myself to watch the first one, Total Chaos. Alain Delon is woefully miscast. I'm sure there are movies where an aging, pompous detective could be cast, but this is not one of them. In the books, Montale may have passed from youth into the verge of middle age, but you get the sense that he's a still vibrant, lustful man. Delon looks like he's ready to fall asleep.

One of the treasures of the books is their evocation of Marseilles. The city is rife with racial tension and the consequences of dehabilitating poverty. The tendrils of bland modernity are creeping in, swiping aside the older, richer city. There is a definite sense of place and the love of the characters for their home, a city of travelers who came and stayed. This movie looks like it could have been shot in Santa Barbara. And Montale's connection with the sea is a huge part of his character, something that the movie tries to achieve by having Delon gaze repeatedly wistfully off into the ocean.

Because of Delon's age, and probably sensitivity to the clearly leftist political bent of the books, the plot had to be reworked drastically. It's a confused mess. Whoever wrote the screen play wrote all of the tension and suspense right out of it. And I can't say much for the cinematography. I realize the movie was shot for television with limited budgets and shooting schedules and all that, but the direction is uninspired.

One funny note. I wondered why they had Montale driving around in an old, beat up station wagon. Then came a scene where the car is all shot up. I realized that they probably didn't want to spend money on a nicer car that they were going to destroy.

Jean Claude Izzo's books will have to await and deserve a much better treatment. Don't bother with this DVD. Trust me.

My favorite Delon movies, Le Samouraï and Le Cercle Rouge, where he was just COOL and intense with a handsome young face and piercing blue eyes that alone could speak. I felt bad for Delon after viewing Fabio Montale that is 30+ years after the Melville era. In my humble opinion, the producer or the director of Fabio might just try to use an aging, 65 year old famous retiree to cash in. Unfortunately, it was by no means effective. Delon almost acted as a clown who popped in and out in predictable crime scenes for none other reasons than "Ta-Da! Heeere is Alain!"

And this supposedly thriller has no suspense at all...

The story lines throughout the films were loosely and poorly constructed. Also, many characters were introduced. The film did not state clearly why they were there. Comparing Delon's classics of the 60's mentioned above (of course, we should too give credits to Jean-Pierre Melville for those), Fabio Montale is worthless. If I were Alain Delon, I should have quitted while goings were still good, unless I really needed the cash and I were willing to let people remember me as double chinned, baggy eyed, once famous but past prime movie star.