Customer Reviews

Police Python 357

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

 

 

"Police Phyton 357" was one of the most relevant and tense thrillers of those early seventies. Not just because the dark plot, in which a police officer is accused for a crime he never committed, but the confuse and perplex fact there's nobody in whom you may trust. Everybody distrusts of everybody. Direction and a superb cast make the rest in this memorable and peer suspenseful thriller.

Don't miss it.

**** 1976. Co-written and directed by Alain Corneau. César award in the Best Editing category. A cop, accused of the murder of his chief's mistress, decides to start his own investigation and discovers soon that the real murderer is his own boss. Every detail is important in this film, cold and secret but one quickly understands that Montand and Périer are nothing but marionettes in the hands of Simone Signoret and Stefania Sandrelli. A movie to rediscover at short notice.

This is an exceptional thriller aptly described as a "thinking man's DIRTY HARRY" with a BIG CLOCK type of plot and an incredible Yves Montand relishing his role as an obsessive cop. All of the characters here are expertly drawn and spellbinding. Buy the Netherlands DVD for the anamorphic widescreen transfer and the English subtitles! What a treat it is to see this film again after nearly 40 years!

Finally a film that will have you gripped to your seat till the end, and yet which is not melodramatic nor manipulative. Great cinematography and music and of course, the cast, let alone a tight plot make this film a must-see. From the always reborn love triangle, the story develops with the right timing, faster than your average French film, and yet without anything of the Hollywood cliches that usually ruin everything.
Signoret is lovable as the handicapped wife who nevertheless seems to always know everything.
"dbdumonteil" on IMDB is right on track about the depersonalisation, thus adding another layer of interpretation to an already engrossing flick. I agree with "Olof" reviewer on Amazon that "Alain Corneau didn't exploit Stefania Sandrelli's scene stealing abilities", thou.
I am still wondering why Inspector Ménard does... what he does (can't say more), but my only hunch is that "violence redeems sins". I am open to hearing from other reviewers, as I can't make up my mind about his change of attitude. Of course, the fact that a film 25 years old can leave you thinking after it's over is yet another reason why you might enjoy this movie.