2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Could have been worthy!, May 28, 2009
Even with a stellar line up and as a great standard French crime flic(k) this edition is second rate. The film is dubbed in English and has no language or sub title options. In its original French, this would be a classic to watch and enjoy but the dubbing is second rate and spoils the whole feel of the movie, so look for the French language version if you can find one.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Flics et voleurs, May 12, 2008
And the award for most outrageous sexual symbolism of 1969 goes to Alain Delon, for his performance battering an eel to death on a rock after catching a glimpse of Irina Demick's body double nude sunbathing in The Sicilian Clan...
Despite the title, this 1969 flic et voyou flick is definitely NOT a mob movie: the clan are a family of Sicilian crooks in France headed by Jean Gabin who spring Alain Delon from jail for a massive jewel robbery, with Lino Ventura's dogged cop on the trail. Based on a novel by Rififi author Auguste le Breton, there's little that's original (although the heist itself is spectacularly ingenious), but it's put together with polish and style and makes for an entertaining couple of hours. Henry Verneuil's direction raises the standard, while Delon, Ventura and Irina Demick offer good value. The once-great Gabin fares less well - although it's nice to see him reunited with his Touchez Pas le Grisbi nemesis Ventura in a couple of scenes, for much of the film he's more of an immoveable monument than much of a presence, only really coming across in his final scene, which taps in nicely to the resigned fatalism of his pre-war classics.
It's not an all-time great, but it is an entertaining and atmospheric French thriller that nicely fills a couple of hours.
Fox's UK PAL Region 2 DVD boasts a good 2.35:1 widescreen transfer of the English-language version (the film was shot in French, Italian and English-language versions rather than simply dubbed) and includes the US trailer.
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