6.2 /10 1 Votes
56% Rotten Tomatoes Music by Ennio Morricone Initial release 1971 Box office 33 million USD Music director Ennio Morricone | 6.7/10 IMDb Produced by Henri Verneuil Cinematography Claude Renoir Director Henri Verneuil Screenplay David Goodis | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Written by Henri Verneuil
Vahé Katcha Based on novel The Burglar by David Goodis Starring Jean-Paul Belmondo
Omar Sharif
Robert Hossein
Dyan Cannon Cast Jean‑Paul Belmondo, Omar Sharif, Robert Hossein, Dyan Cannon Similar Directed by Henri Verneuil, Jean-Paul Belmondo movies, Car chase movies | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Le casse the burglars le coup 1971 wild car chasing j p belmondo o sharif
Le Casse (US title: The Burglars) is a 1971 movie directed by French director Henri Verneuil, starring Jean-Paul Belmondo, Omar Sharif, Dyan Cannon and Robert Hossein. It is based on the 1953 novel by David Goodis and revolves around a team of four burglars chased by a corrupt cop in Athens. It's a remake of the 1957 film The Burglar with Jayne Mansfield.
Contents
- Le casse the burglars le coup 1971 wild car chasing j p belmondo o sharif
- Le casse 1971 intro
- Plot
- Cast
- Production
- Reception
- References
The movie is known for its spectacular car chase and Belmondo's incredible fall from a construction truck down a steep, rocky hillside. The movie was shot twice, once in French and once in English, by the same cast.
Le casse 1971 intro
Plot
In Athens, Azad (Jean-Paul Belmondo), Ralph (Robert Hossein) and 2 other accomplices, Renzi and Helen, rob a suitcase of emeralds from a rich Greek citizen, M.Tasco, when the latter is away on vacation.
The thieves break into the house, crack the safe, and make off with the jewels. A police detective, Abel Zacharia (Omar Sharif), spots the burglars’ car in front of the house. Azad chats with the detective and spins a cover story of being a salesman with engine trouble. Zacharia leaves and Azad thinks he has gotten away with it.
The thieves plan to leave the country immediately on a merchant ship. However when they arrive at the dock they discover the ship is undergoing repairs and will not be ready for five days. They stash the money, split up, and agree to wait out the delay.
Zacharia reappears, having decided to find and keep the emeralds himself. Azard falls in love with Lena.
Mr Tasco identifies the thieves and kills Renzi, framing Ralph.
Azad narrowly escapes the police with Lena, but he soon discovers that she is in cahoots with Zacharia.
Ralph is arrested by police.
Azad and Zacharia have a confrontation which results in Zacharia being buried under wheat.
Cast
Production
The Burglar by David Goodis had been published in 1953 and filmed in 1956. Goodis was popular with French filmmakers; his novel Down There had been adapted by Francois Truffaut as Shoot the Piano Player (1961).
Filming took place in Athens and Paris.
Reception
The film was a massive box office hit in France, being the sixth most popular movie of the year.
The Los Angeles Times said "the scenery is lovely, Belmondo is fun to watch even in a flat, silly part like this" but that it was "finally an uninteresting and uninvolving movie" because "it has no reality except as a movie".
The New York Times called it "yet another international caper film... that does nothing very well and almost everything in excess" in which the director would "fill up a great deal of film time with a device rather than with an action".