Summary
- Alain Delon’s iconic performance in Le Samourai tops his celebrated career, inspiring filmmakers worldwide.
- The classic hitman movie influenced a genre, inspiring directors like John Woo and Jim Jarmusch.
- Delon’s cool, stoic portrayal of Jef Costello in Le Samourai became a symbol of French cinema worldwide.
Often hailed as one of France’s finest film actors, the entertainment world suffered a significant blow with the passing of Alain Delon on August 18, 2024. Delon enjoyed an illustrious 60-year acting career, appearing in some of the most acclaimed French films on record. Whether playing infamous grifter Tom Ripley in Purple Noon, Corey in the classic crime film The Red Circle, Tancredi Falconeri in The Leopard, etc., Delon matched a smoldering intensity with handsome good looks each time out.
Yet, among his 107 screen credits since 1949, one movie starring Alain Delon tops them all. The classic 1967 neo-noir assassin movie Le Samourai features Delon’s quintessential movie performance. The movie has also inspired countless filmmakers from different countries and generations, proving that cinema unifies people through its universal language.
To celebrate Delon’s decorated movie career, a closer look at his iconic performance in the influential hitman movie Le Samourai should bring a newfound appreciation for the beloved actor.
Who Is Alain Delon?
Born November 8, 1935, Alain Delon is one of the all-time greatest French screen actors. With 107 screen credits amassed between 1949 and 2019, Delon began his career in the short film La Rapt. After giving small supporting roles in a handful of movies, Delon broke out with his performance as Tom Ripley in the 1960 crime film Purple Noon. Delon’s performance helped to establish him as a sex symbol and one of the most popular European leading men in the 1960s, ’70s, and ’80s.
Following Purple Noon, Delon gave a superb leading turn as Rocco in Luchino Visconti’s landmark domestic drama Rocco and his Brothers. The actor and director would work together in the epic 1963 drama The Leopard, one of the most influential Italian movies of the 1960s. Delon ended the decades by giving another sublime turn in The Swimming Pool, adding to L’Ecclise to prove his charming romantic persona.
Delon Worked With Some of the Greatest French Filmmakers of All Time
Notable European filmmakers Delon worked for during his career include Jean-Luc Goddard, Louis Malle, Michelangelo Antonioni, and the great leader of the French New Wave, Jean-Pierre Melville. In 1967, Delon and Melville made Le Samourai, one of the coolest, stylish, and most influential neo-noir crime movies that paved the way for generations of assassin movies.
Before detailing the influence of Le Samourai on international filmmakers, it’s worth noting that Delon won a Cesar Award for Best Actor (the French equivalent to the Oscars) for his towering turn in the 1985 movie Our Story. Sadly, Delon passed away due to natural causes at the age of 88 on August 18, 2024.
What Is Le Samurai About?
Directed by Jean-Pierre Melville from a screenplay he co-wrote with Joan McLeod and Georges Pellegrin, Le Samourai tells the story of Jef Costello (Delon). Jef is a stone-faced assassin for hire living in a one-room flat in Paris.
Emotionless and devoid of attachments, Jef has become successful as a paid killer by creating water-tight alibis that keep him from being detained by the police. One of his main alibis includes Jane (Alain’s then-wife, Nathalie Delon), a girlfriend who vouches for Jef’s whereabouts.
The plot of Le Samourai picks up when Jef is hired to kill a nightclub owner named Martey during busy daytime hours. During the job, a pianist named Valerie (Cathy Rosier) witnesses Jef shoot the owner along with several other nightclub patrons. Jef is brought in by the police to be identified by witnesses in a line-up, but narrowly avoids being fingered.
Upon collecting his fee for killing Martey, Jef realizes those who hired him want him dead when he is suddenly shot at, putting him on the run from his criminal employers and the French police, led by the Commissaire (Francois Perier).
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An Icy, Stoic Performance
Pursued from both sides of the law with nothing to trust but his unethical wits and wiles, Jef makes an unforgettable decision that will shake viewers to the core at the end of Le Samourai.
Never giving a false moment of dramatic indication, Delon delivers one of the coolest depictions of a lone hitman living by his own code of conduct in cinematic history. The icy facade, cold blue eyes, the deadpan stoicism, the iconic tan trenchcoat and gray fedora, all add to the growing legend of Delon’s performance in arguably the most influential French crime movie, this side of Goddard’s Breathless (1960).
Le Samurai Inspired Countless Movies & Directors
Channeling the classic American film noir movies starring Humphrey Bogart and the like, Delon is familiar and refreshing in his unemotional portrayal of Jef Costello. Apart from his all-time great performance, Melville’s writing and directorial flourishes on Le Samurai have inspired many critics and subsequent filmmakers around the world. In his 1997 review, American film critic Roger Ebert had the following to say about Le Samourai:
“Like a painter or a musician, a filmmaker can suggest complete mastery with just a few strokes. Jean-Pierre Melville involves us in the spell of
Le Samourai
(1967) before a word is spoken. He does it with light: a cold light, like dawn on an ugly day. And color: grays and blues. And actions that speak in place of words.”
In 2010, Empire named Le Samurai #39 on its List of “The 100 Best Films of World Cinema.” In 2021, French critic Bertrand Guyard reminded viewers that Delon performed opposite his then-wife, Nathalie Delon, beaming about their almost-silent performances: “Their gazes, fraught with meaning, are enough to make the camera quiver,” with Melville deftly able to conjure “a mythical couple of the seventh art.”
The Birth of a Genre
Beyond the cultural impact the movie made in 1967, Le Samourai influenced an entire genre of assassin movies around the world. In a classic example of show-don’t-tell, Melville lets the actors explain the action without over-relying on dialog and vocal explanation. Hong Kong action maestro John Woo famously cited Le Samourai as an influence on his classic 1989 movie The Killer.
In addition to following the plot nearly beat for beat, replacing a nightclub singer with a pianist as the key witness, Chow Yun Fat’s character is named Jeff Chow after Jef Costello (Ah Jong in international releases). Woo even included a heartfelt essay about the virtues of Le Samourai and Melville’s brilliant filmmaking methods for the film’s Criterion Release.
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Apart from Woo, Jim Jarmusch’s Ghost Dog was inspired by Le Samurai, down to Forrest Whitaker’s lone meditative assassin using a key-card like Costello’s trusty key-ring.
In Anton Corbijn’s The American, George Clooney channels Delon’s performance as a tight-lipped assassin hiding in Italy, emoting almost entirely through expressions and body language. Nicolas Winding Refn’s ultra-cool hitman movie Drive also features an emotionally-detached hitman confronted by both sides of the law, with Ryan Gosling’s unnamed killer also sporting an iconic outfit.
Most recently, David Fincher’s The Killer pays homage to Le Samourai time and again through its isolated assassin known for airtight alibis and making crucial mistakes. Even Madonna’s 2012 music video for “Beautiful Killer” pays tribute to Delon’s unforgettable performance in Le Samourai. Melville’s movie and Delon’s delivery have transcended cinema to become a popular exemplar of French culture embraced by the world.
Influence Felt Around the World
Lesser-known examples of Le Samourai‘s international influence include the 2001 Hong-Kong crime-comedy You Shoot, I Shoot. In the film, a hitman obsesses over Jef Costello from Le Samourai and dresses in his iconic fedora and trench coat.
Walter Hill’s 1978 crime thriller The Driver, which also inspired Drive, takes cues from Le Samourai’s female witness scenario. Meanwhile, Johnny To’s 2009 action film Vengeance features a main character named Costello. To even offered the role to Delon, but the actor declined.
Regardless, the global sway Le Samourai has had filmmakers since 1967 proves its all-time great status. Everyone from Martin Scorsese to Michael Mann to Quentin Tarantino have cited Le Samourai as an influence on their work. To wit, the movie boasts a 100% Rotten Tomatoes rating and continues to rank among Delon’s best performances and among France’s finest film noir crime movies ever made.
Le Samurai
is available to stream on Max
