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bennievermeer
30May12
François Truffaut commented that "out of the worst crime novel I have ever read, Jules Dassin has made the best crime film I have ever seen." Indeed, 'Rififi' is the archetypical heist film, realistic and intelligent, and hugely influential from the French Nouvelle Vague all the way to Tarantino's 'Reservoir Dogs'. Read my full review: http://www.brnrd.net/blog/archive/2008/05/03/rififi
Stu Witmer
15May12
Nice little French caper en noir et blanc with some very fine camera work and lighting. The sound track seems to contain considerable post-production work which heightens the atmosphere particularly during the actual heist. The street scenes and the cars are de première classe!
trolley freak
31Jan12
Described by Truffaut as 'the best film noir I have ever seen', Dassin's brilliant thriller is expertly crafted and proved to be highly influential. The director also takes an acting role as one of a quartet of jewel thieves who rob a Parisian store in the dead of night. The half-hour long heist, played out in almost total silence, is a remarkable sequence of suspense. A masterpiece and the pinnacle of heist movies..
Michael Harbour
17Jan12
The legendary wordless heist is pretty good. The silence isn't driven by any need within the story for most of its duration, but it's cool nonetheless. The characters are well defined and the story plugs along well until the end with a final segment that doesn't fit the tone of the movie at all and seems stylistically out of place.
Zombie0000
11Aug11
muy padre. al principio parecía un heist o algo así pero ya después se volvió un bien noir film. 4/5
Christopher Taylor
29Jul11
A solid film from a interesting man, Rififi's claim to fame is the amazing heist. It is impressive. American noir made overseas. The one shot in the basement that literally is a shot was my favorite.
Dave
24May11
Of all the great heist films (The Asphalt Jungle, The Killing, Le Cercle Rouge, etc.), Rififi remains the benchmark. Perhaps because it was made in France, away from censors, Dassin was allowed to mark a noir that was grimmer and bleaker than almost anything else produced during this era in Hollywood. A classic, with a heist scene that remains legendary to this day.
Christopher Smith
3Apr11
Classic French film noir remains one of the best and most influential heist movies ever made - most famous for its intense, dialogue- and music-less 32-minute robbery scene. Masterfully and stylishly crafted by director Jules Dassin, with a sharp script and a top-notch cast. A true classic.
Hidden Behind the Screen
14Dec10
Totally caught be off guard, as what I saw from Dassin in Naked City didn't impress me. But THIS... This seemed like a totally different man directed it. A totally superior being (and yes I'll admit I didn't finish Naked City so I'll have to go back to that one) Too many people say this is good only for the heist scene. Yes it was a great scene but I thought the whole movie was great espcially the ending.
Remote Viewer
13Aug10
gloomy&grimy// a quintessential noir w/skulking gangsters, drug addictions, dim side streets, & brutal beatings- all culminating in the crème de la crème of heist scenes. The film has paramount style & everything it needs to impress me - but somehow doesn’t. Apparently it's easier to break into a safe than the complexities of my admiration.
Lee Bullitt
3Jun10
I'm a fan of everything that happened in the film from the second the heist started taking place, to the end. The first half just wasn't original (this was made in '55 of course, but still) and barely held my interest. But the job itself and the way they carried out the jewelry heist was heart stopping. I was really on the edge of my seat waiting every second to see what price they would pay or if they'd get away.
hakaima sadamitsu
20Mar10
Excellent heist/bank robbery movie, with quite a few memorable scenes and characters. A must watch.
MudFlapp
3Mar10
Is as important in the discussion of Cinema as Citizen Kane. Wells fought for his film. He picked his fight Dassin fought for his life and his fight picked him. HUAC-McCarthy Rififi is Dassin's commentary on his and other artist’s blacklisting disguised as great Heist flick! Banned in Mexico due to copycat crimes, some were successful.
Daniel S.
3Jan10
What's interesting in RIFIFI is what differentiates it from the American Film Noir production of that time. Sex scenes for instance; did you notice that Ida Ferrati is most of the time half-naked ? No ? I did. Innovative ideas like the 30 minutes silent heist or a smart concern for the details (I know now how to open a safe with a can opener and I'm happy). Highly recommended.
Pierluigi Puccini
27Nov08
Expatriate filmmaker Jules Dassin pulls off a paris style noir masterpiece. Starring a great world-weary french Bogey Jean Servais. full of all my beloved noir keys, darkness, gloomy atmospheres, losers without a dime but with everything at stake, a well planned but ultimately gone wrong heist and the unavoidable disastrous destiny knocking on everybody's door. suspenseful, deep and utterly compelling.
Iliveinfear
27Nov08
One of the greatest of all film noirs and the apex of the heist film. It features the greatest bank robbery ever put on film, as well as one of the darkest endings ever. There are not enough superlatives to use when talking about this masterpiece. All I will say is do yourself a favor and watch this movie now!