Le Samouraï

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Le Samouraï

PG

1972

1h 55m

Crime

Drama

Action

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Popcornmeter

92%

Tomatometer

51 Reviews

93%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

Hit man Jef Costello (Alain Delon) goes through an elaborate set of rituals before carrying out a hit on a nightclub owner. Always thorough and cool in his job, Costello is disconcerted to discover a witness to the killing, the club's female piano player. But before he can act, the police arrest him in a sweep of suspects. Released when the main witness does not come forward, Costello goes from being the hunter to the hunted, trailed by the determined police as well as his crime bosses.

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Critics Consensus

Le Samouraï makes the most of its spare aesthetic, using stylish -- and influential -- direction, solid performances, and thick atmosphere to weave an absorbing story.

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Vincent Canby

New York Times

Mar 18, 2025

[Le Samouraï], with Delon doing what he does best (looking impassive and slightly tarnished), is a lovely introduction to the work of a most idiosyncratic filmmaker.

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Jan Dawson

Sight & Sound

Mar 18, 2025

The interweaving of ritualised Japanese and American themes, the formalised colour and camerawork that create a world at once fantastic, allusive and coherent, mark out Le Samouraï as both a Melville film and the Melville film to date.

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Geoffrey Minish

Toronto Star

Mar 18, 2025

Everything is in harmony: acting, photography, editing. As an example of classic directorial technique, Le Samouraï should be required viewing for any film training school.

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Bernard Drew

Gannett News Service

Mar 18, 2025

What a gifted French director can with the sordid material is something else.

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Andrew Gale

Sacramento Bee

Mar 18, 2025

The film is totally fluid, totally legato. Rain on a car window, reflections of images in a glass doorway, the hardly changing visage of Delon, all serve to reinforce the impression of stillness and, more particularly, of lucidity and clearness of line.

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Howie B

@Howie10 Jul 30, 2026

The 4K restoration is a credit to those who have faithfully brought this classic back to its original quality. The film itself was both remarkable for its time as a piece of extraordinary creative direction and for the stunning acting performances especially from husband Alain Delon and his wife Nathalie. The Hitman double-crossed, and the detective…

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Vincent S

@Vin_E_At_The_Movies Jul 5, 2026

A masterpiece of cool, precise craftsmanship, acting, directing and cinematography. The camera work is masterful and Alain Delon is mesmerizing in a cool, understated way. This is one of the best crime movies ever made and an inspiration for later noir films as it is influenced by old school Hollywood film noirs of the past. Perfection.

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Tom F

@RT55173143 Jan 9, 2026

The distilled spirit of film noir, fortified and served up neat.

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Leprechaun K

@LeprechaunKing Dec 22, 2025

Delon plays the coolest hitman in this Melville classic. This film influenced endless assassin/hitman movies for decades to come.

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Alain E

@AlainE Nov 3, 2025

A clear masterpiece, the equivalent of a Greek tragedy with pistols. Alain Delon is in peak form, a 10/10 of male beauty. His character is ruthless, until the very end when it is revealed that he made an exception, but it is too late to work in his favor. Very good photography, even in scenes of lower importance. For example, the first time he take a stolen Citroen DS, his favorite vehicle to steal, in the garage to change license plates, when the garagiste works in the back of the car and we have the reflections of the garage door perfectly framed in the rear side window of the car.

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Thomas S

@RT53929595 Oct 12, 2025

Super sleek and stylish. I love Delon’s character — the lone wolf with no moral compass, yet willing to go to any length for revenge. The film is all about style and atmosphere rather than action.

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Jean-Pierre Melville

Director

Alain Delon

Jef Costello

Nathalie Delon

Jane Lagrange

François Perier

The Superintendant

Cathy Rosier

Valérie, la pianiste (as Caty Rosier)

Jacques Leroy

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Synopsis

Hit man Jef Costello (Alain Delon) goes through an elaborate set of rituals before carrying out a hit on a nightclub owner. Always thorough and cool in his job, Costello is disconcerted to discover a witness to the killing, the club's female piano player. But before he can act, the police arrest him in a sweep of suspects. Released when the main witness does not come forward, Costello goes from being the hunter to the hunted, trailed by the determined police as well as his crime bosses.

Director: Jean-Pierre Melville
Producer: Raymond Borderie
Screenwriter: Joan McLeod, Roland Pellegrino, Yolande Maurette
Distributor: New Yorker Films
Production Co: Fida Cinematografica, Compagnie Industrielle et Commerciale Cinématographique
Rating: PG
Genre: Crime, Drama, Action
Original Language: French (France)
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 12, 1972, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 14, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $216.3K
Runtime: 1h 55m
Sound Mix: Mono

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