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Bob le flambeur

Bob le flambeur

1956
Drama, Suspense/Thriller
1h 38m
Bob, a old gangster and gambler is almost broke, so he decides in spite of the warnings of a friend... (imdb)
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Bob le flambeur

1956
Drama, Suspense/Thriller
1h 38m
Your probable score
Avg Percentile 65.4% from 843 total ratings

Ratings & Reviews

(843)
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Rated 02 Mar 2007
5
91st
A charming and constantly delightful film. Duchesne's portrayal of Bob, a broke, unlucky gambler with a sense of morality, is excellent; honor among thieves is a cliche, but this is a well-developed, sympathetic, engaging character. It's far less dark than most noirs; Melville apparently had the intention of creating somewhat of a "comedy noir," and he succeeded.
Rated 07 Feb 2007
83
77th
Not a whole lot to say, just a really fun flick. I loved the lighting and the romantic air that hung about the streets of Montmartre. You really want to inhabit that world. It's interesting that although Bob has a soft spot for women, one gets the feeling that Melville might have a touch of the misogynist in him. It's the women in the film who mess things up, at one point even "Lady Luck" gets blamed.
Rated 31 Jan 2007
80
61st
Just another film noir this, really. Great characters these, though. End pretty uncharacteristic of the genre. This review no verb.
Rated 06 Feb 2015
71
70th
Gambling has one of two outcomes. You might hit the jackpot, or everyone you meet might spill the beans to their completely untrustworthy lady friend, coupled with the unfortunate demise of anyone you've taken under the wing while simultaneously hitting the hot streak you've been waiting for for a lifetime and also, doesn't Godard have something I could be watching?
Rated 06 Mar 2007
5
93rd
At this point Melville is yet to settle into his signature aesthetic composure, but nevertheless Bob le flambeur falls in line with the director's preoccupation with contained worlds of gangsters and gangsterism, nocturnal social rituals, and felonious schemes. It is fatalistic enough to be considered classic film noir, and lively enough to have etched influence upon the following generation of young filmmakers.
Rated 26 Dec 2011
85
90th
The ingredients of an American noir infused with the essence of French cool. I initially thought this was slow to get going, but it began to win me over when I realised the film is about Bob, not the heist. I liked the contrasts; Bob is a crook, but he appears respectable. He lives in the shadows, but is cheerful and kind. He's a compulsive gambler, but takes no chances when planning the robbery. It's a crime film, but has a light and breezy tone. Opposites... red and black, heads and tails...
Rated 28 Jun 2008
84
77th
A fun noirish gangster film. It's done with Melville's usual sense of style and very well crafted, with a rather unique ending.
Rated 10 Nov 2008
95
87th
Godard ain't got nothin' on the master.
Rated 23 Jul 2009
87
81st
A character study heist flick, minus the heist. Brilliant performance by Roger Duchesne and masterful direction by Melville launch this above its cliches. Oh, and possibly one of the hottest French girls you've ever seen (yeah, that can be considered a point of film criticism).
Rated 06 Jul 2007
90
86th
Melville is such an amazing director. I loved the ending line more than anything else in the movie, "If I get a really top lawyer then maybe I'll sue for damages." Ahahaha ownage
Rated 29 Oct 2010
70
65th
The ending was sort of flat and it makes the "'Casino Royale' mistake" of thinking that watching someone play cards is even slightly riveting. The old-timer playing Bob had style, though.
Rated 01 Apr 2007
60
47th
Not that exciting
Rated 17 Feb 2010
85
82nd
Fun movie to watch with some great characters(especially the titular Bob). It's not dark like you'd expect from a noir-style film like this one, but it works with what Melville was going for. The ending is pretty predictable from just 5 or 10 minutes in, but it's a good ride with a lot of Melville's stylish flourish.
Rated 06 Apr 2020
75
66th
At its core it's a heist film where the mastermind gets distracted and forgets about the heist; brilliant. SPECIAL NEWS BULLETIN: There is a dog in the film briefly and its panting is dubbed by an adult man.
Rated 16 Feb 2020
78
66th
Cool.
Rated 01 Mar 2008
76
61st
# 480
Rated 09 Aug 2011
70
72nd
Entertaining New Wave precursor from Melville.
Rated 27 May 2013
92
95th
The cheeky ending pushes it over the top.
Rated 28 Feb 2016
15
81st
Star Rating: ★★★★
Rated 17 Nov 2023
80
71st
I like how they didn't fuck up the ending like 90% of the noirs.
Rated 15 Apr 2010
2
21st
There is literally nothing here that is very remarkable. The characters, the direction, the writing and the cinematography aren't interesting at all. There are tons of better crime films. I suspect this is praised more because of Melville's name being on it more than the actual content. The killing scenes are so lame and unrealistic and horribly filmed that I can't believe no one's complained about them. The French should thank Truffaut daily for saving French cinema and making it what it is.
Rated 17 Oct 2012
81
84th
Wonderful flowing dialogue, and a charming lead. The way they handled the thematic and plot material came through more comedic than poignant - attested to by the plentiful instances of laughter rippling through the AGNSW cinema.
Rated 23 Feb 2013
3
45th
It's really my own fault for watching this so soon after Rififi.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
86
72nd
Also see the 2002 remake, The Good Thief,\" with Nick Nolte.
Rated 18 Sep 2013
4
52nd
not sure if melville mixed the brooding suave of film noir with the lightly chic editing of 'nouvelle vague' very well. often quite speedy chopping between scenes makes it seem a bit rushed and messy. some interesting bits, and melville always films the mechanical parts of actually doing the heist excellently.
Rated 06 Aug 2009
54
16th
Bob le flambeur: 7 // 3 // 5 // 7 // 5 // 6 // 5
Rated 02 May 2010
50
38th
I see this as a transitional movie for Melville. Stylistically he is searching for his voice; the directing and editing are for the most part conventional, with a few prototypically new-wavish elements, e.g. some shots noticeably handheld. Thematically it's still an off-the-shelf crime film, adapted from Auguste Le Breton (whose other caper, Rififi as adapted by Jules Dassin, is better). It's not a great movie. I don't buy Bob's character for a second, and across the board the acting is weak.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
72
81st
Score based on distant memory.
Rated 30 Nov 2011
73
46th
#542
Rated 19 Dec 2008
72
44th
559
Rated 27 Jan 2013
85
79th
Having little familiarity with this era of film I can't put it up against its contemporary films, but I did feel myself being wrapped up in the story, and especially enjoyed the performances of Roger Duchesne and Isabelle Corey. The movie is a slow burn, but reaches a satisfying conclusion.
Rated 15 Mar 2010
80
86th
Swag.
Rated 01 Nov 2012
58
56th
nice little film without taking you anywhere in particular. Liked Roger Duchesne and Isabelle Corey is a Bardot precursor (Joanne le Baptist if you like). Pretty sure this film was sponsored by Gauloises, it's a full on cigarette appreciation society - with the occasional cigar thrown in to mix things up a bit
Rated 27 Nov 2015
75
51st
Gets into the Bob character and all his gambling delights before shifting into heist territory, and the heist itself is "portrayed" in an interesting way I don't think I've seen before. Bob is cool, but a lot of the acting is unremarkable (it's like they're acting for Robert Bresson), yet to counter this, the sets and music are particularly striking. Fun film, easily comparable (and inferior) to Rififi.
Rated 19 Sep 2013
88
95th
87.500
Rated 09 Jul 2017
76
47th
As solidly built as any of the classic heist thrillers. Melville takes his sweet time setting things in motion, introducing the characters' charms with one-liners and soaking in the romance of the streets, but when the walls of the plan start crumbling down, his gleeful sense of chaos takes over. Not quite as sharp as the best American noir and not quite as graceful as the best French, it's still consistently captivating with a smartly realized final act.
Rated 19 Jul 2008
60
62nd
Good film.
Rated 15 Jan 2010
71
42nd
582
Rated 13 Dec 2010
75
45th
I thought it had more New Wave than film noir to it, which for me was quite disappointing. It has a handful of nice characters, but I certainly prefer Touchez Pas au Grisbi.
Rated 17 Oct 2017
78
63rd
Melville usually generates a good amount of tension due to the well-crafted robbery plots in his films. Unfortunately, here part of that's missing due to the predictability of the heist failing, making the story less effective.
Rated 20 Dec 2009
92
89th
Great French version of a crime caper noir. This is New Wave before New Wave was cool.
Rated 08 Oct 2007
75
66th
Bob is a pimp
Rated 07 May 2012
87
85th
86.750
Rated 08 Jan 2018
60
35th
Melville shows his love of American noir and proves he's the godfather of the French New Wave. The story is a slow character study that seems to fumble the rushed ending (the shootout didn't work for me).
Rated 30 Sep 2011
89
88th
A true template heist film. That alone is important and fun enough, but Melville and Duchesne let the whole thing leisurely saunter in a haze of so much freaking Cool that the film is elevated beyond mere genre into something else entirely.
Rated 09 May 2019
80
64th
Olha, estou dando quatro estrelas para esse filme não porque eu tenha gostado, mas porque a mise-en-scène do Melville é impecável e pela brilhante frase final, mas eu passei boa parte do filme sofrendo pela quantidade de pessoas estúpidas que estão aqui como personagens e ando com pouca paciência com gente estúpida. Box Versátil Filme Noir Francês Volume 2.
Rated 19 Feb 2024
65
51st
Good fun, since the scene is set so well, and its a nice world to fall into. A bit of brandy would have been nice but I settled for joining them for a cig now and then. The narrative doesn't come of as well as other similar films, but Melville has certainly come some way as a director since his previous film in '53.
Rated 30 Apr 2020
80
76th
Bir yandan Kumarbaz Bob'un kumarın her türüne dair doymak bilmez bir iştahı, diğer yandan soygun planı... Kumarbaz Bob, Fransız sinemasının kendinden sonra gelen soygun filmlerine yol gösteren, Yeni Dalga'nın ayak seslerini hissettiren, dış ses kullanılan filmlerinden biri. Final sahnesi zayıf ama kişilerin tutkularına, bağımlılıklarına düşkünlüğünü gösterebilmesi açısından pek başarılı. Isabelle Corey de cabası.
Rated 28 Apr 2020
55
26th
On again, off again narration may become my new pet peeve.
Rated 21 Aug 2020
76
48th
A very mellow and entertaining film. It is very well paced and you are never bored, but in turn, it never really "picks up" the entire film continues on a steady pace and never really steers off of it's meek tone. Enjoyable nonetheless, but it isn't necessarily evocative.
Rated 07 Dec 2021
80
76th
Favourite part: When it was evident that Marc doesn't trim his nose hair.
Rated 16 Nov 2020
70
56th
So elegantly directed. The script has a hard time keeping up, and you can see Melville evolves later toward more minimal scripts to let the direction carry the films.
Rated 24 Sep 2021
81
66th
Solid noir. Not up to par with Melville's later work, but the quiet remove in the lead actor is already there in spades.
Rated 11 Jun 2022
50
35th
Didn’t engage. Only watched the beginning.
Rated 19 Feb 2023
4
51st
Loved the way it looked. The handheld camerawork is great.
Rated 04 Mar 2023
78
71st
Definitely prefer this looser Melville. A truly heartbreakingly beautiful performance by Duchesne (even if you should hate his guts for his actions in WW2) the meta textual nature of it all really helps you feel for the character. When he looks in the window and sees himself as an actor again…
Rated 21 May 2023
79
67th
A really cool heist flick that feels New Wavy despite coming 4 years before Breathless. It's also a noir and a damn solid crime film. The ending is a bit odd, but works okay.
Rated 12 Sep 2023
80
68th
Jean-Pierre Melville loves everything American and this film is stuffed with visual and plot tropes from American films, only infused with an exceedingly French essence. Heists and stuff happen in this film, but this all seems secondary to a very laid back sense of French coolness. It's an utterly captivating film in which the plot feels like an afterthought.

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