Two Men in Manhattan

A pretty straightforward plot progression so it's understandably one of Melville's more forgotten works, but the clear star here is the city of New York, and damn does he film it with swagger. Sparse lights in enveloping darkness, a massive soundtrack, and even the English dialogue is endearingly awkward (what little I understood of it anyway). Also, always neat to see a director get on the other side of the camera.

Jean-Pierre Melville #1

An attractive film that gets everything else wrong. The acting is awful round the board, and the narrative is weak.

68.000

Had Melville's reverence for American cinema ever been so literal as it is here? This investigative procedural, registered in moody noir tones, revels in its New York location and a prominent (if slightly overbearing) jazz score. It's interesting to see Melville in front of the camera, even if he's pretty unremarkable there.

68.000