Master of the fate-haunted French gangster picture Jean-Pierre Melville brings together four archetypal tough guys for their appointment with destiny: prisoner-in-transit Gian Maria Volonté; relentless Inspector Mattei (played by French comedy legend Bourvil); ex-cop Yves Montand; and Alain Delon, shrugging off two murder attempts on his first day out of the joint. The four join forces for a meticulously planned heist, a silent tour-de-force in the grand movie tradition of Topkapi, The Asphalt Jungle, and Rififi.
