1970s French cop movie
April 20, 2011 12:35 AM Subscribe
I saw this French cop/conspiracy/scandal movie at French camp in the 1970s. Now that I have the awesome power of the internet at my disposal, I'd like to find it again. But I can't.
I don't have much to go on. I was at Concordia College's French language camp two summers in the latter 1970s. Many of our counselors were native French speakers from Canada, France, or even former French colonies. At least one year, with a Saturday stay-over, we had a movie someone brought in.
I'm very certain that this was the point at which I learned the French slang flics for "cops". The most obvious film, Un Flic, does not appear to match.
The two bits I remember were:
1. A street sequence at a crime scene in Paris, with a gritty police procedural feel to it, cops in reflective night uniforms (unusual in the US then), and possibly a male and female flic dynamic -- but if so, very matter-of-factly (compared with English language equivalents of the era). This scene came very early and may have opened the film. It was probably night-time, but very un-noir.
2. A political sequence involving a 40ish man with longish hair in a light-colored suit, doing something in the legislature, like denouncing the government for a cover-up or demanding an investigation. It caused a hubbub among the legislators. The chamber was (nearly?) completely round and had steep seating, and was probably some other building standing in for the National Assembly or Senate, the way US statehouses sometimes double for the US Capitol. I just don't recall it being nearly that vast.
I've tried to remember more, but I just keep coming back to these two bits. It's even possible they were separate films, but I don't remember seeing more than this one full-length drama. It would easily have been hand-carried from France by one of the staff, so international availability isn't a factor. I don't remember subtitles at all, and at the time it would really have helped me understand the movie, although obviously done little for my fluency.
Does this jog the memories of anyone? I'd love to revisit this movie, as what I remember is right down my alley.
I don't have much to go on. I was at Concordia College's French language camp two summers in the latter 1970s. Many of our counselors were native French speakers from Canada, France, or even former French colonies. At least one year, with a Saturday stay-over, we had a movie someone brought in.
I'm very certain that this was the point at which I learned the French slang flics for "cops". The most obvious film, Un Flic, does not appear to match.
The two bits I remember were:
1. A street sequence at a crime scene in Paris, with a gritty police procedural feel to it, cops in reflective night uniforms (unusual in the US then), and possibly a male and female flic dynamic -- but if so, very matter-of-factly (compared with English language equivalents of the era). This scene came very early and may have opened the film. It was probably night-time, but very un-noir.
2. A political sequence involving a 40ish man with longish hair in a light-colored suit, doing something in the legislature, like denouncing the government for a cover-up or demanding an investigation. It caused a hubbub among the legislators. The chamber was (nearly?) completely round and had steep seating, and was probably some other building standing in for the National Assembly or Senate, the way US statehouses sometimes double for the US Capitol. I just don't recall it being nearly that vast.
I've tried to remember more, but I just keep coming back to these two bits. It's even possible they were separate films, but I don't remember seeing more than this one full-length drama. It would easily have been hand-carried from France by one of the staff, so international availability isn't a factor. I don't remember subtitles at all, and at the time it would really have helped me understand the movie, although obviously done little for my fluency.
Does this jog the memories of anyone? I'd love to revisit this movie, as what I remember is right down my alley.
Response by poster: Good suggestion -- I didn't find it during my search this time but I've been aware of the title in the past. The trailer makes it look much too retro, telling a story that begins in the 1940s.
posted by dhartung at 1:21 AM on April 20, 2011
posted by dhartung at 1:21 AM on April 20, 2011
Response by poster: Two others I have dismissed on the basis of their trailers -- although both are closer in feel to what I recall -- are Police Python 357 and Peur sur la ville. Also Flic ou voyou, which doesn't have the same grittiness.
It's probably on this list, if anyone needs that.
posted by dhartung at 1:50 AM on April 20, 2011
It's probably on this list, if anyone needs that.
posted by dhartung at 1:50 AM on April 20, 2011
Adieu Poulet has a political/election angle (might fit in with your memory of a legislature scene?).
posted by amyms at 3:59 AM on April 20, 2011
posted by amyms at 3:59 AM on April 20, 2011
Or, another one with a political angle, maybe Le Juge Fayard Dit le Sherif. It was inspired by the real-life assassination of Francois Renaud, who was the principal judge of France's highest court.
posted by amyms at 4:33 AM on April 20, 2011
posted by amyms at 4:33 AM on April 20, 2011
Do you remember the exact year of the camp? That would help to narrow down the list to movies released before that year. I just had a look at Adieu poulet (a good candidate indeed) thanks to the almighty powers of the internet but it does not feature the scenes you describe. Le Juge Fayard (like Amyms says) and Mort d'un pourri have similar police/political corruption angles.
posted by elgilito at 4:39 AM on April 20, 2011
posted by elgilito at 4:39 AM on April 20, 2011
Response by poster: Well, it has Alain Delon in a cream-colored suit, but while nothing in the trailer directly references the scenes, it does have much of the feel I remember, so this is a good candidate: Mort d'un pourri (Death of a Corrupt Man). And one of the characters is a parliamentarian. [NYT]
At the very least, this is definitely material I like.
I'm pretty sure the two summers I was at camp were 1977 and 1978.
posted by dhartung at 10:57 AM on April 20, 2011
At the very least, this is definitely material I like.
I'm pretty sure the two summers I was at camp were 1977 and 1978.
posted by dhartung at 10:57 AM on April 20, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by amyms at 1:08 AM on April 20, 2011