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Le Samouraï

Le Samouraï

Crime · Thriller · Drama · 1967

After carrying out a flawlessly planned hit, Jef Costello, a contract killer with samurai instincts, finds himself caught between a persistent police investigator and a ruthless employer, and not even his armor of fedora and trench coat can protect him.

Movie details

Le Samouraï

“His only friend was his gun!”

1967 Crime · Thriller · Drama 1h 45m

Critical arithmetic

The consensus, allegedly.

IMDb

8.0 / 10

63.2K votes

Rotten Tomatoes

92 %

Tomatometer

Metacritic

90 / 100

Metascore

TMDB

7.8 / 10

Community rating

External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.

After carrying out a flawlessly planned hit, Jef Costello, a contract killer with samurai instincts, finds himself caught between a persistent police investigator and a ruthless employer, and not even his armor of fedora and trench coat can protect him.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Le Samouraï?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

Le Cercle Rouge

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The Butcher

Thriller · 1970

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Footsteps in the Fog

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A Victorian-era murder mystery about a parlour maid who discovers that her employer may have killed his first wife.

I Confess

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The File on Thelma Jordon

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Thriller · 1949

Cleve Marshall, an assistant district attorney, falls for Thelma Jordon, a mysterious woman with a troubled past. When Thelma becomes a suspect in her aunt's murder, Cleve tries to clear her name.

Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Jean-Pierre Melville

Written by

Jean-Pierre Melville · Georges Pellegrin

Alain Delon

Alain Delon

Jef Costello

François Périer

François Périer

Superintendant

Nathalie Delon

Nathalie Delon

Jane Lagrange

Cathy Rosier

Cathy Rosier

Valérie

Michel Boisrond

Michel Boisrond

Wiener

Catherine Jourdan

Catherine Jourdan

Locker Room Girl

Jean-Pierre Posier

Jean-Pierre Posier

Olivier Rey

Court is in session

Put Le Samouraï on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Big-Idea Head

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.