dbdumonteil
Henri Verneuil is not an auteur .So what? Who cares ? He is a perfect craftsman ,a very good story teller ,the perfect antidote to the N.V. headaches ;Saturday night movies best describe his work.And we do need this kind of cinema."100000 dollars Au Soleil" looks like a lite "Salaire De La Peur",the classic by Clouzot,but in a tongue in cheek way,with good lines by Audiard.Plus a splendid use of the wide screen exploring the Morrocan desert.Plus two French favorites;the third lead ,Reginald Kernan is unknown in France and is in it probably because the producers could not get Hardy Kruger.Plus a cast against type Blier and Gert "Goldfinger" Froebe .Plus a magnificent score by Georges Delerue,but had this composer ever written mediocre music for films? An action-packed movie ,which enhances male friendship (if there's a moral in this tale) .Women are demeaned :Belmondo's best fiancée (sic)(Andréa Parisy) is scarcely allowed to complete a sentence ,he expects her to sit there and look pretty.As for Angèle,who dreams of the broader horizons of the big town,Ventura tells her that "she is not a whore cause she does not get dough when she sleeps with his mates (the truck drivers)"But one of the girls will remember the proverb:he(or she) who laughs last laughs best !Eat your heart out ,machos!
Squeele
A classic, comedic chase movie starring the finest french actors from the 60's and a legendary Bond villain, no less !The movie follows Marec (Lino Ventura), a truck driver sent by his boss (Gert Fröbe) to track down through the Morroccan desert a reckless youngster (Jean-Paul Belmondo) who stole a brand-new truck and its payload. Riddled with bad luck, Marec will face the dangers of the desert, as well as a fishy partner, and a reluctant, misogynist tow-truck helper (the hilarious Bernard Blier) until the climactic fight.An excellent 60's French action-comedy, complete with great music, perfect direction by Henri Verneuil ("Le Casse", "Un singe en hiver", "La bataille de San Sebastian", "Le corps de mon ennemi") and hilarious dialogues by Michel Audiard. Reminds a lot of Peckinpah's "Convoy" (1978). It doesn't take itself seriously, and however reveals a lot about the times, the misogynistic and somewhat imperialistic nature of the French in Northern Africa during the early 60's. And even if the characters are sometimes real morons, in the end of the day you really root for them.
pete36
Some spoilers aheadYou can't go wrong with major French stars as Ventura and Belmondo, impeccable direction by Henri Verneuil, sharp dialogue and script from Michel Audiard and a sweeping score from Georges Delerue. A movie when men still were men and where women are merely playthings or just not to be trusted. But there are some twists, most notably when Belmondo, to slow down his opponents, tells the owner of a filling station that the pursuant truck team is a gay couple ! A very daring thing for such a classic macho action flick from 1964. And there is much more to be discovered in the multi-layered fast-paced dialogue, courtesy of specialist Michel Audiard. Almost impossible to translate directly into English, you have to get the original version and have more then a basic mastery of the French language. It was filmed entirely on location, (as far as I can deduce the Moroccan desert, or could it be former French Tunisia ?) and all stunt-work with the big trucks is of course for real. There exists a colorized version but it is in the terrible flat pan-and-scan format and gives it the look of a seventies' TV-movie. The original sharp-focused black-and-white copy fits much better the story and characters. Recently French public TV also choose to air this version in its scope format. Director Verneuil went on to make another five movies with Belmondo with the final one "Les Morfalous" in 1984, again set in the desert but now during WW II and the truck being replaced by a German tank !If you like this try another of those French sixties buddymovies as "Les Aventuriers" also with Ventura but now with that other French superstar, Alain Delon.
arsenick
Southern Morocco, 1963. The owner of a truck transports company hires a new driver (a self-called American tough guy) to transport mysterious goods in a brand new magnificent truck. While the established group of drivers of the company is welcoming the new driver, one of them (played by Jean-Paul Belmondo)hijack the mysterious truck on the day after, planning to negotiate the sale of goods for its own profit and fly over with his new young bride. The best driver of the company (played by Lino Ventura)is launched to his young fellow's pursuit. On his way, the new American driver joins him to eventually face the young "thief". The pursuit through the Moroccan "Atlas" is rich of surprises about each one, in a world where no one asks more than he has to know.About all, friendship is always victorious, even if "Friends always share fight, problems, hunger an women, but never money when it is worth 100 000 dollars", as Jean-Paul Belmondo says.
AD
