Du Rififi chez les hommes/Rififi
1955, Dassin, Fr 1st time; big sceen
Professional thieves hitch a master jewel heist, but only one of them abides by their secret code of honour, and it all ends sour.
Highly influential heist film, famous for its half-hour silent robbery scene, which is a fine accomplishment of meticulous filmmaking, a precursor for the likes of Melville; its finest moments, however, come after the heist, with bad villains ruthlessly taking out the good villains, making for a tense, last desperate effort finale.

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For the record, I don't think anybody's tastes in film can, or should, be laughed at. There are cultural and critical significances to be found in just about anybody's reaction to Art. From Irishman's taste, for instance, we know he enjoys films to which he can relate--if that means the majority of them must be contemporary, colourful, noisy action flicks, then so be it; I think it's admirable that he's even giving conscious time to films he wouldn't normally watch. Mike Sullivan, on the other hand, being interested in history in general, doesn't mind--or even prefers--to delve into Cinema's past in order to find what he likes.

If anything, I think both these tastes are slightly prejudiced towards the other side--Irishman approaches a '30s black and white melodrama with as much preceding caution and reservation as Mike approaches the newest summer blockbuster. Mike, have you seen Domino?

Thanks for reading,
Mick