This film is currently unavailable
Le Doulos
The first in Jean-Pierre Melville’s great series of thrillers is a dazzlingly intricate tale of deadly suspicion and betrayal.
Director: Jean-Pierre Melville
Overview
Though Silien (Belmondo) is believed by some in the Parisian crime community to be a police informer, Maurice (Reggiani), a burglar just out of prison, trusts his friend enough to have let on about a job he’s lined up. But when a cop turns up mid-robbery, Maurice, wounded in his escape, has second thoughts and swears revenge... Establishing an atmosphere of unease, distrust and deception with a beautifully staged opening scene, Melville combines ingenious plot twists with a near-mythic evocation of underworld customs and fashions.
Belmondo’s youthful charm and Reggiani’s hangdog decency both prove enormously effective, while Nicolas Hayer’s camerawork is simply terrific. Finally, however, it’s the shadowy tangle of ambiguities, enigmas and cruel ironies that make this film so special.
moderate violence
Related
Drunken Angel Drunken Angel
Film noir 1948 98 mins Director: Akira Kurosawa
Part gangster film, part melodrama and part social critique, Akira Kurosawa's first critical success follows the troubled friendship between a disillusioned doctor and a young yakuza.
Two Women Two Women
War 1960 100 mins Director: Vittorio De Sica
Sophia Loren won an Oscar® for her performance as a mother trying to protect her daughter in wartime Italy, in Vittorio De Sica's neorealist classic.
Les Enfants Terribles Les Enfants Terribles
Drama 1949 106 mins Director: Jean-Pierre Melville
Jean-Pierre Melville’s film of Jean Cocteau's controversial novel about a teenage brother and sister and their intense, closeted relationship.
Rhianna Dhillon's Fresh Starts Rhianna Dhillon's Fresh Starts
Short documentary 2026 11 mins Director: Henry Barnes and Maha Albadrawi
Critic and broadcaster Rhianna Dhillon selects her pick of the films that will help you make a change for 2026.
20th Century Women 20th Century Women
Drama 2016 118 mins Director: Mike Mills
Annette Bening stars as a mum enlisting two friends (Greta Gerwig and Elle Fanning) to help her son navigate adolescence in Mike Mills’s comedy-drama.
Stan & Ollie Stan & Ollie
Biopic 2019 98 mins Director: Jon S. Baird
Steve Coogan and John C Reilly give delightful performances as Laurel & Hardy - comedy’s most famous double act - as they enter their twilight years.
Urchin Urchin
Drama 2025 99 mins Director: Harris Dickinson
The debut feature from actor Harris Dickinson sees a homeless addict get a shot at recovery and redemption.
Malpertuis Malpertuis
Fantasy 1971 125 mins Director: Harry Kümel
Orson Welles stars in this labyrinthine mythological fantasy set in a baroque mansion, from the director of Daughters of Darkness.
Daughters of Darkness Daughters of Darkness
Horror 1970 100 mins Director: Harry Kümel
A newlywed couple is entangled by the spellbinding aura of a vampire in Harry Kümel’s seductive horror.