Cathardincu Surprisingly incoherent and boring

Stevecorp Don't listen to the negative reviews

Fairaher The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

Staci Frederick Blistering performances.

antcol8 All right, it was fun, I'll admit it...Lino Ventura doing his thing, a Simonin adaptation (like Touchez Pas au Grisbi, one of my favorite films), lots of Culture Clash between "high" and "low" language - illustrated brilliantly in Michel Audiard's script. A classic "modern composer" scene (I collect those), some funny music cues (especially the church organ playing the movie's theme as the wedding processional). But it ain't a great movie. Another reviewer here called it something like "the worst - directed French classic", and that sounds about right. It's a movie of bits and moments. The more serious and sustained the action scene is supposed to be, the more unsuccessful the movie is. I fell asleep trying to watch it on DVD. But it works in the theater - pretty much...

ensor_ostende-1 OK, is not an easy movie to understand, if your not familiar to old french slang, the real argot if you see what I mean... yet, this is an easy movie to understand, since you don't need to be familiar to argot : les tontons flingueurs is a classic OK ? No need of big arguments, no need to summarize the movie to non-frenchspeakers, simply see it in original version (with subtitles or with a french friend) and you'll agree with me !!! This is a movie monument, this deserves to be IMDb's movie number one !!! If you didn't understand me... well, I'm use to it, that's why I sing Nina Simone's song...Thank you

roro-1 Probably one of the most poorly directed classics of French cinema, but valued for Audiard's dialogue and the acting of the whole ensemble: you will still find French people able to quote huge chunks of the dialogue, and to remember the detail of performances by Ventura, Blier et al.In mid New Wave, with its many refinements of mise-en-scene and montage, Lautner's film is a crude mix of zooms, inapposite close-ups and ugly compositions. Lautner does not pretend to rival Chabrol or Godard, though in the last sequence he includes a New Wave type allusion to his 'Monocle' films with Paul Meurisse. Without the linguistic knowledge to appreciate the subtlety of the vulgar French, or the cinematic knowledge to appreciate the nuances in the performance of the actors, I doubt if this film is accessible to an international audience, which is as it should be. There is a part of all national film cultures that is precious because it is particular. Personally, I would find it impossible to teach this film in the French Cinema courses I run, because it is too French.

Ant-Roy What is so special about this movie ? Its density... It lasts about two hours, and you don't have any time to breathe, because of the intelligence, and the spirit of every quote. It is a shame that there are no exemples of quotes from it on this site, it would make you laugh just to read them. Under the appearance of a classic dark detective movie, it is one of the funniest comedy ever made. The only thing is that, to keep the atmosfear, you ought to see it in original version (french). But, for Audiard and his humor, for Launtner and his inspired direction, and, most of all, for the actors (especially Bernard Blier) everybody in the whole world must see it at least once. One of the greatest french movies ever made (and God knows the quality of the french cinema) !