Coup de torchon (Clean Slate)

Coup de torchon (Clean Slate) (1981)

  • 83% of critics liked it
    (6 reviews)

  • 77% of users liked it
    (1,161 ratings)

Based on pulp master Jim Thompson's Pop. 1280, Bertrand Tavernier's Coup de Torchon is a sardonic thriller that remains true to its source's spirit, even as it transposes the action from the American South to colonial West Africa. Lucien (Philippe Noiret) is the bumbling police chief of Bourkasa, a… More

Unrated, 2 hr. 8 min.
Directed By
Bertrand Tavernier
Written By
Jean Aurenche, Bertrand Tavernier
Genres
Drama, Action & Adventure, Art House & International, Comedy
In Theaters
Nov 4, 1981 Wide
On DVD
Nov 1, 1998

Critic Reviews

  • Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

    Shifting the locale of Jim Thompson's novel to Colonial Africa, Tavernier has made a compelling, well acted film.

  • Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice

    Clean Slate is a compelling offbeat morality play.

  • Jeremy Heilman, MovieMartyr.com

    It's often hilarious. It's just that that humor is so mordant that it's sometimes hard to accept.

  • James Kendrick, Q Network Film Desk

    a study in amorality disguised as a sometimes shocking black comedy

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

  • Stefanie C


    This was not my favorite Jim Thompson book, but Tavernier's vision is brilliant. Truly a film of nihilism, even more awry by the jazzy score and jumpy camera revealing Noiret's diminishing psychological state. The French African colony setting was a perfect for this… More

Cast

See full cast

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