Un Flic (Dirty Money) (1972)

69% of critics liked it
(13 reviews)
70% of users liked it
(1,651 ratings)

Parisian police commissioner Coleman (Alain Delon) is not a happy man, but he does what he can to get through each day. He has recently started having an affair with Cathy (Catherine Deneuve), and that helps a little. Cathy is also Simon's girlfriend and Simon (Richard Crenna) is Coleman's friend.… More Parisian police commissioner Coleman (Alain Delon) is not a happy man, but he does what he can to get through each day. He has recently started having an affair with Cathy (Catherine Deneuve), and that helps a little. Cathy is also Simon's girlfriend and Simon (Richard Crenna) is Coleman's friend. Unfortunately, Simon is also the head of a gang of criminals. When Coleman's investigation of a drug-smuggling ring closes in, their rivalry comes to a head. One of the highlights of this film is a stunt involving a helicopter and a moving train. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: PG, 1 hr. 40 min.
Directed By: Jean-Pierre Melville
Genres: Art House & International, Drama

In Theaters: Dec 2, 1972 Wide
On DVD: Mar 22, 2005

Critic Reviews

Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader
A murky disappointment.
Janet Maslin, New York Times
Mr. Melville's obsession with technical information is sometimes taken to lengths that border on the crazy.
Fernando F. Croce, CinePassion
Chilling perfection is Melville's epitath
Andrew L. Urban, Urban Cinefile
Engaging and entertaining %u2026 primarily a heist movie with noirish elements; the characters are all flawed
Brian Holcomb, PopMatters
Everything that has come to be known as "Melville" exists in some form throughout the film's 98 minutes. The flaws present are those of the greatest auteurs' autumnal works.
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
Plays beautifully with all [Melville's] trademark silence, grim faces, and gloomy colors.
, TV Guide's Movie Guide
Fragile beauty Deneuve gets little more than a walk-on as the woman carrying on with both men.
, Time Out
A bitter meditation on disenchantment and defeat, as glacial and hermetic as Deneuve's face.
, Film4
Although ill, Melville still managed a dark edge and a sense of camaraderie among villains and cops in his last take on his preferred genre, the American thriller.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
It's a darkly atmospheric film noir with Melville linking his characters to the silent landscape around them.
Dragan Antulov, rec.arts.movies.reviews
[A] very interesting piece of genre cinema.

Read all 11 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

danny d

melville blends his usual style with a gripping crime story that tracks every detail as parts of the story unfold in almost real time. the only drawback might be the films accessability as it is so intelligently written and filmed that one might have to be almost too smart to track… More
melville blends his usual style with a gripping crime story that tracks every detail as parts of the story unfold in almost real time. the only drawback might be the films accessability as it is so intelligently written and filmed that one might have to be almost too smart to track along the way, but those that follow the story will be drawn in. phenomenal film.
Eric B

Jean-Pierre Melville's final project is a blue-toned caper film with two extended heist sequences and several long stretches without dialogue. Alain Delon (who also starred in Melville's "Le Samourai" and "Le Cercle Rouge") is now a good guy -- a… More
Jean-Pierre Melville's final project is a blue-toned caper film with two extended heist sequences and several long stretches without dialogue. Alain Delon (who also starred in Melville's "Le Samourai" and "Le Cercle Rouge") is now a good guy -- a detective on the trail -- and lead criminals Richard Crenna and Michael Conrad are presumably dubbed in French. Catherine Deneuve shows up for a few scenes to look beautiful but feels written into the story as a marketing move. The most interesting segment is the second heist, an elaborate robbery of a train in motion. Unfortunately, the cost-cutting use of a miniature helicopter and train for the long shots is seriously embarrassing.
Walter M

[font=Century Gothic]Written and directed by Jean-Pierre Melville, "Un Flic" is a stylish heist movie with minimal dialogue(There is narration at the beginning that does nobody any favors.), that has not one heist, but two. The first is pulled off at a bank in gale force… More
[font=Century Gothic]Written and directed by Jean-Pierre Melville, "Un Flic" is a stylish heist movie with minimal dialogue(There is narration at the beginning that does nobody any favors.), that has not one heist, but two. The first is pulled off at a bank in gale force winds while the second serves as the climax of the film. In between is a Paris where it is impossible to tell the criminals from the police without a scorecard(or for that matter the men from the women). One of the gang of thieves is Paul Weber(Riccardo Cucciolla), an otherwise good man who has gotten desperate after being laid off as an assistant manager for a bank about a year before. On the other side of the fence is Police Superintendent Edouard Coleman(Alain Delon) who resorts to whatever methods he can to catch the criminals, whether it be relying on snitches or roughing up suspects. He even plays the piano a bit at a nightclub frequented by Simon(Richard Crenna), the gang leader. The only thing clear in this grey world is to never be a hero. Look where that will get you. [/font]