Le Trou (1964)

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

This film is absolutely exceptional, from all points of view: story, actors, director, cinematography, everything. If you like movies with action in prisons, this is the best of all. And the most realistic (the script is inspired by a true story). Although static, because all the action is taking place in a prison cell, the film has great tension and is watching with the soul to the mouth. Michel Constantin and Philippe Leroy in their best roles. Great, great film!

During the bank holiday I decided to look online for any special DVD deals. Being a big fan of their Casque D'Or and Touchez Pas Au Grisbi presentations,I was thrilled to find Studiocanal's DVD of auteur film maker Jacques Becker at a great price,which led to me jumping into the hole.The plot:Sent to prison after accidentally (not fatally!) shooting his wife during a row, Claude Gaspard is welcomed into a prison filled to the brim. With there being no free cells left,Gaspard is chucked in with Roland Darban/Manu Borelli/Monseigneur and Jo Cassine. Breaking the ice,the guys reveal that they are each serving 10-20 year jail term. Hearing Gaspard talk about his possible 10 year term,the group decide to reveal their secret:They plan to escape the jail. Given the job of watchmen,Gaspard watches the guards go by,as the team dig a hole into their sentences.View on the film:Completed just two weeks before he died, (after which producer Serge Silberman cut 24 minutes from the cut,that remain lost) co- writer/(with Jean Aurel and José Giovanni) director Jacques Becker (whose son Jean has a cameo) & cinematographer Ghislain Cloquet play an extraordinary crescendo to Becker's pessimistic Noir universe. Re-creating the real prison for this "ripped from the headlines" tale,Becker lingers on each layer of the hole to dig into the dirt of the cell,with the clever move to not have a score leading to the industrial tools being the only sound in the cramped cell.Limiting the feminine touch to an uncredited appearance from a feature film debuting Catherine Spaak, Becker (who used the widescreen format for the first time)and Cloquet caves in the pent- up adrenaline with tightly coiled shots in the jail,which break up into a hole of ultra-stylised reflecting shots and dives across the prison sewers,as the team see daylight shining from the isolation. Working with most of the real inmates as "advisors",Becker and his fellow writers brilliantly gather the Noir and non-Noir creations of auteur Becker,via Gaspard being the youthful,loved-up outsider who follows Becker's Rendezvous in July and Antoine and Antoinette,who teams up with a "family" of working class Noir loners who drill into the family roots of Becker's It Happened at the Inn and the life of crime smarts of Becker's Touchez Pas au Grisbi,as Jacques Becker unlocks the Noir cells for the final time.

I saw this recently on a DVD. Had seen it in the early 90s on a VHS. Was dying to see this again. Had been on my radar for years. What an amazing piece of cinema this is. This is one of the most realistic, minimalist n detailed prison movie. Surprisingly the acting by all the inmates were very good considering most of em r non actors. The direction is superb. The movie was totally unpredictable with lots of suspense n tension throughout without any music. The tension in the film is sublime and at times unbearable. Every detail was properly shown. The black n white cinematography was top notch n boy the editing was crisp. I started this movie around 2 am n i never felt like yawning or distracted. Been taking creatine n was gulping too much water recently but never felt like pausing this film n going for a pee break. Was totally glued. This movie took away my sleep that i felt like writing a review immediately aft finishing it around 4 am. This movie is intense, claustrophobic, captivating, gripping n thrilling prison drama. Folks who haven't seen this shud avoid reading bah the plot. Jus knowing that it is a prison movie n inmates r planning to escape shud b suffice. One of the best thing in this movie is the bond between the inmates. Its about loyalty, bond, boldness, cooperation, hard work n friendship. The film lacks most prison film clichés. There are no sadistic prison guards, and all the prisoners seem like regular guys. This movie is based on a real life prison escape, co written by one of the person involved in the real event n another real life person who was involved in the escape acted as the leader/planner of the group. In one scene i was shocked to see Jean Keraudy (the planner's) hand. His fingers were amputated, telling us right away that he has lived a tough life. Definitely for fans of movies like A man escaped, Brute force, Shawshank redemption, The Great escape, etc..

"Le Trou" begins with a new cell mate being moved to a new cell in the prison. Apparently they were doing some work in his cell and he and his cell mates were all split up and moved to new quarters. However, the guys already occupying the room have a secret--they've got a reasonably complicated escape plan. At first, they are apprehensive to let him in on the deal but soon realize that they are stuck with him and cannot proceed unless he, too, is part of their plan. The rest of the film consists of a meticulous and slow depiction of their tunnel. If you like heist films that show long and detailed plots, then this one is for you.Is this 'the greatest French film'? Probably not. But I could certainly see why Jean Pierre Melville would adore this movie, as its style is so close to his I might have believed he directed it--had I not known that it was actually directed by Jacques Becker. Like so many Melville films, this one excels in the realism department. And, like Melville, it's about crooks--and the film really focuses on them almost at the exclusion of all else. Now this sort of film does have one inherent problem--if you want to see a film where you can like the characters, then you'll have a hard time with this one. That's because the protagonists are all guys doing time in prison--so they are not exactly angels! As for me, I respected the film more than I liked the film. Simply put, I have seen several other prison films I have enjoyed more. Still, it's well worth seeing---particularly if you like French films, neo-realism (as the actors were real people--including some of the guys involved in the REAL escape about which this film is made) or prison flicks, then you'll most likely enjoy this film.