Rififi (Du Rififi Chez les Hommes) (1956)
95%RT Audience Score: 95%
Awards & Nominations: 6 wins & 1 nomination
Rififi is a film that truly stands the test of time, with its intricate plot and masterful direction by Jules Dassin. While some critics may argue that the film loses its way in the second half, I would argue that it only adds to the complexity and depth of the story. The tension and mounting suspense throughout the film is palpable, and viewers become fully invested in the characters and their motivations. Dassin’s portrayal of the criminal underworld is both incisive and entertaining, and the film’s influence on the heist genre cannot be overstated. From the wordless half-hour close-up of the major burglary to the intricate details of the robbery, Rififi is a true masterpiece of cinema that should not be missed.
Rififi is the kind of movie that makes you want to become a thief, but then you remember that you’re not cool enough to pull off a heist like these guys. The tension builds up so much that you’ll be on the edge of your seat, wondering if they’ll get caught or not. And that jewelry store scene? It’s worth the price of admission alone. Plus, you get to feel like a fancy French person because it’s in black and white with subtitles. So grab some popcorn and get ready for a wild ride.
Production Company(ies)
Pathé Consortium Cinéma Indusfilms Société Nouvelle Pathé Cinéma
Distributor
UMPO, Rialto Pictures, Criterion Collection
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
2 Rue d’Annam, Paris 20, Paris, France
MPAA / Certificate
Not Rated
Year of Release
1956
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Color:Color
Black and White -
Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:1.37 : 1
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Runtime:2h 0m
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Language(s):French, Italian, English
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Country of origin:Italy
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Jun 5, 1956 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 24, 2001
Genre(s)
Crime/Mystery & Thriller
Keyword(s)
Crime, Mystery & Thriller, Drama, heist, jewel thief, prison, gangster, love triangle, betrayal, tension, suspense, French, black and white, subtitles, Tony le Stéphanois, Jean Servais, Jo le Suedois, Carl Mohner, Mario Farrati, Robert Manuel, Viviane, Magali Noël, Louise, Janine Darcey, Mado, Marie Sabouret, directed by Jules Dassin, produced by René Bezard, Henri Bérard, Pierre Cabaud, René Gaston Vuattoux, written by Auguste Le Breton, Jules Dassin, René Wheeler, Auguste Le Breton, box office gross USA $57.2K, reviewed by John Wilcox, Alan Scherstuhl, Chris Cabin, Variety Staff, Dave Kehr, Jonathan Rosenbaum, Taylor Baker, Ernesto Diezmartinez, Mike Massie, Clyde Gilmour, Sarah Boslaugh, starring Jean Servais, Carl Mohner, Robert Manuel, Magali Noël, Janine Darcey, Marie Sabouret, produced by UMPO, Rialto Pictures, Criterion Collection, MPAA rating N/A
Worldwide gross: $521,342
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $6,467,834
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,097
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 705,325
US/Canada gross: $517,975
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $6,426,063
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,737
US/Canada opening weekend: $17,981
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $223,075
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,626
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Carl Mohner – Jo le Suedois
Robert Manuel – Mario Farrati
Magali Noël – Viviane
Janine Darcey – Louise
Marie Sabouret – Mado
Jules Dassin – Director
René Bezard, Henri Bérard, Pierre Cabaud, René Gaston Vuattoux – Producers
Auguste Le Breton, Jules Dassin, René Wheeler, Auguste Le Breton – Writers
Director(s)
Jules Dassin
Writer(s)
Auguste Le Breton, Jules Dassin, René Wheeler, Auguste Le Breton
Producer(s)
René Bezard, Henri Bérard, Pierre Cabaud, René Gaston Vuattoux
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
6 wins & 1 nomination
Academy Awards
All Critics (53) | Top Critics (17) | Fresh (49) | Rotten (4)
A pity that the film degenerates through attempting too much; for in the first half, when Dassin is working within his limitations, he creates an admirably incisive and entertaining piece of melodrama.
March 18, 2020
John Wilcox
Sight & Sound
TOP CRITIC
Viewers become something like collaborators, invested in working out what, say, that umbrella is going to be used for – and then pleased to discover whether we’ve gotten it right or not.
September 1, 2015
Alan Scherstuhl
Village Voice
TOP CRITIC
Jules Dassin doesn’t waste much time in expressing exactly what he thinks of the criminals and gangster culture that rule his underworld.
August 28, 2015 | Rating: 4/4
Chris Cabin
Slant Magazine
TOP CRITIC
It took an experienced US director, Jules Dassin, who has lived in France some years, to give the French gangster pic the proper tension, mounting and treatment. This pic has something intrinsically Gallic without sacrificing the rugged storytelling.
October 30, 2007
Variety Staff
Variety
TOP CRITIC
The film turns moralistic and sour in the last half, when the thieves fall out.
October 30, 2007
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
A familiar but effective parable of honor among thieves.
October 30, 2007
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
Episode 23: Vox Lux / The Guilty / Shoplifters / The Mule / Rififi
September 5, 2021 | Rating: 90/100
Taylor Baker
Drink in the Movies
“Dassin’s first French film is a stylistic and thematic distillation of his best Hollywood work”. [Full review in Spanish]
December 31, 2020 | Rating: 4/4
Ernesto Diezmartinez
Letras Libres
It doesn’t play by conventional rules, opting for a chief thief whose motives aren’t about spending millions and a getaway that’s complicated by ruthless enemies.
August 23, 2020 | Rating: 8/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
A French crime-and-suspense yarn (with a dubbed English soundtrack) in which one sequence is worth the ticket-price all by itself: a wordless half-hour close-up of a major burglary in a Pais jewelry shop.
November 6, 2019
Clyde Gilmour
Maclean’s Magazine
…portrays a robbery in painstaking detail (and in a way that would not have been permitted by American censors in 1955)…
March 4, 2016 | Rating: 7/10
Sarah Boslaugh
Playback:stl
If elements of it seem overly familiar now, that’s only because they were done first here, and picked up by every heist film that followed.
November 25, 2015
Sherilyn Connelly
SF Weekly…
Plot
After five years in prison, Tony le Stéphanois meets his dearest friends Jo and the Italian Mario Ferrati, who invite Tony to steal a couple of jewels from the show-window of the famous Mappin and Webb Ltd, but he declines. Tony finds his former girlfriend Mado, who became the lover of Louis Grutter, gangster owner of the L’ Âge d’ Or nightclub, and he humiliates and beats her for being unfaithful. Then he calls Jo and Mario and proposes a burglary of the safe of the jewelry. They invite the Italian specialist in safes and elegant wolf Cesar to join their team and they plot a perfect heist. They are successful in their plan, but the Don Juan Cesar errs by giving a valuable ring to his mistress.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Jean Servais plays the lead role of Tony le Stéphanois in Rififi.
Jules-Dassin.jpg
