Pickpocket (1959)
91%RT Audience Score: 85%
Awards & Nominations: NA
Narratively spare and told with clockwork precision, Pickpocket is a carefully observed character study that packs an emotional wallop.
Pickpocket is a film that will have you on the edge of your seat, wondering what will happen next. It’s a character study that delves deep into the psyche of a pickpocket, examining his motivations and his struggles. The tension is palpable, and the performances are top-notch. Robert Bresson’s direction is masterful, and the film is a true masterpiece. If you’re looking for a thrilling and thought-provoking movie, Pickpocket is definitely worth checking out. Just make sure to keep an eye on your wallet while you watch!
Production Company(ies)
Killer Films, New Line Cinema,
Distributor
New Yorker Films
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
20th Century Fox Studios – 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Passed
Year of Release
1953
-
Color:Color
Black and White -
Sound mix:Dolby
-
Aspect ratio:1.37 : 1
-
Runtime:1h 15m
-
Language(s):English
-
Country of origin:United States
-
Release date:Release Date (Theaters): May 26, 1963 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 1, 2014
Genre(s)
Crime/Drama
Keyword(s)
pickpocket, crime, drama, French, character study, emotional, spare, clockwork precision, redemption, pickpocketing, police inspector, petty thieves, straight job, temptation, Martin LaSalle, Marika Green, Pierre Leymarie, Jean Pélégri, directed by Robert Bresson, written by Robert Bresson, produced by Agnès Delahaie, reviewed by Kevin Maher, Peter Bradshaw, Eric Rhode, Richard Brody, David Parkinson, Derek Malcolm, Rob Aldam, Rich Cline, Anton Bitel, Paul Schrader, Shikhar Verma, Tony McKibbin, starring Martin LaSalle, Marika Green, Pierre Leymarie, Jean Pélégri, box office performance, budget, MPAA rating, New Yorker Films, Mono, Michel, Jacques, Jeanne, La mère, 1er complice
Worldwide gross: NA
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): NA
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
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
Marika Green – Jeanne
Pierre Leymarie – Jacques
Jean Pélégri – Chief Inspector
Dolly Scal – La mère
Kassagi – 1er complice
Director(s)
Robert Bresson
Writer(s)
Robert Bresson
Producer(s)
Agnès Delahaie
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
NA
Academy Awards
All Critics (45) | Top Critics (15) | Fresh (43) | Rotten (2)
A short and flawless wonder.
June 3, 2022 | Rating: 5/5
Kevin Maher
Times (UK)
TOP CRITIC
Hypnotically intense and lucid…
May 31, 2022 | Rating: 5/5
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian
TOP CRITIC
At first one may be impressed by the mystery surrounding these characters, until one realises that they are only mysterious because they are unable to create their own destinies.
January 11, 2020
Eric Rhode
Sight & Sound
TOP CRITIC
The movie, above all, affirms the miracle of redemptive love and its price in humility and unconditional surrender.
March 4, 2019
Richard Brody
New Yorker
TOP CRITIC
A marvel of poise and circumspect emotion from French auteur Robert Bresson.
March 5, 2013 | Rating: 5/5
David Parkinson
Empire Magazine
TOP CRITIC
It is, at base, about self-fulfilment and redemption through love — a common enough idea in films. But this 1959 epic has seldom been equalled as a philosophical treatise on the subject.
March 5, 2013
Derek Malcolm
Guardian
TOP CRITIC
A wonderfully flowing character study which treads the border between sanity and lunacy.
July 7, 2022
Rob Aldam
Backseat Mafia
It’s both seriously tense and infused with intense yearning.
June 8, 2022 | Rating: 4/5
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall
Robert Bressons existential character study meticulously examines a pickpocket whose criminality is its own punishment.
May 1, 2022
Anton Bitel
Projected Figures
[Robert] Bresson always choses the most realistic settings and situations. He makes a great use of two of film’s most credible devices: the narration and the printed word.
January 23, 2020
Paul Schrader
Los Angeles Free Press
Pickpocket is a film that puts the characters directly into a frame of judgment and asks the viewer if they would really try to understand the character’s side of the story.
September 25, 2019 | Rating: 5/5
Shikhar Verma
High on Films
Bresson always tells his story obliquely, so he never lets narrative suspense build, or emotional intensity be foregrounded… In short, a masterpiece.
April 25, 2019 | Rating: 5/5
Tony McKibbin
The List…
Plot
On a crowded subway, Skip McCoy picks the purse of Candy. Among his take, although he does not know it at the time, is a piece of top-secret microfilm that was being passed by Candy’s consort, a Communist agent. Candy discovers the whereabouts of the film through Moe Williams, a police informer. She attempts to seduce McCoy to recover the film. She fails to get back the film and falls in love with him. The desperate agent exterminates Moe and savagely beats Candy. McCoy, now goaded into action, confronts the agent in a particularly brutal fight in a subway.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
The cast of Pickpocket consists of mostly untrained actors who look strangely dazed throughout the film.
Robert-Bresson.jpg
