Lino Ventura stars in this and although born in Italy lived most of his life in France and was a great favourite of French cinema in the 50s through to the 80s but he was no Belmondo. Often referred to as French 'noir' this is nothing of the sort, well its b/w and about gangsters but that's all. Indeed for at least the first half this movie is more related to the Italian neo-realism movement with ultra naturalistic action (and even children in tow). The film jumps into life when Belmondo appears and leaps fully into life when he starts a relationship with the lovely Sandra Milo, who is still working today. Belmondo was fresh from Breathless when he made this and for me it is those 60s moments rather than the rather dour 50s scenes that make this for me. Lots of great location shooting including Milan and Paris and decent score help this along but having been 'lost' for so long has perhaps given this a little more of a reputation than it deserves. Still, an interesting watch even if we don't care what happens to anyone, excepting the ever intriguing, Jean-Paul Belmondo.
Review of Classe Tous Risques
