Jean-Paul Belmondo The Charm of Excess [Ichiro Enoki's Movie Akasatana Vol.7]

The third installment of Jean-Paul Belmondo's masterpiece selection will begin on September 2nd at Shinjuku Musashinokan. I decided that I had no choice but to cover this topic in this column, so I ordered a preview disc of the French version of ``The Magnificent Thief'' (1971). Come to think of it, Jean-Paul Belmondo passed away on September 6th of last year. It will be the first anniversary of his death. Since then, there has been a huge rush to select masterpieces at Japanese mini-theaters, and it's great that the spotlight has once again been placed on entertainment works such as ``The Man in Rio '' (64) and ``The Man in Kathmandu' ' (65).

Last year, I was with Jun Edogi, who organized the Belmond Masterpiece Selection, at an after-talk at Cine Wind Niigata. I have known Mr. Edogi since before he took up the pseudonym ``Jun Edogi'' (said to be taken from Ed Wood Jr.). I used to have two strong brains, or rather, ``teacher''s, my TV teacher was Nancy Seki, and my film teacher was Jun Edoki (or more accurately, Jun Edoki?).

In Niigata, after the after-talk for `` Otoko Rio '', I invited her to my favorite shop called Okura Liquor Store on Gakkomachi-dori, which is part liquor store, part izakaya bar, and part dry cleaning shop (!), and we had a long talk for the first time in a while. I asked. Mr. Edogi is The Samurai. No one is more stubborn about what they find interesting. And when it comes to moving (although it doesn't really look like it), I do it swiftly and to the fullest. If this person hadn't moved, I don't think we would have been able to watch `` Muthu: The Dancing Maharaja '' (1995) or `` Lotta-chan: The First Errand '' (1993). I also think that ``Bon Odori of the Dead Spirits'' (65) remains buried in the darkness (although in a sense, that's true).

When it comes to selecting Jean-Paul Belmondo's masterpieces, Mr. Edogi takes a very reasonable approach. What is the essence of Belmont? It's a work of entertainment, more specifically, a work of exhilarating entertainment. In Japan, there is a strong image of Godard's ``Do It All You Want'' and ``The Pierrot the Fool,'' and (especially young movie fans) think that it is a Nouvelle Vague. In the first place, art is thought to be ranked higher than entertainment.

Of course not. In other words, the standard of movies is entertainment. Isn't Jean-Paul Belmondo, who once rivaled Alain Delon as the top star in the French film industry, an existence loved by the gods of cinema and a superstar of entertainment films? ``Do What You Want '' (60) and `` The Pierrot the Fool '' (65) are good, but I think `` The Man in Rio '' and ``The Great Thief'' should be better.

"Movies are for people to go to the theater and forget about reality." (Jean-Paul Belmondo)

“The Great Thief” THE BURGLARS © 1971, renewed 1999 Sony Pictures Television Distribution (France) SNC. All Rights Reserved.

Now, let's move on to ``The Great Thief,'' which can be called the highlight of Masterpiece Selection 3. This was frankly a bad movie. In Japan, the original French version was released in 1971, and after that, the English dubbing version was also broadcast on foreign movie theaters on TV, so it's no surprise that I watched it on TV when I was a teenager. I don't remember any bad movies. 25 minutes after the top scene, there is a tense scene where a safe is broken into. A group of phantom thieves led by Belmont attack a wealthy man's mansion. There are no phantom thieves who speak fluently when they sneak into the mansion, so they have almost no dialogue. You see, it's 25 minutes from the top scene with almost no dialogue. I wonder what happened when it was dubbed.

The Belmont gang has the golden ratio of 3 men and 1 woman. Inspector Zakaria (Omar Sharif, actually a bad guy), who relentlessly follows him around, basically acts alone. That's right, ``The Great Thief'' is the origin story of what is sometimes referred to as a ``live-action version of Lupine the Third.'' Belmondo films are known as the roots of films such as ``Lupine the Third'' and ``Cobra,'' but when you look at ``The Great Thief,'' you'll be surprised at how much of an influence it really has (or rather, how similar it is). I get a sense of déjà vu in many places, including how to create a picture. But, of course, Belmont came first, followed by "Lupin." The order of déjà vu is all over the place.

The same goes for the top scene, which takes 25 minutes to break into a safe, but the overall dramatization is so overmatched that I wonder what's going on. There's a car chase scene, but it's way too long and too persistent. Is it necessary to chase this much? It makes me laugh. Apparently it's 15 minutes. This has been shortened in the English version, and in the complete French version, which will be released in theaters for the first time in 51 years, it is as free as it should be.

When I asked Jun Edogi about his overmatchedness, he responded with the term ``showcase-oriented.'' It seems that the theatrical technique of a Belmont movie is to connect the highlights throughout the film. Is it dramatization? The top scene is the breaking of a safe, and then a car chase, etc., and the scenes are connected without any context (or rather, the context is forced) from scene to scene, and then scene after scene. ``Audiences who came to movie theaters to forget reality'' never get bored. Belmont is a great service. He puts his body on the line to perform any action scene. It's also the kind of thing that can't be retaken. Everyone cheers for Belmont, who is energetic and rampaging on the silver screen.

In the second half, there is a scene where he fights a love rival, who just happens to appear and is not the villain of the story, but they fight really hard. Even those who happened to come out were impressed by their great fighting ability. It's a battle like a kung fu movie. Then, he gets knocked out by Belmont. It's not even about what happens if you get knocked out. Knocked out and stretched out. After a glimpse of this, the movie moves on to the next highlight.

An active person. A person who is always lively and running around. He seems to be comfortable running away in car chases and punching his love rivals. A sloppy man who is easily attracted to women. That free soul. That's basically what you see in Belmondo movies. Please come and see it on the 1st anniversary.

Text: Ichiro Enoki

Born in 1959. Born in Akita Prefecture. Debuted in a commercial magazine with ``Takarajima'' in 1980 while studying at Chuo University. Since then, he has serialized columns and essays in various magazines, and continues to this day. Also active on radio and television. Twitter @ichiroenokido

"The Great Thief"

Provided by: King Records Distributed by: Eden

THE BURGLARS © 1971, renewed 1999 Sony Pictures Television Distribution (France) SNC. All Rights Reserved.

“Jean-Paul Belmondo Masterpiece Selection 3”

Road show at Shinjuku Musashinokan and other locations nationwide from September 2nd (Friday)