Original poster artwork · Great Cinema Master List
Spoiler-free premise
Contract killer Jef Costello's carefully constructed alibi begins to fracture after witnesses place him at a Paris nightclub murder.
Read expanded premiseLonger, still spoiler-free+
Paris hitman Jef Costello kills a nightclub owner and returns to an alibi arranged with his lover Jane. Police superintendent scrutiny, a roomful of witnesses, and the pianist who saw him leave disrupt Jef's severe professional routine.
Why it belongs
Le Samouraï makes procedure existential through empty rooms, gray-blue Paris, sparse speech, and Delon's nearly impassive ritualized movement.
Read expanded why it belongsThe fuller editorial case+
Muted color, isolated compositions, keys, gloves, guns, cars, and repeated routes reduce the thriller to behavior under observation; Alain Delon's stillness makes Jef's self-authored code seem elegant, lonely, and increasingly brittle.
Major award wins
No verified wins in this six-institution crosswalk.
Awards are reference metadata only · zero points in 40/40/20
Good for
Date NightFamilyFilm Club
Descriptive guidance derived from rating, genre, runtime, mood, and GCML scores.
Institutional reference ranks
Sight & Sound—IMDb Top 250—AFI 100—
Reference metadata only · not part of the 40/40/20 score
Great Cinema Master List scores
Greatness9.2
Engagement9.0
Ease8.5
French · PG Narrative Feature Mood: Tense & Absorbing
