the m0vie blog

Hosted by Andrew Quinn and Darren Mooney and with special guest Luke Dunne, The 250 is a (mostly) weekly trip through some of the best (and worst) movies ever made, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users. New episodes are released every Saturday at 6pm GMT.

This week, Jules Dessin’s Du rififi chez les hommes.

Master thief Tony has just been released from prison. He returns home to discover that his young apprentice Jo has hatched a plan for a daring jewelry heist. Against his better judgement, Tony finds himself drawn into a scheme that will have far-reaching implications for all of those involved.

At time of recording, it was ranked 241st on the list of the best movies of all time on the Internet Movie Database.

Show Notes:

• Recorded 1st May 2021.
• Note: Due to the COVID-19 situation, this episode was recorded remotely. We suspect, going forward that a lot of our episodes will be until the crisis resolves.
• Rififi at The Internet Movie Database.
• The IMDB Top 250 as it appeared at time of recording.
• Read Luke’s work at Film in Dublin.
• Follow Luke on Twitter.
• Follow The Breakout Role Podcast on Twitter.
• Listen to The Breakout Role Podcast on Soundcloud.
• Richard Severo at The New York Times offers an obituary for Jules Dassin, April 2008.
• David Thompson makes an argument at The Irish Times for awarding Jules Dassin an honourary Oscar, August 2002.
• Kenneth Turan at The Los Angeles Times describes the legacy and impact of Rififi, September 2015.
• Leo Hichman at The Guardian offers a look at some of the myths that Kim Jong-Il cultivated around himself, December 2011.
• Josh Sens at Golf takes a look at Kim Jong-Il’s infamous eighteen-shot round of golf, June 2016.
• Neda Ulaby offers a look back at the life and career of Jules Dassin at NPR, April 2008.
• David B. Green at Haaretz takes a look at Jules Dassin’s life in exile, December 2015.
• Karina Longworth on You Must Remember This offers a snapshot of the context and background of the House Unamerican Activities Committee, February 2016.
• Agnès Poirier at The Guardian looks back on the life and career of Jules Dessin, April 2008.
• Jules Dassin talks to The Criterion Collection about his experience living in exile after being blacklasted, July 2012.
• Jules Dassin and Melina Mercouri talk about their life and work together to Studs Terkel, February 1968.
• Bosley Crowther reviews Rififi for The New York Times, June 1956.
• J. Hoberman discusses the legacy and impact of Rififi at The Criterion Collection, January 2014.
• Michael Sragow at The New York Times positions Rififi in the context of the blacklist, July 2000.
• Michael Freedland at The Jewish Chronicle discusses the antisemetic fears that underpinned the blacklist, August 2009.
• Charles Matthews at The Washington Post discusses the complicated relationship between Jewish studio heads and antisemitism in Hollywood, September 2001.
• Nora Sayre at The Los Angeles Times looks at the context of the red scare paranoia in postwar Hollywood, August 2001.
• Bernard Knox at The Lost Angeles Times writes about the absurdity of being labelled as “prematurely antifascist” in postwar Hollywood, July 2001.
• Catie Keck at The Verge writes about the complicated relationship with Apple media and external infrastructure, June 2021.
• Tom Warren at The Verge writes about the recent antitrust complaints against Apple, April 2021.
• Jamie Hook at The Criterion Collection talks about the joy of heist movies, July 2001.
• Anne T. Donahue at Shondaland discusses the aspirational appeal of heist movies, June 2018.
• Sandra E. Garcia at The New York Times debates the “one-inch barrier” posed by subtitles, February 2020.
• Frank Collins at Cathode Ray Tube discusses the legacy of Rififi including copycat crime, May 2011.
• Zoe Kurland at Bright Lights Film Journal discusses the impact of Put the Blame on Mame in Gilda, June 2020.
• Kenneth Turan at The Los Angeles Times offers a meaning for the title Rififi, October 2000.
• Classic Art Films discusses Rififi, August 2015.
• Kyle Smith at The Wall Street Journal looks at the changes that Jules Dassin made in adapting Rififi to the screen, April 2008.
• Terence Bowman at Den of Geek looks at the cultural and historical context of the original Planet of the Apes novel, August 2011.
• Follow The 250 on Twitter.
• Subscribe to The 250 on iTunes.
• Subscribe to The 250 on Stitcher.
• Listen to The 250 on Soundcloud.
• Listen to The 250 on Spotify.

Filed under: The 250 | Tagged: crime, france, heist, house unamerican activities committee, huac, international, jules dassin, luke dunne, podcast, The 250, the blacklist |