Le Samouraï, 1971 Japanese movie poster for the release of the 1967 Melville film starring Alain Delon, Nathalie Delon, François Périer and Cathy Rosier
Remise d prix du brigadier à Pierre Arditi : son speech de remerciements!
Ils sont nombreux année après année à recevoir cette belle récompense, citons, entre autres depuis sa création : Françoise Sagan , Pierre Brasseur, Pierre Fresnay, Eugène Ionesco, Jean Le Poulain, Jeanne Moreau, Serge Lama, Jean-Paul Belmondo, François Perier, Francis Huster, Raymond Devos, Fabrice Lucchini, Michel Galabru, Judith Magre, Michel Bouquet, Michel Fau, Michael Lonsdale, Christiana…
The form of the poem is taken directly from a 1599 poem by François de Malherbe titled "Consolation à M. Du Périer - Stances sur la mort de sa fille" (Consolation to M. Du Périer - Stanzas about the death of his daughter). The lines within the poem that Tholomyès is referencing are:
Mais elle était du monde, où les plus belles choses
Ont le pire destin ;
Et rose¹ elle a vécu ce que vivent les roses,
L'espace d'un matin.
But she was of the world, where the most beautiful things
Have the worst destiny;
And rose (pink)¹ she lived what roses live,
The space of a morning.
1. It's not uncommon in French to refer to someone as "rose" much like how in English you would refer to someone as "rosy cheeked." Cosette many times, and even young Marius, get described with just the adjective "rose" in Les Mis.
Tholomyès' parody reads:
Elle¹ était de ce monde où coucous et carrosses
Ont le même destin,
Et, rosse², elle a vécu ce que vivent les rosses,
L'espace d'un : mâtin!³
She¹ was of this world where horse-drawn coaches and carriages
Have the same destiny,
And, nag², she lived what nags live,
The space of a: morning!³
1. "She" referring to the horse that just fell
2. The word "rosse" in French means a nag, as in a pejorative word for a horse (as well as a nasty, unpleasant person) and is a pun on the word "rose" (the color pink or the flower) used in the original. Thanks to @persefoneshalott for bringing that one to my attention last year!
3. The word in French here sounds exactly like "morning" (matin) but is written as "mâtin," the word the cart driver yelled while cracking his whip at his horse. Mâtin means "mastiff" as well as "boar, oaf" and can also be an exclamation like "heavens!" In the text it refers to it as a "sacramental word."
Le Samouraï will be released on 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray on July 9 via The Criterion Collection. Polly Dedman designed the new cover art for 1967 French neo-noir crime thriller.
Known in English as The Samurai, the film is written and directed by Jean-Pierre Melville. Alain Delon, François Périer, Nathalie Delon, and Cathy Rosier star.
Le Samouraï has been newly restored in 4K with HDR and uncompressed mono sound. Special features are listed below.
Special features:
Interviews with writer-director Jean-Pierre Melville and actors Alain Delon, François Périer, Nathalie Delon, and Cathy Rosier
Interviews with Melville on Melville editor Rui Nogueira and Jean-Pierre Melville: An American in Paris author Ginette Vincendeau
Melville-Delon: D’honneur et de nuit - 2011 short documentary exploring the friendship between writer-director Jean-Pierre Melville and actor Alain Delon
Trailer
Booklet with an essay by film scholar David Thomson, an appreciation by filmmaker John Woo, and excerpts from Melville on Melville
Alain Delon stars as Jef Costello, a contract killer with samurai instincts. After carrying out a flawlessly planned hit, Jef finds himself caught between a persistent police investigator and a ruthless employer, and not even his armor of fedora and trench coat can protect him.