TWO MEN IN TOWN
/ Deux hommes dans la ville
International Premiere (restored version) • Thriller • France, 1973
DCP • 1.66 • Mono • Color • 100 min
Directed by: José Giovanni
Written by: José Giovanni, Gianfranco Clerici
Cinematography: Jean-Jacques Tarbes
Film Editing: Renée Deschamps
Original Score: Philippe Sarde
Produced by: Alain Delon, Pierre Caro, Hercule Mucchielli
Cast: Alain Delon (Gino), Jean Gabin (Germain), Michel Bouquet (Inspector Goitreau), Gérard Depardieu (Ruffian)
International Sales: Pathé International
US Distributor: Cohen Media Group • cohenmedia.net
COLCOA is pleased to present the International Premiere of this digitally restored thriller, the final paring of Alain Delon and Jean Gabin. Four years earlier the old-school sensei and the new wave upstart shared the screen in the hugely successful The Sicilian Clan, and audiences wanted more. Here, Delon plays a reformed safecracker determined to walk the straight and narrow even as the machinery of state and the cruelties of fate conspire against him. Gabin plays Germain, a world-weary social worker fighting to give Gino a fair shake and a second chance in life. Things look promising as Gino lands a job and rekindles an old romance, until the vindictive Inspector Goitreau returns - with nods to Les Miserables’ Inspector Javert - intent on inflaming Gino’s pent up rage. In an early role, a young Gérard Depardieu plays a swaggering tough from Gino’s criminal days.
It’s difficult to imagine a more personal film for writer/director Jose Giovanni, himself a convicted felon who had faced execution by guillotine. After early stints as a lumberjack and coal miner, and working for the French resistance during the war, Giovanni came to Paris and turned to crime. A botched robbery led to several months on death row before his sentence was commuted. He was released from prison 8 years later. From these experiences, Giovanni adapted his own novel into the screenplay for Jacques Becker’s acclaimed prison drama Le trou (1960), launching his career. Known for his characters’ authentic street dialogue and for his exposés of the French criminal justice system, Giovanni directed some of the brightest stars of the day in films that include Le Rapace (1968), Scoumoune (1972), The Gypsy (1975) and Le Ruffian (1983).
QUOTES:
“A fine cinematic experience to watch the two veteran actors, in almost a father-son relationship, carry this crime story from one end to the other.”
- Ugur Akinci EZINE
“Brilliantly structured Two Men in Town evokes comparisons with some of the classic French criminal dramas.”
- Svet Atanasov DVD TALK
