Jules Dassin passes away

[sadie]

http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/bal-to.sragow04apr04,0,3605837.story


I found much of his work extremely good. May he rest in peace


Sadie

[johnnyyen]

I've only seen Riffifi which I thought was a superb French crime thriller. I've been meaning to watch some of his other films like The Naked City and Night And The City but never got around to them. He lived a long life, 96, but Riffifi is definitely worth seeing. RIP.

[xman]

RIP.

[jv66]

One of the great "unknown" directors. Night and The City and Rififi are masterpieces. RIP

[Chris A]

He was also a nice person to be around. I have always been sorry that the project of turning my Bessie Smith biography into a film did not work out. He was extremely interested and it was clear to me that he had the right approach. The problem was a 1970s Hollywood mindset that saw as a drawback the fact that Bessie was not a drug addict.

Jules left a rich legacy, and would have done so even if "Never On a Sunday" had been his only film.

[Burningfool]

Just finished watching my newly acquired Criterion DVD of "The Naked City" and thought I'd bump this thread. Jules Dassin was an interesting director whose career was ended in the USA by his blacklisting. This is an excellent picture, particularly for those who love NYC. The movie is a great time capsule of New York just after the end of WWII, and the Criterion print is absolutely gorgeous. Great stuff.

Now I guess I have to find "Rififi" and "Night And The City."

Chris

[DrJ]

I think "Riffifi" is just OUTSTANDING, in many ways the template for every crime thriller to come after. Way ahead of its time in terms of its open-faced, non-sermonizing approach to exploring the lead character's psyche, which is one of the reasons it still feels so fresh and modern after all this time.

RIP Mr. Dassin.

[zappa]

damn.