Out of prison after a five-year stretch, jewel thief Tony turns down a quick job his friend Jo offers him, until he discovers that his old girlfriend Mado has become the lover of local gangster Pierre Grutter during Tony's absence. Expanding a minor smash-and-grab into a full-scale jewel heist, Tony and his crew appear to get away clean, but their actions after the job is completed threaten the lives of everyone involved.
Directed by Jules Dassin
paris, france
italian
jewelry
nightclub
safe
heist
burglary
black and white
newspaper stand
tuberculosis
cleaner
Rank
#2 in 1955·#497 overall
Trailer
IMDB
N/A
Letterboxd
4.3 / 5
Cast
Jean Servais
Tony le Stéphanois
Carl Möhner
Jo le Suedois
Robert Manuel
Mario Ferrati
Janine Darcey
Louise
Pierre Grasset
Louis Grutter aka Louis le Tatoué
Robert Hossein
Rémi Grutter
Marcel Lupovici
Pierre Grutter
Dominique Maurin
Tonio
Magali Noël
Viviane
Marie Sabouret
Mado
Claude Sylvain
Ida Ferrati
Jules Dassin
Cesar le Milanais
Crew
Jules Dassin
Director
Auguste Le Breton
Screenplay
Georges Auric
Original Music Composer
Philippe Agostini
Director of Photography
Rosine Delamare
Costume Design
Auguste Le Breton
Novel
Auguste Le Breton
Dialogue
Jules Dassin
Adaptation
Alexandre Trauner
Production Design
Nadine Trintignant
Assistant Editor
Popular Reviews
150 reviews
Seb
10.0★ · 05/10/26
This is without doubt the best heist film I've ever seen. Rififi gripped me from the start, it's a fairly simple story but one that hits every emotional beat perfectly. The hiest scene itself is the best I've ever scene, not a single word of dialogue or even a note of music, instead it's pure silent tension that pulls you into the screen and has you in awe while these professionals work.
While the heist itself is the standout scene of the film, it's not like the rest of the film is dips in quality. In fact the events following the heist are just as tense, but for entirely different reasons. Even though these characters aren't explored that deeply, I still found myself invested in each one right up until the end.
The ending itself is one that I won't be forgetting anytime soon, my jaw was on the floor when "Fin" appeared on the screen. A lesser film would have an epilogue to tie the film in a neat little bow, but not here. Instead only the grim reality is shown and the audience are expected to sit with that, which makes for a far better ending.
This is without doubt the best heist film I've ever seen. Rififi gripped me from the start, it's a fairly simple story but one that hits every emotional beat perfectly. The hiest scene itself is the best I've ever scene, not a single word of dialogue or even a note of music, instead it's pure silent tension that pulls you into the screen and has you in awe while these professionals work.
While the heist itself is the standout scene of the film, it's not like the rest of the film is dips in quality. In fact the events following the heist are just as tense, but for entirely different reasons. Even though these characters aren't explored that deeply, I still found myself invested in each one right up until the end.
The ending itself is one that I won't be forgetting anytime soon, my jaw was on the floor when "Fin" appeared on the screen. A lesser film would have an epilogue to tie the film in a neat little bow, but not here. Instead only the grim reality is shown and the audience are expected to sit with that, which makes for a far better ending.
