R.I.P. Alain Delon (1935-2024)

by John Charet

Along with Gena Rowlands, the cinephile community lost another giant this past month on August 18. In this case, it is Alain Delon – one of the most iconic French actors of all-time. He was 88 years-old and the cause of death was B-cell lymphoma. On the screen, Delon oozed coolness and sexiness in equal measures. Various actors, artists, directors and musicians among others have cited Delon as an influence on their work. As usual, I could go on, but I want to finish this blog entry by citing some of my favorite films with Delon (all * * * * out of * * * *).

  1. Purple Noon (1960) (Dir: Rene Clement) Click here and here to watch two various trailers
  2. Rocco and His Brothers (1960) (Dir: Luchino Visconti) Click here and here to watch two various trailers
  3. L’Eclisse (1962) (Dir: Michelangelo Antonioni) Click here to watch a various trailer for it
  4. The Leopard (1963) (Dir: Luchino Visconti) Click here and here to watch two trailers
  5. Any Number Can Win (1963) (Dir: Henri Verneuil) I could not find an English subtitled trailer for it
  6. Le Samourai (1967) (Dir: Jean-Pierre Melville) Click here to watch a 4K Restoration trailer for it
  7. La Piscine (1969) (Dir: Jacques Deray) Click here and here to view two different 4K Restoration trailers for it
  8. The Sicilian Clan (1969) (Dir: Henri Verneuil) Click here to watch a trailer for it
  9. Le Cercle Rouge (1970) (Dir: Jean-Pierre Melville) Click here to watch a 4K Restoration trailer for it
  10. Un flic (1972) (Dir: Jean-Pierre Melville) Click here to watch a trailer for it
  11. Tony Arzenta (1973) (Dir: Duccio Tessari) Click here to watch a trailer for it
  12. Mr. Klein (1976) (Dir: Joseph Losey) Click here to watch a 4K Restoration trailer for it
  13. Nouvelle Vague (1990) (Dir: Jean-Luc Godard) I could not find a trailer for that one

I would like to end this blog entry with a question for my dear readers below

What is your favorite Alain Delon film?

8 thoughts on “R.I.P. Alain Delon (1935-2024)”

  3. Unfortunately, he wasn’t on my radar somehow, but it was fascinating reading up on his life. At least it wasn’t a tragic death…but it’s still kinda hard to say goodbye.

  6. Le Samourai. I love the homage to This Gun for Hire and the character Raven (Alan Ladd). Both are quintessential examples of noir and neo-noir, respectively. Similarly Raven and Delon’s Jef are the prototype and validation of the archetypical hitman.

    La Piscine. Delon deftly illustrates the frozen soul of psychopathic husband, stirred by the threat of loosing not only control, but the delicate, genuine flicker of intimacy. Stunning.

  7. I uploaded more videos to my youtube channel. What do you think?

    Also, do you have anything to add to the other posts I wrote the other day. It would be interesting to hear your thoughts on those.

  8. Hey there Steve 🙂 I actually replied back to one of them and that was the one where you were talking about the passing of Bernard Hill. I gave my thoughts and talked about some things you might find worthy of another reply 🙂

    Also, I see you added in Alex Cox’s commentary on Django KIll. I knew that you added one on The Hired Hand, which I have to update from my old Moviedrome MOnday entry on it to include your video in the new year of 2025 or earlier If I get the chance 🙂 I see you also added Cox’s intro to Walk on the Wild Side 🙂 I can’t remember is the Sunset Blvd intro the one that was incomplete or was it The Hired Hand? I know I am right on one of those, but hey, whatever you uploaded, I will gladly watch 🙂 I think I watched Cox’s intro to Bergman’s The Silence, but I will happily watch it again because I am a huge fan of Ingmar Bergman 🙂

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