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The French Detective

1975 · 87 min

A gritty, slow-burning French crime drama that simmers with institutional frustration and quiet moral resolve.

Directed by
Pierre Granier-Deferre
Genres
Crime, Drama, Thriller
Starring
Lino Ventura, Patrick Dewaere, Victor Lanoux
Overview
When political thugs murder an opponent's volunteer and also kill a cop, chief inspector Verjeat believes the politician who hired them is as guilty as the murderous goon. Verjeat's pursuit of the councilman, Lardatte, gets him a warning from his superiors. When he embarrasses Lardatte while disarming a hostage (the dead volunteer's father), Verjeat is told he's being transferred within a week. He speeds up his hunt for the goon and, with Lefévre, one of his young detectives, he engineers a complicated scheme to buy more time before the transfer. How should Verjeat play out his values of honor and duty?

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In the UKNo streaming, rental or purchase options known.
Directed by
Pierre Granier-Deferre
Genres
Crime, Drama, Thriller
Starring
Lino Ventura, Patrick Dewaere, Victor Lanoux
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How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • tensestrength 2 of 3
  • cynicalstrength 2 of 3
  • melancholicstrength 1 of 3
  • satiricalstrength 1 of 3
Pacing
measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • corruption
  • justice
  • power
  • loyalty
  • betrayal
Places
  • big city
  • workplace
Era
contemporary
Audience
adult
Form
  • procedural
Content intensity
  • Gore none
  • Language mild
  • Violence mild
  • Sex mild
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action4
Horror1
Humour3
Realism8
Romance1
Tension6
Darkness6
Complexity5
Emotional weight5

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Where to watch in the UK

No UK streaming, rental or purchase options are known.

Streaming data from JustWatch.TMDB

Details

Genres
crime, drama, thriller
Directed by
Pierre Granier-Deferre
Written by
Francis Veber
Starring
Lino Ventura, Patrick Dewaere, Victor Lanoux, Julien Guiomar, Pierre Tornade, Françoise Brion, Claude Rich, Michel Peyrelon
Music
Philippe Sarde
Cinematography
Jean Collomb
Runtime
87 min
Country
France
Languages
French

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