Rififi (re-release)
Rialto Pictures | Release Date: July 21, 2000 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
97
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 13 Critic Reviews
Positive:
13
Mixed:
0
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
Among the picture's many surprises is a superb robbery scene filmed in a near-total silence that contrasts exhilaratingly with the noisy flamboyance of more recent films in this venerable genre. Read full review
100
Boston GlobeJay Carr
It's terse, atmospheric, fatalistic, with vertiginous camera angles and edits offsetting its gray documentary flatness. Read full review
100
Philadelphia InquirerDesmond Ryan
The new print does justice to Philippe Agostini's splendidly atmospheric cinematography. Read full review
100
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
No matter how many heists you've seen, how many gangs you've watched fall apart or how many aging crooks you've seen walk up a mean street to a violent destiny, Rififi never loses its ruthless grace and force. Read full review
100
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
The granddaddy of all caper/heist movies. The work that defined the genre for the subsequent four decades of filmmakers, none of whom was able to surpass it for style or suspense. Read full review
100
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
It becomes as savage as ''Reservoir Dogs,'' ''The Killing,'' or any of the other dozens of films over which it still casts a shadow. Read full review
100
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
One of the great crime thrillers, the benchmark all succeeding heist films have been measured against, it's no musty museum piece but a driving, compelling piece of work, redolent of the air of human frailty and fatalistic doom. Read full review
100
San Francisco ExaminerG. Allen Johnson
A sweaty-browed exercise in precision filmmaking, but one that doesn't cheat you with wisps of tension and the pretense of attitude. Read full review
100
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
But the human elements -- jealousy, anger, weakness, fortitude, loyalty, vengeance and honor, all acted out by a resolutely realistic cast -- make the movie extraordinary. Read full review
100
Baltimore SunChris Kaltenbach
Rififi, with its stark visuals, dark humor and constrained performances, earned Dassin the Best Director nod at the Cannes Film Festival and a secure place in film history. Read full review
100
TV Guide MagazineFrank Lovece
Manages to inject more than a little humor into this tension-filled genre classic. Read full review
90
Village VoiceJ. Hoberman
A vivid exercise in hokum that more or less invented the idea of French film noir...and not just for Americans. Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
The opening half-hour--the burglary of a jewelry store, filmed in meticulous detail--is as good as its inspiration in The Asphalt Jungle, but the film turns moralistic and sour in the last half, when the thieves fall out. Read full review
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