Melville pushed the figure of the gangster to the limits of its masculine cool, with an almost total denial of emotion. Its combination of homage to classic American cinema and European modernity explains its influence over the work of many filmmakers: Walter Hill, the Coen brothers, Quentin Tarantino, John Woo, Luc Besson and Jim Jarmusch. Le Samouraï is testimony to Melville’s worship of American film noir, yet stylistically and philosophically it is a totally French film. — Ginette Vincendeau