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Death of a Corrupt Man

1977

Mort d'un pourri

In the middle of the night, deputy Philippe Dubaye wakes up his old friend Xavier Maréchal with disturbing news: he has just killed Serrano, a racketeer with extant political connections. Serrano kept proofs of Dubaye's involvement in corrupt dealings and was poised to use them against the deputy. Xavier readily agrees to cover up for his old pal Philippe, but he soon runs into difficulties. Nobody believes Dubaye's alibi. And everybody -- influential personalities, powerful businessmen, dubious go-betweens and the police -- wants to get hold of the documents that served to blackmail Dubaye; by all possible means...

Alain Delon Ornella Muti Stéphane Audran Jean Bouise Mireille Darc Michel Aumont Julien Guiomar Maurice Ronet Klaus Kinski Daniel Ceccaldi François Chaumette Xavier Depraz Henri Virlogeux Colette Duval El Kebir Gérard Hérold Charles Moulin Roger Muni Claude Barichasse Émile Riandreys Carole Achache

Alternative Titles

The Twisted Detective, Muerte de un corrupto, To Kill a Rat, Death of a Swine, Der Fall Serrano, Смерть негодяя, Egy gazember halála, Morte di una carogna, Smrt darebáka, Смъртта на един негодник, Смерть негідника, 贪官之死, مرگ فاسد, 체이사, მოკალი ნაძირალა, チェイサー, Śmierć człowieka skorumpowanego

Genres

Thriller Crime

Theatrical

07 Dec 1977

France
Spain

20 Dec 1977

23 Feb 1978

Germany16

France

07 Dec 1977

Theatrical

Germany

23 Feb 1978

Theatrical16

Spain

07 Dec 1977

Theatrical

USA

20 Dec 1977

Theatrical

120 mins More at IMDb TMDb Report this page

Popular reviews

Review by Disgustipated ★★★★★

A man knocks on Xavier's door in the middle of the night. It is his friend, Philippe. A terrible accident has occurred. Philippe has just put a bullet through the head of a nasty corrupt asshole when the man threatened to expose Philippes own unfortunate dabblings in illicit mutual favours. Oops! Dont you hate it when that happens? After Philippe also winds up dead the next morning, Xavier ends up on a quest through a maze of conspiracy to find the minotaur responsible for his friends untimely end.
In the mean time, Xavier has scooped up a diary that Philippe stole from the man he murdered. It is essentially a ledger of every dirty transaction that every politician, businessman and…
Review by flis04 🎞 ★★★½

Eines Nachts klingelt es an der Tür von Xavier Marechal. Sein Freund, ein anerkannter Politiker, tritt erschöpft ein. Soeben habe er Serrano erschossen, dieser habe ihn mit belastendem Material zum Rücktritt gezwungen, beichtet er.
Marechal ist ein guter Freund, die Folge ist ein falsches Alibi. Doch als plötzlich auch der Mörder Serranos ermordet wird und Xavier in den Besitz der ominösen Akte Serrano gerät, ist nichts mehr so wie es vorher war. Alle Welt will die Akte, koste es was es wolle.
Die 70er sind immer wieder für kleine Geheimtipps des französischen Thrillerkinos gut. Zumindest aus deutscher und heutiger Sicht, denn damals wird ein solches Werk durchaus Aufmerksamkeit erregt haben. Mit Alain Delon in der Hauptrolle und Klaus Kinski als…
Review by Krommedijk ★★★★

The screenplay of Mort d'un pourri's is as opaque as the political world in which the story - loosely based on a real life killing of a politician - takes place, but I do like detached confusion and opacity, I can even enjoy that. IAlain Delon knows what to do with his supporting role. As a man of the world, he tackles corruption, staying on course, reliable and resolute. A man must do what he must do, even if the chance of lasting success is nil. Because, he knows, take out a corrupt magistrate, and another one is ready to settle into the plush. Excellent acting, great camera work. One of Delon's better roles, and that's saying something.
Review by Christian Fecht ★★★★½

Kleine Georges Lautner Reihe, Film 5
Einer der bekanntesten und besten Filme von Georges Lautner - und einer der großen Klassiker des französischen Paranoia Kinos der 70-er Jahre, basierend auf der realen und wirren Affäre um den ermordeten Abgeordneten Prinz Jean de Broglie. Wie für das französische Paranoia Kino typisch, geht es um die Korruption und den unentwirrbaren Filz zwischen Politik, Gesetz und Wirtschaft innerhalb der Eliten der französischen Gesellschaft.
Der Film atmet regelrecht den Paranoia Blues mit seiner melancholisch-blauen Farbkomposition und dem jazzigen Score von Philippe Sarde und Stan Getz. Alain Delon, wortkarg und loyal, sucht den Mörder seines Freundes (eine der besagten Ratten des Titels) und versucht dabei das Knäuel zu entwirren und am Leben zu bleiben. Klaus…
Review by mylovelycinema ★★ 2

Коррумпированный депутат в ссоре убивает шантажирующее его высокопоставленное лицо и выкрадывает дневник со взяточническим компроматом, которым можно снести всю политическую элиту Франции. Дневник он отдает другу, а сам вскоре погибает – и друг решает найти его убийцу, используя дневник как смертельное оружие.
Грузный политический триллер Жоржа Лотнера, завязший в крупных планах и сюжетных твистах, но оставшийся равнодушным театром.
Удивляет киноязык – как будто темные силуэты и съемки со спины Лотнер снимает неосознанно, профессией на кончиках пальцев, а когда просыпается, то душит бесконечными портретами – не важно, дознание, погоня или флирт у него в сцене. Воздуха не хватает, но не из-за тетивы пружины, а из-за того, что Делону нечего играть: мы не знаем, кто он, каков он, и на что способен,…
Review by Nick ★★★ 3

The opening scene* of comfortable male intimacy, and the last twenty minutes of escalation and nihilism are pretty excellent, but unfortunately there's about ninety-five minutes of lethargic sludge in-between.
*Technically the second scene, after a brief interlude to make sure we all understand that 1977 Alain Delon still fucks.
There's a profound lack of urgency, both from the story and the performers, which is odd on both fronts because the story is decently full of murders and betrayals, and the cast is full of excellent actors who normally have a lot more pep in their step than this (even if that one cop can't help but feel like he's playing a part that was written for Lino Ventura before someone…
Review by Odysseas ★★★★

Great casting and the plot is interesting. A fun ride but a bit hard to follow at times, would certainly recommend tho.
Review by Filipe Furtado ★★★

This has a terrific cast and is very good looking thriller. Things can be far to muddled and I don't think Lautner has the movie under much control, the parts feel stronger than the whole, but the sense of corruption poisoning everything is strong.
Review by MohammadMahdi Abdi ★★★★

یه فیلم نوآر فرانسوی مهجور، با کستینگ وحشتناک. آلن دلون، موریس رونه و کلاوس کینسکی. موسیقی فلیپ سارد و تصویربرداری هنری دکا.
خیلی عجیبه که این فیلم تا این حد دیده نشده.
Review by ZubinShy ★★★

“Death of a Corrupt Man” is a 70s French film policier and paranoia thriller that was made during a time where such films had a high rise in popularity. In the wake of the Cold War, economical crises, inflation and unemployment, and political conspiracies in both France and the U.S., there was tons of interest in such films that dealt with corrupt and conspirative cabals and those brave people who try to expose their secrets. For this film, director Georges Lautner, who always seemed to be very infatuated with America, derives a lot of elements from American film noir.
The film starts in a very unusual way, with the first shot showing the silhouette of saxophonist Stan Getz playing the…
Review by Dirk Senger ★★★½

Delon wird sage und schreibe in 4 Szenen im Auto von seinen Verfolgern attackiert, überschlägt sich dabei 2mal und 1mal fallen 3 Autos von einem Autotransporter auf sein Dach. Er überlebt, im Gegensatz zu seinen Mitfahrern, alles unbeschadet. Das ist gelinde gesagt ein bisschen unglaubwürdig was aber nicht heißt, dass DER FALL SERRANO nicht doch ein weitgehend toller French-Paranoia-Thriller ist, der einen ganz anderen Vibe hat als die US-Vorbilder. KILLER STELLEN SICH NICHT VOR ist aber der bessere Delon dieses Genres.
Review by Ryan Pearce ★★★★★

Shouts out to Australian streaming service 'Stan' for having this hidden gem available.

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Where to watch

Death of a Corrupt Man

Mort d'un pourri

Synopsis

Cast

Director

Producer

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Original Writer

Casting

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Composer

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Alternative Titles

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Releases by Date

Theatrical

07 Dec 1977

20 Dec 1977

23 Feb 1978

Releases by Country

France

07 Dec 1977

Germany

23 Feb 1978

Spain

07 Dec 1977

USA

20 Dec 1977

Popular reviews

Where to watch

Death of a Corrupt Man

Mort d'un pourri

Synopsis

Cast

Director Director

Producer Producer

Writer Writer

Original Writer Original Writer

Casting Casting

Editor Editor

Cinematography Cinematography

Set Decoration Set Decoration

Composer Composer

Costume Design Costume Design

Studio

Country

Language

Alternative Titles

Genres

Theatrical

07 Dec 1977

20 Dec 1977

23 Feb 1978

France

07 Dec 1977

Germany

23 Feb 1978

Spain

07 Dec 1977

USA

20 Dec 1977

Popular reviews

Director

Producer

Writer

Original Writer

Casting

Editor

Cinematography

Set Decoration

Composer

Costume Design