A waste of resources - SPOILERS ALERT!

Dear Henry Verneuil,

here is what you got right in Le Casse - The procedural safe cracking scene at the beginning was heart stopping. I liked the props used by Belmondo to crack the safe. The whole thing was meticulous, elaborate and well thought out. You were a bit of hack who was obviously inspired by the films of Jules Dassin and Jean Pierre Melville in capturing the minute details of a heist. The film also had one of the best car chases of all time. It is a really long and vicious car chase comparable to the ones in Bullit and French Connection. The score by Ennio Morricone was one of his best for a crime film (yes, even better than the ones he composed for Sicilian Clan and Revolver)and I liked the title sequence. The score was packed with some remarkable tunes. You had two great actors in Belmondo and Shariff pitted against each other. And some beautiful women who were to be used or slapped around by the men. Frankly, just like The Sicialian Clan, Le Casse had all the ingredients for a great crime flick.

But here is what you got wrong - after a terrific first half, the film's second half was meandering and goofy. The plot developments were uninspired and preposterous (not in a good way). You tried to hide the lack of substance in the script with some stylish visuals and overuse of Morricone's score. Too much space was given to the two female leads who were nothing more than props in the first half. The cat and mouse relationship between Belmondo and Shariff was the most interesting part of the film. The women should have been in the background. Their characters were nothing more than bimbos. Also, the thrills and action scenes in the film's second half were markedly inferior to the ones in the first half.

Like the final scene where Belmondo muses about the types of chicken dishes he has had, you wasted the diamonds which you had at hand. It was a great opportunity to craft another commercial crime classic like The Sicilian Clan, Henri. But instead you made a film that was only half good.

Best Regards, Pimpin.

(6/10)