"Film Noir is not a genre. It is not defined, as are the western and gangster genres, by conventions of setting and conflict, but rather by the more subtle qualities of tone and mood."
 -- Paul Schraeder

Noir is a style. It cuts across various art forms from movie genres to literary types. The content of a noir artwork could be anything, since any object or subject enveloped in the smog of noir is thereby noirish. As a smell, a tone, a mood, noir has so strong an impact on us that we sometimes almost forget about the content covered by the style. This impact, ubiquitous yet hard to be pinpointed, is achieved by novels and films in their own ways.

One similarity the film and the novel share when heading down their way of creating noir mood is the ability to bring the dead environment to life. In Chandler's Trouble is My Business, the private eye Marlowe has been constantly threatened- though not intimidated- by not only gangsters but also the environment surrounds him. After beaten by Grover, Marlowe wakes up in a hostile world, where the light from windows across the room was "hitting him square in the eyes", and the chair that bumped against his head has "clawlike legs," which hurt him "a lot more than young Jeeter's haymaker." Using these humanized verbs and demonized metaphors, Chandler creates an unwelcome feeling, like the feeling we get from the castle and the carnivorous plant in Nosferatu. For both of them, the external environment somehow parallels with the evil creature that hides in it. The difference is, Nosferatu as a horror film has vampire Count Orlok, the tangible devil figure; while in Trouble is My Business, the devil has no single representative. For instance in Marlowe's eyes, the room he is staying in apparently does not want him there; it is a sacred devil's realm that treats him as an interloper. While he is as vigilant as "a cat in a strange house." If there is enough sense left inside me, I would yell at Marlowe- clawlike leg? What are you, survival fanatic? Picturing yourself in a jungle? But that would be as annoying as picking up my phone during watching a film. So I let myself be drawn instead.

Then I found Marlowe's world more dangerous than a jungle. The jungle belongs to the realm of nature, while the environment Marlowe inhabits is closer to us and more lively- not in a natural way but a human way; intimate yet unpredictable, like the femme fatale Miss Harriet who owns it. To back up my point, here is an example from the novel: "the room was empty. It was full of silence and the memory of a nice perfume. One of those perfumes you don't notice until they are almost gone, like the last leaf on a tree." Chandler's environmental description generates a vivid mood. One of those moods that are empty but full, invisible but everywhere. It's a room that smells. One of those smells that are telling you a story, about a lady comes and goes. And us, like Marlowe, accept such smell as omnipresence in this jungle-like world. This is almost the essence of noir: it quietly covers our eyes, fills our noses without being noticed, implies us something while has more to hold in reserve. Only when the performance is over can we regain our sense stolen by the book/film, and realize what a nightmarish visit we've paid to the secret noir republic.

Coming back from Miss Harriet's noirsh apartment, we could also be threatened by the visually intimidating environment in films- yes, every form of art that shrouded in the noir mood is threatening for our bright glass heart. In a short musical sequence from Dassin's Rififi, the dead shadow comes alive just as the living character dies. The show begins with a long shot about the curtain goes up, a white screen appears with a male silhouette spinning in the middle of the stage. Simultaneously, a female singer comes into the frame from the left side down the stage. Although the singer is closer to the camera, the different ways she and the silhouette introduce themselves and their different locations in the frame demonstrate one thing: the lead role of tonight's show is not the charming woman who sings, but the mixture of light and shadow that dances on the stage. Having kept this in mind, the singer enters the frame not facing us but facing the silhouette. She bends over a little, opens her arms widely to the silhouette as if to ask his permission to perform with him. He responds politely with one arm opened, though it looks more like a powerful gesture for self-expression than a welcome.

The musical begins. It is nothing about the music, but the interaction between mankind and shadow. She constantly looks back at him, takes order from his gestures, while his dance movements resonate with her lyrics. The dialogue ends with the woman running towards the leaving silhouette. She couldn't catch him, like realities couldn't catch up with dreams. Thus after he left, she goes down the stage for substitutes- our sharp, skillful gangsters. But they are obviously not good enough for her, not better than that piece of living shadow. The shadow is our one and only protagonist, these so-called main characters cannot even get on the stage.

The woman's interaction with real men soon ends with a tracking shot of her going back on stage, disappearing behind curtains. It then cuts to a shot of the white screen with which a female silhouette enters from the same direction the singer has just disappeared. The female silhouette dances the the male silhouette until they leave the screen together; then comes a final long shot of the living woman comes back, lies on the stage alone, abandoned.

The above montage sequence generates an illusion that the singer has once became a silhouette during the show. Through cinematic artifices, we witness a transcendental bi-directional transformation between human being and the shadow- as to say, the living and the dead- that visualizes the typical noir mood even by a musical sequence. In film noir, there is always a sense of fatality within our spirited heroes (i.e. the internalized death of Bogart), and a smell of ominous vitality of environments around them (i.e. the dream-like countryside in Out of the Past). Characters in film noir walk on the edge between life and death, like the singer in Rififi expresses her adoration of the silhouette, interacts with it, and finally becomes a part of it. There she lies on the staircase in the last shot, smiles and sings; the silhouette behind her fires twice, then lights a cigarette by his smoking gun. With the last verse, the woman throws herself on the stage, as if the end of the show also ends her life, while the shadow is the real killer.

On the contrary of interacting with the environment, Marlowe in the scene we've previously discussed always maintain a distance with his surroundings by his Scotch. Scotch to Marlowe is like cigarette to Jeff from Out of the Past: having found out Eels is dead, Jeff goes to the manager’s office for the briefcase. Instead of leaving after he beats the manager and gets the briefcase, Jeff uses the manager’s lighter to light a cigarette. While in Trouble is My Business after Marlowe woke up at Miss Harriet's apartment, he warily "move around slowly", looks like he is going to investigate the environment and find a way out. But actually, no, Marlowe "got up on my knees and reached for the bottle of Scotch on the tabouret at the end of the davenport." Like what Jeff does with his cigarette, Marlowe, too, tries to build an illusion of standstill in a chaotic environment. He tries even harder by getting himself drunk in Miss Harriet's place.

This mood of alienation deliberately created by Marlowe reveals his wish to fight against his fate, which hides behind the fatal noir fog that Chandler created for him. However, the power of noir generated by writers and filmmakers is always stronger than that of the mood our heroes fantasize. We can hardly forget the ending sequence of Rififi, when Tony maniacally drives Tonio back home on a road directed by what Chandler might call "clawlike" trees. This is rather an extreme example, since the character is not trying to keep cool as Jeff and Marlowe did, but to simply keep himself alive. Or maybe worse- there is no way he can stay alive; he can only die more slowly. Hence, Tony isolates himself from the fatalistic environment, though unsuccessfully: he tries to focus on driving, but little Tonio excitedly asks him to look at those trees which seem to be originated from German expressionist films; Tony is not disturbed by the horrifying background music like we are, but Tonio laughs loudly behind him, shakes sleeves like a little devil waves his pitchfork; time is leaking like the blood on Tony's ankle, yet a red light comes, a cop approaches; Tony is already trying his best to speed up, but why the boy is not satisfied, urging him, pointing a gun at his head!

Compared with what a movie is capable of, it is more difficult for a novel to visualize noir elements such as light and shadow, vampiric woman and robotic man. However, the repetitive pattern of Chandler's first-person narrative drags us into the mood of fading away just as a film could do. Normally in a movie we don't see many repetitive shots- even similar ones- since we are told that every shot should have one distinguishable meaning, and repetition is considered lazy edit or just a lack of footages. In Trouble is My Business however, we see a deliberate use of repetitive pattern, for instance: "...I took a swig of the Scotch...felt my head again...took another drink...It was a nice room. Miss Harriet was a nice girl...took another drink...my head felt all right now. I felt fine...She was swell. I used some more of her Scotch...I made the elevator without hitting the walls on wither side of the corridor, floated downstairs, strolled out into the lobby...Everybody was swell."

In three short paragraphs, we follow Marlowe's psychological changes step by step. The repetitive description of "take a drink" doesn't annoy us at all. Instead, each repetition is honed to an edge that will produce a precise effect, and functions as a string that threads the jewels together, thus makes Marlowe's psychological progress as smooth as Miss Harriet's pearl necklace, thereby creates a mood of fading away. Everything in this scene is fading away: the smell of Miss Harriet's perfume, the pain in Marlowe's head, the traffic noise, the Scotch, and primarily, Marlowe's sense. Even Chandler is proud of the gradually washed-out color he paints, secretly compliments on himself by describing how swell the Scotch is: "the level in the bottle was a lot lower now. It was smooth and you hardly noticed it going down...I took some more." On the surface, Marlowe seems to be manipulated by Miss Harriet's Scotch, while it now comes clear that he is actually manipulated by the noir mood Chandler generates. Marlowe becomes oblivious to the hostility of the environment and his incongruity. As his sense fades away, the tension between this irresistible force (drunk Marlowe) and the immovable object (Miss Harriet's apartment) speeds up.

The mutual reference within the context is one weakness of cinematic works. When reading Chandler's novel, we can go back and forth to savor the mood he creates through the coherent way of storytelling. When watching a film however, the linear screening to some extent forbids us from actively building up a clear, step-by-step procedure of the emotional progression. Film does it for us by montage.

In the famous heist scene from Rififi, there is a fast-cutting sequence about the criminals destroying the safe from its back. It opens with a long take of the four characters with César in the middle operates a tool, then a medium shot of César and Tony's intense facial expressions- their eyes are blocked by César's movements from time to time (see pictures below), thus generates an anxious rhyme. Next comes a close-up of the tool. While we get closer to the tool, the constant noise created by its spins is subtly adjusted, becomes more screeching and irritating than it used to sound in any previous shot. From now on the montage starts to speed up, switching back and forth between close-ups: César's hand movements and flickering eyes; Tony's sweaty, dead serious face and eyes that roll to the direction of César then roll back on the safe; the spinning tool and jumping iron filings; eye contacts between Mado and Grutter that are full of expectations; quick cuts between their sweaty faces... As the cutting beat gets faster, the camera gradually approaches the tool, until we can only see the shimmering iron filings.

We can almost sense the anxiety by just describing this quick montage sequence in words. But why? Obviously it is not because of the suspenseful content- we know they are going to open the safe without getting caught; it's only a half way of the movie! When it comes to the mood of noir, the content doesn't matter. During watching this sequence we forget about the content, and solely focus on tricks that pull us into the anxious- not fearful, since we are not afraid of any particular subject such as them being caught- mood of noir.

Besides the montage and the corresponding sound effects, the change of camera angle is also capable of generating moods. Take the above sequence for example, it ends with a long take when César sets down the tool, takes out a hammer and begins to hit the safe. The camera is placed at eye level, gives us a chance to anticipate equally as the criminals do and thus, makes us the fifth criminal by a point-of-view shot. But the camera shakes: face it, we are inexperienced; our accomplice César's first strike makes us shivers as hard as the safe does- shame on us, Tony only blinks his eyes. The camera rapidly steadies itself, pretends to be calm through the second and the third strike. But as soon as the safe gets destroyed, the camera- in this case, us- eagerly leans toward the big hole on the safe. It rushes too fast, even faster than the other four gangs, and becomes shaky again. Affected by the excitedly anxious mood, we are greedier than our accomplices. The noirish mood Rififi displays gives a stronger impact on us than on the characters in it.

The novel and the film generate and enrich noir moods through enormously diverse and powerful artifices. A mood conveyed by any film image is a complex function of the visual qualities (camera angle, camera movement, lighting, etc.), the content, and the juxtaposition to surrounding images. While a novel enriches its moods by imaginative narration, precise psychological description and an innovative eye of the writer that we don't normally have.

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黑吃黑的早期經(jīng)典~朱爾斯達(dá)辛的黑色指導(dǎo)風(fēng)格以及幾位主演精彩的演出賦予影片別樣的悲劇色彩。偷盜珠寶的段落和現(xiàn)代的美劇和電影比起來雖然刺激性欠缺一些，受到的干擾和障礙少一些。但依然堪稱那個(gè)年代的杰出段落~影片從偷盜片到綁架片的轉(zhuǎn)折稍有突兀，應(yīng)該啟發(fā)了《猜火車》吧。

都說紅圈中入室盜珠寶那場(chǎng)戲很經(jīng)典，殊不知這是梅爾維爾向朱爾.達(dá)辛這部杰作的致敬。

紅圈那段戲中最驚艷的當(dāng)屬來復(fù)槍準(zhǔn)確擊中鑰匙孔打開門那瞬間，其實(shí)過程也就從隔壁房間進(jìn)入，爬到房頂翻到珠寶房門口，劃開玻璃，放到警衛(wèi)，在開門后就盡情享受金銀財(cái)寶了。

相比之下，rififi的過程復(fù)雜許多，面臨的困難也很棘手。最大的問題在于如何破壞報(bào)警器，這個(gè)已經(jīng)在偷竊之前得到解決：用滅火器噴出的泡沫蓋住鈴聲。至于其他的流程一概沒有提及，這就吸引我們跟著這四個(gè)盜賊，看他們?nèi)绾蔚贸选?br>
就連一個(gè)地板鉆洞都要拍好幾分鐘，用到了榔頭、毛巾、鑿子、鉗子，甚至是雨傘（具體作用不便說明，看了就明白）；在放下保險(xiǎn)柜的時(shí)候，居然用了兩種三塊不同的木塊支撐；在某時(shí)某刻還要對(duì)著本子記錄的內(nèi)容看窗外發(fā)生的是否相符（如此時(shí)是否如往常一樣有運(yùn)送車開過，是否有巡邏經(jīng)過），一切足以見得整個(gè)過程的計(jì)劃周密。

《男人的爭(zhēng)斗》講述了一貧如洗的托尼決定東山再起，聯(lián)系了幾個(gè)昔日好友共同計(jì)劃打劫珠寶店，經(jīng)過四個(gè)人的精心策劃和周密部署，珠寶順利到手。不過他們后來發(fā)現(xiàn)，其實(shí)最危險(xiǎn)的敵人并不是警察，而是他們的死對(duì)頭，綁架了他們中的一個(gè)人的兒子，揚(yáng)言也要從中分得好處。經(jīng)過一場(chǎng)激烈的槍戰(zhàn)，托尼成功地救回了孩子，可是自己卻不幸中彈，因此而喪命。

完美犯罪教科書

《男人的爭(zhēng)斗》 年代：1955年 / 國(guó)家：法國(guó) / 導(dǎo)演：朱爾斯·達(dá)辛 / 主演：吉恩·塞維斯、羅伯特·曼努爾、卡爾·穆勒


     影片的開場(chǎng)是一張賭桌，五個(gè)人正圍坐在桌邊打牌。主角托尼的出場(chǎng)始于他的雙手，鏡頭從手往上搖，搖到托尼的臉。從手而起，說明手對(duì)于托尼來說，是非常重要的，畢竟哪個(gè)賊偷東西不得手活兒好啊，所以這一組鏡頭，也是在暗示托尼的身份。



     跟托尼打牌的是皮瑞·格拉特，他坐在托尼的對(duì)面，這其實(shí)是確立了托尼和格拉特的對(duì)立關(guān)系，為下面的矛盾升級(jí)做鋪墊。

     另一個(gè)主角喬的出場(chǎng)則是在家里，他的兒子在用衣架跟他惡作劇，這也交代出喬是有家庭的人。就像手之于托尼一樣，兒子之于喬也是不可分割的重要部分，這將會(huì)在之后的部分有所體現(xiàn)。

     托尼賭博沒錢了，就打電話向喬求助。在接電話時(shí)，喬說：“你的干兒子在扯我的腳?！笔裁礃拥娜藭?huì)認(rèn)干兒子，非好兄弟之間莫屬。再加上托尼第一時(shí)間給喬打電話求打撈，也能看出兩人非比尋常的情誼。


      喬很快趕到托尼賭博的地方，將被排擠的托尼解救了出來。從老板的口中我們得知，托尼蹲過5年牢，幾個(gè)月前剛釋放出來。只是他為何入獄，并沒有明確的交代，不過可以猜到托尼當(dāng)年是跟喬等人聯(lián)手作案，才導(dǎo)致落入法網(wǎng)的。也許喬如今的兩肋插刀，是對(duì)當(dāng)年虧欠之情的加倍奉還。
      喬帶著托尼來到一家咖啡館，他們的另一個(gè)同伙馬里歐來了，他還帶來了一個(gè)作案計(jì)劃：搶劫這家叫Mappin & Webb的珠寶店。


      馬里歐打算半夜隔開櫥窗的玻璃，竊取里面的珠寶。但托尼認(rèn)為那里的警報(bào)器太多，這個(gè)Case不靠譜，直接就拒絕了。
       晚上，在喬的家里，喬告訴托尼，托尼的舊情人瑪杜在一家俱樂部里工作，目前是格拉特的情人。這消息傳到托尼的耳朵里，他自然是氣不打一處來，當(dāng)晚就來到那家俱樂部。當(dāng)瑪杜見到托尼時(shí)，也是驚訝地合不攏嘴。

       原來瑪杜在托尼入獄后不久，就移情別戀了，她的不忠激怒了托尼。托尼命令她脫掉衣服，然后用皮帶抽打她，而在這個(gè)過程當(dāng)中，鏡頭移到了墻上的照片，那張照片正是他們當(dāng)年在一起時(shí)拍的?？磥憩敹潘f的“我沒有忘了你”，并非是謊話。



       托尼趕走了瑪杜，立刻打電話給喬，說他決定加入他們的作案計(jì)劃。

       托尼態(tài)度的立刻轉(zhuǎn)變，必然是跟格拉特有關(guān)。賭桌上，他被格拉特排擠，相當(dāng)沒面子，如今就連女人都被格拉特奪走?？梢娙绻粋€(gè)男人沒有錢，不光是夫人難保，就連男人最要命的尊嚴(yán)也怕要掃地。所以托尼決定豁出去，干一票大的，挽回自己的顏面。
      托尼、馬里歐和喬三人立刻開始安排，托尼認(rèn)為整個(gè)偷竊過程不能帶手槍，并且解決警報(bào)器是關(guān)鍵。之后他們又部署了相關(guān)人員，找來了一個(gè)開保險(xiǎn)箱的能手凱撒，還把藏偷來鉆石的下家也安排好了。從畫面構(gòu)圖上可見，托尼處于最中間且最高的位置，這就意味著他將成為整個(gè)作案組的中心人物。

      托尼把珠寶店附近的店開門時(shí)間等情況全部摸清楚，這為他們的作案奠定了很好的基礎(chǔ)。場(chǎng)景又再次來到那間俱樂部，此時(shí)，團(tuán)伙的第四位成員凱撒也已經(jīng)出場(chǎng)了。值得一提的是，他的扮演者就是本片的導(dǎo)演朱爾斯·達(dá)辛。

      舞臺(tái)上一名叫薇薇安的舞女正在唱歌跳舞。影片在這里完整表現(xiàn)了這段歌舞，并在歌詞中大量提到了Rififi這個(gè)詞，也就是本片的片名。在法語中，Rififi有斗毆的含義，而薇薇安反復(fù)唱到這個(gè)詞，再加上幕布后面一個(gè)拿槍的表演者的剪影，都在強(qiáng)有力地直指影片的主題：男人之間的爭(zhēng)斗，必然少不了女人的因素。事實(shí)上，薇薇安成為了之后改變事件走向的重要角色。但在當(dāng)時(shí)，薇薇安的美可迷倒了坐在臺(tái)下的凱撒。



      接下來的一連串鏡頭就是四人為行竊做的準(zhǔn)備工作。先是做出珠寶店門鎖的模子，然后打出鑰匙。托尼再假裝購買珠寶，進(jìn)店考察環(huán)境，并趁打電話的時(shí)候，留意到了警報(bào)器的樣式。當(dāng)出現(xiàn)警報(bào)器時(shí)，畫面是采用推鏡頭的方式，這就表示攻克這個(gè)警報(bào)器，是作案成功的關(guān)鍵。





      四人找來了一臺(tái)一模一樣的警報(bào)器，開始研究解決方案。他們?cè)囘^了很多方法，剪線、拉閘都能觸發(fā)響鈴，哪怕是稍微發(fā)出大一點(diǎn)的聲音，也不能幸免。最終還是托尼發(fā)現(xiàn)了一種方法，用滅火器噴出泡沫糊住發(fā)聲器，這樣會(huì)使鈴聲變啞。

      準(zhǔn)備工作全部完畢，正式作案開始了。影片有條不紊地詳細(xì)表現(xiàn)了整個(gè)作案流程，第一步：搞定守夜人。這一步比較容易，捂住他的嘴、蒙住他的眼睛，再綁在椅子上就可以了。

      第二步，換鞋和掛窗簾，這都是為了避免引起外人注意而做的。同時(shí)，在托尼的小本子上也記錄了每一個(gè)外來干擾出現(xiàn)的時(shí)間，比如那輛末班車就準(zhǔn)時(shí)出現(xiàn)。




      第三步，由于保險(xiǎn)柜存放的房間戒備森嚴(yán)，只能從樓上進(jìn)入，所以需要在二樓的地面上挖一個(gè)洞，然后進(jìn)入一樓。

     
      這里還出現(xiàn)了一個(gè)小插曲。一名夜巡警察經(jīng)過這家珠寶店時(shí)，似乎是發(fā)現(xiàn)了什么，回過頭目不轉(zhuǎn)睛地看。此時(shí)，在觀眾心中留下一個(gè)大大的問號(hào)？難道事情敗露了？



      結(jié)果是警察發(fā)現(xiàn)地上有一只煙盒，他以為里面有煙，結(jié)果打開后是空的，他失望地扔掉了煙盒。事實(shí)上這個(gè)煙盒就是托尼扔下的，好在這只是虛驚一場(chǎng)。

     很快，二樓地板被挖開一個(gè)小洞，為了試探是否已經(jīng)挖通，他們放了一張紙巾，由于上下有氣流串通，紙巾就會(huì)被風(fēng)吹動(dòng)，這就意味著已經(jīng)挖通。然后他們又伸下去一把雨傘，這又是做什么呢？




      原來，為了防止掉落的石塊觸發(fā)警報(bào)，需要用張開的雨傘來承接那些碎石塊。

      當(dāng)洞被挖得足夠大時(shí)，就可以進(jìn)行第四步了。托尼脖子上掛著一個(gè)滅火器進(jìn)入一樓。

     最驚心動(dòng)魄的環(huán)節(jié)來了，那就是搞定警報(bào)器。畫面在托尼和警報(bào)器之間來回切換，增加了氣氛的緊張感，而托尼也由于緊張，不得不閉上眼睛，還不時(shí)咳嗽幾聲。



     泡沫噴上之后，警報(bào)器變成了啞鈴，托尼很順利地就把警報(bào)器報(bào)銷了。其他三人也進(jìn)入一樓，并合力將沉重的保險(xiǎn)箱傾斜放置。這個(gè)過程也很完整地呈現(xiàn)，包括喬被保險(xiǎn)箱壓在下面時(shí)的吃力表情也都直觀地記錄了下來。

      開保險(xiǎn)箱是第五步，不同于現(xiàn)在電影中破解密碼的燒腦情節(jié)，本片用的方法比較“老土”，就是直接在箱體上開洞。凱撒用模具在箱體上做了標(biāo)記，再用電鉆鉆出三個(gè)洞，用來固定支架。不過這個(gè)環(huán)節(jié)所耗費(fèi)的時(shí)間也是最長(zhǎng)的，導(dǎo)演將這個(gè)工具與表進(jìn)行了相溶的畫面交接，體現(xiàn)出時(shí)間之緊迫，而單單是鉆洞，就用了將近3個(gè)小時(shí)。


 
       珠寶就近在咫尺，能夠成功在此一搏。開箱前的那一刻，鏡頭在四個(gè)人和工具之間來回轉(zhuǎn)換，這也把氣氛推向了高潮。隨著一聲清脆的聲音，保險(xiǎn)箱被打開一個(gè)洞。他們成功了。






      取走了箱里的錢，臨走時(shí)，凱撒又順走了一枚戒指。他想要把這枚戒指送給心儀的薇薇安，但之后這枚戒指卻出賣了他，真是貪心不足啊。

      托尼先去開車，但他們的車引起了兩個(gè)警察的懷疑，他襲擊了一名警察，然后迅速開車接其他三人上車，逃離現(xiàn)場(chǎng)。

     之后，托尼又把所有的作案工具扔到河里銷毀，此時(shí)他的身后有一輛火車經(jīng)過。火車是宿命的象征，他們的這次行竊的確成功了，但真的逃得過命運(yùn)的安排嗎？

      整個(gè)偷竊過程長(zhǎng)達(dá)20多分鐘，而在如此長(zhǎng)的時(shí)間里，竟然沒有一句對(duì)白，托尼等人的交流全憑眼神和動(dòng)作，可見他們之間的默契程度之高，也證明了他們的盜竊水平相當(dāng)老練成熟。他們所使用的工具也不繁復(fù)，紙巾、雨傘、滅火器等都是日常所用的東西，卻能被運(yùn)用到行竊案件中，令人叫絕。這一段落早已經(jīng)成為了經(jīng)典，許多導(dǎo)演都深受啟發(fā)并在自己的電影進(jìn)行致敬。比如梅爾維爾在《紅圈》中就幾乎原樣復(fù)制了這段作案場(chǎng)面，而吳宇森顯然在《縱橫四?！防镆灿成涑鲋鞝査沟挠白?。
     最后他們可以分享戰(zhàn)利品了。滿滿一袋子的珠寶，目測(cè)能值24億法郎。而在分贓時(shí)，他們四人也都道出了行竊的理由，托尼是因?yàn)楝敹牛粏淌菫榱俗约汉⒆幽軌蛟谝粋€(gè)富裕的家庭里健康成長(zhǎng)，不至于重蹈自己的覆轍；馬里奧為了讓妻子能“睡遍百貨商店里所有的床”；而凱撒的目的更為純粹，他是為了自己四個(gè)并不漂亮的妹妹能夠嫁出去而“籌集”嫁妝。也就是說，他們都不是為了自己的一己私利而行竊，這就把影片的主題推上了社會(huì)問題的高度。黑色電影中沒有絕對(duì)的好人和壞人，有時(shí)做壞事的人也都有著人性化的一面。


       為了保險(xiǎn)起見，馬里歐將鉆石藏到了家中的一個(gè)臺(tái)燈的底座里。

       盜竊成功絕不會(huì)成為影片的終點(diǎn)，因?yàn)檫€有另一伙人對(duì)托尼咬牙切齒，那就是格拉特。他之所以恨托尼，也是因?yàn)楝敹牛核x開了格拉特，并且很決絕。暴露托尼作案事實(shí)的，恰恰是凱撒偷的那枚送給薇薇安的戒指，那枚戒指落到了格拉特的手上。他將戒指放在那張報(bào)道珠寶店失竊案的報(bào)紙上，一切就都心中有數(shù)了。



       格拉特先從最薄弱的環(huán)節(jié)入手，凱撒。凱撒的自以為是讓他功虧一簣，而面對(duì)手槍的威脅時(shí)，他又出賣了同伴馬里歐。

       格拉特闖入馬里歐的家，也用槍逼著他，讓他打電話給托尼，但托尼堅(jiān)決不答應(yīng)。最終他和妻子都死于格拉特手下。而格拉特在逼問馬里歐時(shí)，他卻并不知道鉆石就在他身旁的那只臺(tái)燈下面，兩者的同框也令對(duì)決顯得很揪心。



       托尼了解了事情的情況，他對(duì)凱撒和馬里歐做了兩種不同的處理方式。凱撒因?yàn)槌鲑u同伴，必須要按規(guī)矩辦，托尼打死了他。托尼說了句“你違反了游戲規(guī)則”，實(shí)際上，這句話也是對(duì)扮演者朱爾斯·達(dá)辛說的，當(dāng)年他闖蕩好萊塢時(shí)，事業(yè)卻始終不順，因?yàn)樗?jīng)常跟進(jìn)步階級(jí)關(guān)系密切，最終被麥卡錫主義列入黑名單，驅(qū)逐出美國(guó)。某種程度上來說，這也是朱爾斯違反了美國(guó)的“游戲規(guī)則”的寫照。
       而對(duì)于忠心的馬里歐，托尼則厚葬了他。畢竟混黑幫，忠誠度是絕不容許有半點(diǎn)遲疑的。



      喬也沒能幸免于難，格拉特派人綁架了他的兒子。在兒子被拐上車的時(shí)候，前面公交車?yán)镆粋€(gè)父親對(duì)自己的兒子說：“看這氣球，如果沒抓緊會(huì)發(fā)生什么知道嗎？” 那只飄上天的氣球，代表著喬被奪走的兒子這無可厚非，但從另一個(gè)層面來說，這也是他們四人處境的象征。他們當(dāng)中，有人背叛，有人忠誠，四人因利益糾結(jié)在一起，必然關(guān)系不夠穩(wěn)固，當(dāng)內(nèi)在的不穩(wěn)定在遭遇強(qiáng)大壓力的時(shí)候，就會(huì)出現(xiàn)問題。所有美好的憧憬，都將像氣球一樣，抓不到。



      就在事發(fā)的緊要關(guān)頭，另一邊，迪特將鉆石兌換成了現(xiàn)金，交到喬和托尼的手上，并不知情的迪特還有說有笑，就像他身邊的充氣玩具一樣，是個(gè)小丑一樣的存在，而他們兩個(gè)主體，似乎也在嘲笑著喬和托尼，人都沒了，錢還有什么用？

       為了救回喬的兒子，托尼決定深入虎穴。瑪杜也在這時(shí)出現(xiàn)了，她幫助托尼買通了一個(gè)毒販子，讓他給喬的兒子送點(diǎn)藥。實(shí)際上托尼跟在毒販子身后，悄悄來到了藏匿孩子的別墅。



     營(yíng)救兒子的過程很順利，托尼殺死了兩個(gè)看守，然后開車把孩子抱走了。



     但恰恰在這里出現(xiàn)了一個(gè)烏龍，這也是最讓觀眾坐立不安的，那就是在格拉特的要挾下，喬竟然帶著那一箱子錢前去交易了！而在此之前托尼再三囑托不要給格拉特錢，但愛子心切的他，還是決定拿錢換兒子。

      格拉特趕到別墅，發(fā)現(xiàn)人質(zhì)不見了，他明白此時(shí)他沒有了交易的籌碼，他只有一種選擇，殺死喬，然后搶走錢。

      就在這時(shí)托尼趕到，打死了格拉特，但他自己也身負(fù)重傷。



      為了將孩子送還到喬的家里，托尼忍著劇痛開車行駛。這也是全片又一個(gè)高潮段落，并且同樣采用快速的鏡頭切換，兩旁的樹木、開車的托尼、托尼痛苦的表情、流著血的腳、前方搖搖晃晃的路況，以及車上天真快樂的孩子，這一系列鏡頭所形成的比對(duì)，極大地拉長(zhǎng)了托尼痛苦的時(shí)間，也讓觀眾懸著的心始終不能落地，到底托尼能不能順利把孩子送到家呢？







      這其中有一幕尤其令人心驚，孩子用玩具槍指著托尼的頭。托尼此時(shí)已經(jīng)是在死亡邊上的人了，死于槍下并不是什么意料之外的事，只是他們的下一代難道還要重蹈覆轍嗎？這也正印證了托尼難逃宿命的預(yù)言。

     托尼把孩子送到了喬的家門口后死去了。托尼的妻子路易斯跑出來，抱走孩子。她還看了一眼托尼，眼中滿是冷漠，然后頭也不回地走了。在這種是與非、生與死的強(qiáng)烈對(duì)比中，人性的復(fù)雜清晰可見。

     
      從技術(shù)角度上來說，在新浪潮還沒興起之前，朱爾斯·達(dá)辛就已經(jīng)流露了比較明顯的新浪潮特質(zhì)，比如移動(dòng)鏡頭的運(yùn)用、實(shí)景拍攝、紀(jì)實(shí)特征、不完美的結(jié)尾等，影片大肆渲染江湖中的男性情誼，也啟發(fā)影響了之后的很多黑幫片。

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