#314: BRESSON, Robert: Pickpocket (1959)

BRESSON, Robert (France)

Pickpocket [1959]

Spine #314
DVD

Robert Bresson's incomparable tale of crime and redemption follows Michel, a young pickpocket who spends his days working the streets, subway cars, and train stations of Paris. As his compulsion grows, however, so too does his fear that his luck is about to run out. Tautly chreographed and crafted in Bresson's inimitable style, Pickpocket reveals a master director at the height of his powers.

75 minutes
Black & White

Monaural

in French

1:33:1 aspect ratio

Criterion Release 2005

Director/Writers

Robert Bresson was 58 when he wrote and directed Pickpocket.

Other Bresson films in the Collection:

#183: Les Dames du Bois de Boulogne (1945)

#221: Diary of a Country Priest (1951)

#650: A Man Escaped (1956)

#297: Au Hasard Bathazar (1966)

#363: Mouchette (1967)

#886: L’Argent (1983)

The Film

Film Rating (0-60):

60

The Extras

The Booklet

Eight-page wraparound featuring an essay by Gary Indiana.

Commentary

By film scholar James Quandt.

Video introduction

By writer-director Paul Schrader.

The Models of Pickpocket

A 2003 documentary by filmmaker Babette Mangolte, featuring actors from the film.

Interview

From 1960 with Bresson, from the French television program Cinépanorama.

Q&A

On Pickpocket, with actress Green and filmmakers Paul Vecchiali and Jean-Pierre Améris fielding questions at a 2000 screening of the film.

Footage

Of sleight-of-hand artist and Pickpocket consultant Kassagi, from a 1962 episode of the French television show La piste aux étoiles.

Original theatrical trailer

Extras Rating (0-40):

39

60 + 39 =

99

By Director
By Spine #