Reviewed By-Devin Kelly

CAST: Alain Delon, Charles Bronson, Brigitte Fossey, Olga Georges-Picot,
Bernard Fresson, Ellen Bahl, Jean-Claude Ballard, Antoine Baud, Stéphane
Bouy, Béatrice Constantini, Guy Delorme, André Dumas, Marianna Falk, Steve
Eckhardt, Raoul Guyland, Lisette Lebon, Sylvan Lévignac, Jacques Marbeuf,
Claude Salez, Sandrine Schmidt, Gilbert Servien, Catherine Sola, Jean-Paul
Tribout, Michel Bracet, Marie-Noëlle Gresset

DIRECTOR: Jean Herman
PRODUCER: Serge Silberman
Greenwich Film Productions / Medusa Distribuzione
RUNNING TIME: 89 min. 36 seconds
VIDEO SOURCE: Monterey Home Video

When the Italians and the French get together for a crime/action
co-production, man do they really dish it out. ADIEU L'AMI (1968) is yet
another French/Italian team effort that sucks you in and delivers in full.
And how could it not with the two leading men we've got for this one! That's
right guys, it doesn't get much better than this combo. Delon and Bronson -
'nuff said.

 From the very opening which sees Charles and Alain both returning home from
time doing service for the French Foreign Legion, their first personal
interaction slowly starts to form into a tight-knit plot full of intrigue
and irony. Upon their first meeting, there is a feeling of tension and
uncertainty. It's clearly evident that these are very different people from
different aspects of life, who, as is apparent, also have different sets of
opinions. Delon is straight-laced doctor Dino Barran, a guy not looking for
too much to be sugar coated in life and not looking to sugar coat anything
himself. Bronson is Franz Propp, a man's man doing what it takes to get
around, questionable or not, and maybe a little too used to the casualties
and haunts of war, willing to go back and do it again if need be. "You're an
American?", Delon asks him. Bronson responds blunt and honest, "I'm
everything, depends on who's paying". A clash of personalities that will
certainly only lead to better things for the viewer.

Flash forward to not long after. Delon is approached by an attractive woman
named Isabelle (Olga Georges-Picot) who shows up specifically looking for
the good doctor. Seems one of his friends had gotten himself into a
guilt-ridden bind and took some bonds from a safe in the high security
building of an elite Paris company. Before he could make better and redeem
his bad deed by returning the bonds, he passed away. Now upon his last will,
the man's widow is desperate for Delon to slip his way into the building,
get to the basement where the safe lies, and return the loot. Decisions,
decisions...looks like Alain's gotten himself into a good one this time. He
reluctantly agrees to take the matter on, and even eases his way into the
building's main floors by using his medical background to land a job as
company doctor. A method has also been mapped out for him to crack the code
on the massive money tomb. Things are about to get even more interesting
however and the ante is about to be upped just a little higher.

Just when things seem like they're going to be in and out for Delon, along
comes Franz Propp. That's right, good old Charlie's snooping around, which
can only mean something's up. The last he saw his pal the Doc, he was on the
receiving end of a fist in the mouth. Bronson is sure to pay back the favor,
but he's quickly got bigger reasons to be there when he discovers the
massive safe lying within the depths of the building. Now whether Delon
likes it or not, an uninvited party guest has hopped aboard to check things
out.

When Bronson finds his way into the basement where the vault is located via
Delon, he first thinks the Doc's plan is to rob the safe. He's soon baffled
when Delon tells him he's actually putting something in, and is under the
impression (one given by Delon) that the safe is empty. The smoke screen
clears pretty quickly for Bronson though when he and Delon are forced to
hide while a high security check goes on in and around the vault. During
this time he overhears mention from one of the guards of the 200 million
francs contained inside. No more bullshit, Bronson knows the deal, he wants
the dough! Before long things reach a boiling point, fist-fights ensue, and
trust is just a five letter word. Will these two men from different walks of
life destroy each other down in the confines of this maximum structure, or
can they work together and take turns in gaining entry to the cold vault?
Watch this thoroughly entertaining jewel for a well worth it look as this
Jean Herman crime thriller sizzles.

 From top to bottom, this one does not disappoint. Not only do we have the
novelty of enjoying two of the top International action icons in the same
setting, making early strides in their increasingly popular film status, but
also an original storyline for them to work off of. For much of the running
time, it's essentially a two man parade, but all we need is two when it's a
dynamic duo like Alain and Charles...more than enough to keep me happy
anyway. Both men give absolutely tremendous performances, feeding off of
each other beautifully for the whole duration. Even when things get
claustrophobic, with the two locked inside the actual vault itself for a
period, the fascination with the whole film doesn't wind down even the
slightest, with Bronson sitting there recalling times in the trenches, as
sweat pours from his face. And you can just feel Delon's frustration with
Bronson even being there in the first place, blaming him for complications
which could have otherwise been easily avoided. The tone of Delon's
character Dino Barran is one of almost a completely straight-faced realist
to begin with anyway. We get this right away from some of the first dialogue
near the outset, when Delon dismisses his service in the war, telling
Bronson, "All I ever did was patch up some poor bastards so they could go
back and get shot for good". Definitely recommended roles for these
superstars.

The supporting cast is mostly comprised of small parts, although out of all
the backing cast members, nice looking Olga Georges-Picot (PERSECUTION '74,
GOOD-BYE EMMANUELLE '77) and dainty Brigitte Fossey (CALMOS '76, THE SWISS
AFFAIR '78) get the most plot relation and actually play quite large parts
in the first and final halves. Out of a nice number of memorable moments,
some highlight sequences include the fight between Delon and Bronson, a very
strange sequence where Bronson busts up a betting ring of wealthy, sex
charade playing perverts, and a clever twist finale fitting nicely as the
cherry on top. The François de Roubaix (LE SAUT DE L'ANGE '71, THE SUSPECTS
'74) score fits like a glove, from an opening military to spy style mix,
meshing nicely into the film.

Charles Bronson did a good range of films in France and Italy up to about
1974 and quickly gained notoriety as one of Europe's best, and maybe ugliest
mugs, to grace their action and thriller pictures. France was one of the
first places to really take notice of and appreciate Bronson's talents as a
leading man. He was suited to these crime escapades - it just seemed to be
in him. Bronson worked for talents like Henri Verneuil, René Clément, Nicolas Gessner, and
the outstanding Terence Young in France, while also sealing the deal to
celebrity for himself in Italy at the same time, starring in Italo-cult
classics like Leone's ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST (1968) and Sergio
Sollima's VIOLENT CITY (1970). He soon became equally huge in both places,
with the French referring to his as "Le Sacre Monstre" and the Italians
calling him "Il Brutto", and demand for him soaring. Sadly the legend passed
away this past August 2003. Alain Delon (LE SAMOURAI '67, FLIC STORY '75)
was already becoming a household name and what was to come for him was
super-stardom in France and elsewhere. He's still active to this day.
Bronson and Delon would appear again together in Terence Young's 1971
spaghetti western SOLEIL ROUGE (RED SUN) along with Euro-darlings Ursula
Andress and Capucine.

ADIEU L'AMI director Jean Herman helmed several French/Italian
co-productions that have peaked an interest to find in me, also directing
Delon in JEFF (1969) (ADDIO JEFF!), and shooting Claudia Cardinale and
Stanley Baker in 1971's POPSY POP. Herman was mostly a writer, but for a man
who has such a small bunch of directorial credits, he certainly had a swift
hand behind the camera. This as far as I can tell is his most recommended
film, which comes as no surprise to me. As a small note of interest, the
Monterey Video tape seems to be missing the first moments of the opening
credits, picking up in the middle of them after the film's title. Something
too minor to pass up on this for sure. A great film to seek out!


4 BITCH SLAPS

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