Based on the essential French Resistance novel by Joseph Kessel (also the writer of Belle de Jour), Melville’s epic Army of Shadows easily stands with his better-known works like Le Samouraï; never before released in the U.S., it’s the revival of the season—a stunning lost masterpiece. Anchored by Lino Ventura’s magnetically reserved and dignified performance as an underground operative, the movie plays like a magnificent series of stealthy set pieces: daring escapes from Gestapo detention centers, nighttime parachute leaps out of planes, even a private submarine cruise.

But Army of Shadows isn’t merely the sum of its nail-biting parts. Suffused with an understated flush of intimacy, the movie creates a stirring sense of secret comradeship, beautifully supplied by the entire supporting cast, but especially Simone Signoret as the shrewd, maternal Mathilde. An expert mix of political intrigue and explosive action, Melville’s film is so poised, it could run breathlessly for another three hours.

Dir. Jean-Pierre Melville. 1969. N/R. 145 mins.
In French, with subtitles. Lino Ventura, Simone Signoret, Paul Crouchet