Ep. 8 - The French Conspiracy (1973)

[00:00:00] It's Showtime Folks! Some bad had hairings. I was the way to the car when you got it, you know right from room. You're just no kidding. But wait! Oh, some some good shit. I knew I didn't know. You're gonna need a bigger watch.

[00:00:23] Hello and welcome to Episode 8 of The Complete Works Season 4, A Deep Dive, Into the Career and Films of Actor, Roy Scheider. My name is Mike Smith and I'm joining me on this journey across the Scheiderverse Is my friend, co-host and fellow Roy Boy. My treat you.

[00:00:40] Hi, dear, Mike. I'm doing great. I live in my... Royist life. No, I don't know that's nothing. I don't think there's anything. I don't think there's anything. Yes. How are you, Mike? I'm doing good, Mike. I'm doing good.

[00:00:53] You know we're now entering a new phase in the career of actor Roy Scheider. Well, a new era. Yes, you could say it's a new era. So we've talked about 1971 as the year that Roy Scheider broke out, right?

[00:01:05] The one-two punch of his small supporting role in Clute and his Oscar nominated turn in the French connection made him an incredibly in-demand actor. And pretty soon he's gonna be getting the chance to headline his own movies in the lead role. But before that happened.

[00:01:21] Like, as his tradition, like every actor, I think almost every other, well actually, specifically one. Yeah, this definitely reminds me of the Euro Goldbloom phase of John's career. Before Roy Scheider started headline his own movies, he popped over to France for a little bit.

[00:01:37] It's making a couple of movies with Jean Louis Trintignettes. So Jean Louis had been a successful actor overseas for about a decade. Thanks to his films like A Man and a Woman and Paraniel Mike de Fabri, The Great Silence. Did you realize that's the same guy Mike?

[00:01:51] I don't think I knew that, no? Oh, yeah, same guy from The Great Silence, which I know you're a huge fan of. Love that movie. Yes, but Jean Louis Trintignette had recently caught some major attention in America.

[00:02:01] Thanks to his role in Costa Gopper's film Z, which came out in 1969 and is the rare foreign language film to get a best picture nomination at the Oscars. And that's something that's happening increasingly more over the last few years.

[00:02:16] You know, obviously Paris Light was the first one to win. But I mean, Robo was nominated and drive my car was nominated. Like it's happening more and more over the last few years, but back then especially incredibly rare. I don't think it was the first time it happened.

[00:02:29] But again, incredibly rare. Did they have the best foreign language or best international film now? Did they have that category at the time? They do you know? They did and I believe Z won it. Whoa. So it's nice to take a go.

[00:02:41] And we actually also mentioned Z last week because William Freak noted it as an influence on the French connection. That's right. And Z was a 10-spolitical thriller in an era where those were incredibly popular.

[00:02:54] So Jean-Louis made a couple more of them and he brought Roy Scheider along for the ride. So this week we're talking the first of the two, French Italian films they made together during this brief window and this one's called The French Conspiracy.

[00:03:08] Now like I said, we're talking the French Conspiracy today or at least that's what it was called in the US. In France, it's original title is Latin Tuts or The Attack. And it's also gone by the name, The Assassination over the years.

[00:03:21] But it had moved that many, many studios have done over the years. They called it the French Conspiracy and put Roy Scheider's face in the poster and playing he had a bigger role in the movie to confuse audiences. And the thing this was related to the French connection.

[00:03:35] So I tell as old as time. Yes, absolutely. That what's the asylum, like the director video? Oh, the transmorphers. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, movies that would come out that there's like designed to trick grandma's and blockbuster into thinking they were renting the right movie.

[00:03:52] Yeah, somebody who can't see on the red box because of the sungler is going to hit the wrong one. And they're going to get the asylum version of the movie. Yeah, exactly.

[00:04:02] So this isn't quite asylum but it is one of those things like, okay, you did this on purpose. Where's Scheider pops up? You know, the Grudge Reckerman did this a lot also with his movies.

[00:04:12] And they just had an episode on the movies that made me which is Jo Dante's podcast recently in like a immemorial kind of thing after he passed Grudge Reckerman passed with Alan Arkish

[00:04:24] and and Jo Dante just like telling stories about when they used to work in the trailer department for Corment and they said a lot of times they would sell drive-ins and stuff like on a title.

[00:04:35] Like so that the movie, like yeah, we'll book that whatever whatever it is and they're like oh shit, we got to make we have two weeks to make a movie. You know, like you know, they would, that's all they would have. So they would do stuff like that.

[00:04:44] We release movies with different titles. So they would buy them again. And every now and then they would book the same movie under different titles as an A&B picture at a drive. So they'd be the same movie twice in a row.

[00:04:57] And he said that's when the the driving guys would get mad at us. And they would book like you know, slumber, slumber beach whatever. And then it'd be like the beach party something and then it'd be the same movie but with different titles. All I hear is legendary.

[00:05:09] That's incredible. Love that RIP Roger Corment. Yes fantastic. Rayshad or pops up in a few scenes in the French conspiracy and a small buzz significant role. He plays Michael Howard an American TV correspondent who is helping to plan a program. Or so we think what?

[00:05:27] Jean de Weage from the young plays the film's main character, Frensoa D'Arianne. An unstable intellectual who knows too much and is in over his head. That is the story of every character from a 1970s.

[00:05:42] Yeah I can see I can see the trailer with the trailer voice and it just be like a close-up on the person. And you're like oh man who knows too much. Yeah exactly. Jean Seberg is in this movie from Breathless.

[00:05:56] She plays Edith François Grollfront, Michael Piccoli from Bel-Dajor and Contempt plays Colonel Cassar, the dictator of a North African country. Jean Marie Vlante from a fistful of dollars plays Sadiel, a leading progressive. Michelle Bucou, the narrator of Night and Fog appears as Lamparia at corrupt lawyer.

[00:06:13] Brow Framer who also appears in sorcerer. So a future shadow reunion happening there. It took me as a whole movie to place who that guy was. Who the fuck is one person I recognize in this whole movie? Yeah. There he is.

[00:06:29] It was sorcerer. He plays Michelle Vennieu, Sadiel's lawyer and Frensoa Periay from Lace Amaray, plays Commissioner Renee Rona. So a lot of significant French movies popping up in these actors from Hagerfiz. Heavy friend, French heavy hitters. Yes absolutely. The movie was written by Ben Barzman, Basilio Franchina

[00:06:47] and Jorge Semprouen, two of which were also writers on Z. And it was directed by Ives Bousswatz. I probably said that wrong. And it was directed by Ives Boussais. Ives Bousswa? I don't know. I'm going to do a few different takes and then edit together.

[00:07:04] What I think is the face right. One year after his previous film, Angel's Leap, and one year before his next film, R-A-S. French and Spurrissie opened in several different countries before finally come into the US on November 14, 1973.

[00:07:19] Number one at the box office that weekend, Mike, was a re-issue of the 1971 Action Drama Billy Jack. You ever seen Billy Jack, Mike? I know when I can place it. I can see it, I think. I see the poster. I have heard good things about Billy Jack.

[00:07:34] Actually this was a movie that Quentin Tantino and Brad Pitt were drawing heavy inspiration from when making one Spurrissie on Hollywood. They were like the character of Cliff Booth, which was heavily inspired by the character of Billy Jack. I've never seen it, I've heard good things.

[00:07:48] Like an influential like independent action drama film from the early 70s sounds great. Rest at the top 10 or actually the highest gross movie of 1973. Because again we don't have a top 10 for this weekend's... For weekends. We probably won't have that until we get to the Royceira's 80s movies.

[00:08:04] But the highest gross movie of 1973. You want to take a stab at what it might be, Mike? 1973? Oh boy, no, I'm so bad at this game. Every time we do it, I have no idea. I feel like... I'm going to give you a hint

[00:08:16] and I feel like this hint should be enough to get you there. It is directed by somebody who directed a movie that we've covered on this podcast. Oh god, the season of the podcast. Why did the extras just go out? Is that 1973? That can't be that's it.

[00:08:32] It's the extra system. It is the extra system. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. You got it. Yeah, William Friedkin was on the top of the charts with the extra system. It's such a one-two punch right there. Yeah.

[00:08:43] French connection, which I think was like the third high-score movie of that year and best picture winner. And then coming back two years later with the extrasist, high-score movie of the year, and still hugely influential in terms of horror movies. I mean, they're still making extra movies.

[00:08:56] Actually, today there was announcement about an extra system of being Mike. What? Did you not see that? I did not see that. Mike Flanagan is going to be directing the next extra system of being. Fuck yeah. Get out of here, David Gordon Green. Nobody cares about you.

[00:09:08] I still have yet to watch David Gordon Green's extra system movie. Have you ever even do? Okay, no. Who cares? Well, that's the thing. I kind of wanted to see it just because like, I am one of the sole defenders of the David Gordon Green Halloween's.

[00:09:20] Yes, you are. Let us try. I like Halloween kills. I like Halloween ends. I like them all. And yeah, I just had no desire for his extra system movie. I had nothing going on there. Yeah. If it's not the extra system or extra three,

[00:09:34] I'm not sure I'm into it. But Mike Flanagan, I'm into. That's very exciting. I didn't hear about that. So that's good. I assumed that whole friend that trilogy was a kid who just be dead. Do we all, like, yes, we'll talk about whatever. Who knows?

[00:09:44] It's a really good. The receiver? I would imagine there's a total reimagining of like, it's not going to continue Gordon Green's thing. I don't know. Okay. You know, let's say it failed. So we got to cancel continue the extra system tradition and just re-release a new edit of

[00:09:59] the receiver like they did with the false right or cut in the. Rainy Harlan or whatever happened with that. Yeah, I think it's raining Harlan. Yeah, I think it was running Harlan and Paul Schrader who both worked on that same

[00:10:09] extra system movie and re ended it like both versions came out. And yeah, neither one was good right? I don't think they're either of them were good. I never seen them so I don't really know. But again, there was, I think it was the extra system.

[00:10:21] One was called the extra system something and then the other one was like Dominion prequel to the extra system. Yeah, I want to say like retribution, but I don't think it's retribution is. But it's something like that. That's some other sequel title nonsense.

[00:10:33] But I think it's hard on running Harlan still making horror prequels. Directed the strangers chapter one was came out. Yeah, I didn't know his or any horror movie. All they're playing he's like three, I think he shot like three strangers movies

[00:10:47] that were called chapter one, chapter two, and chapter three and he directed all of them. They're pulling a fear street. That's crazy. And based on reviews of strangers chapter one, maybe they shouldn't have. Maybe they shouldn't have. That's so wild. I'm so wild.

[00:11:01] What were you going to say before I went off on a stranger's tension? I was going to say that it's crazy to think about French connection and the extra system back to back.

[00:11:08] And it makes so much sense then when you see the source or trailer and it's just from the director of the French. And then from the director of actually like that's really hammer and home that it's a William Freakin movie.

[00:11:19] Yes, because it's a course to number one top five movies of the third, their years, you know. Yeah, absolutely huge cultural hits. And then of course, sorcerer bombs. No, the couple didn't go see it. It's crazy.

[00:11:30] But I mean, it bomb makes it open the same day as Star Wars, which, right? Redefined what the entire industry would be doing for the next 50 years. But imagine if sorcerers are Star Wars Mike, what would the future look like then? We'd all be driving oil trucks.

[00:11:46] It's a lot like the Mad Max feature, I guess. For no benefit to anyone, we just strap oil trucks to all of our cars. I love it. We don't have window stickers of the front grill plate of the sorcerer truck instead

[00:12:04] of all the people with the revelal alliance window sticker. Yes. All right, so yeah, the extra system was the highest gross in movie of 1973. Here was the rest of the top 10 Mike. You got the sting American graffiti. The way we were Magnum Force. Last 10 go in Paris.

[00:12:23] Paper moon. Live in Let Die and Serpico. That was your top 10 films in 1973. What an insane time it must have been to be alive. That is crazy, it's not 10. That's a lot of good movies in that top 10, a lot of good movies.

[00:12:39] All right, and there actually was no usable IMDB plot stops for the French conspiracy. If you can believe it Mike? Yeah, but there was a lot of the attack. There were all the same page. There was like a user submitted one, but it was really long.

[00:12:54] So I decided to go to Letterbox. I used the Letterbox plot synopsis for the French conspiracy for this one, which is a little longer than our usual IG one, but shorter than the user submitted one that was there. Here's what we got.

[00:13:05] D'Orienne, a left-wing police informant, is forced to lure his old friend, Saudi L. It's a Paris, allegedly to film a television special about the third world. Saudi L, the exiled leader of a North African state, is being hunted by the ruthless Colonel

[00:13:16] Kassar who will stop at nothing to capture his political rival. One Saudi L arrives in Paris, D'Orienne realizes he has been manipulated. He tries to turn out the clock, not realizing what or who. He's truly dealing with.

[00:13:26] That's a lot of context to give in a lot of nonsense. And honestly, I feel like I understand that movie better heading red that plot synopsis. 100% correct. Alright, my D, going into the French conspiracy. What were you expecting for this movie? What are your overall thoughts?

[00:13:44] I had never heard of this movie when we started looking for it or we started watching it. And to the point where we ended up finding it on canopy is the only place this movie is available.

[00:13:53] It turns out, which if you have a library card, potentially your library participates in canopy, we found out mine doesn't. That said. But it seems like there has been a blue ray release.

[00:14:05] It was almost going to have to buy it on eBay, it's where we were going to get to. Which I think is like a $26 something. I was looking at it too.

[00:14:11] She was like kind of reads, I mean, not for this movie but as far as an ad-oprint blue ray. Like ad-oprint reasonable price. Yeah, and I believe it was Kino Lorber who, like, did Blue ray release it this while back. So I'm sure it's great.

[00:14:23] And I see, I think that is the transfer that is on canopy so that's nice. So yeah, never heard of it. It has a pretty low footprint. So it was tough for us to find. Like we said, and overall this movie is a movie. It's cool.

[00:14:36] One of those talking movie pictures that you saw much better. One of those movies with the guys that's always walking and talking. But like it's cool. At certain points, it's very tense. It is a, you know, early 70s European political thriller.

[00:14:48] So like it's got a lot of that stuff. And I mean, the bag for that stuff. And I like that aesthetic and those things. But I think the movie is like, ultimately not trashy enough.

[00:15:00] For me to have a lot of fun and get over the fact that I don't know what the fuck is going on at any given point in the movie.

[00:15:07] You know, we talked a lot about in Michelle Yocis and a lot of those like early Hong Kong movies and stuff like just incomprehensible plots. But they're so exciting and fun that like it doesn't really matter what's going on.

[00:15:17] Yeah, but this movie has a sort of incomprehensible plot. And it's just guys talking for a lot of the movie. So like on some levels that is exciting and there are, you know, paranoia chase scenes and stuff like that towards the end. And it gets very heightened.

[00:15:31] But up until then, it's a lot of guys in, a lot of guys eating. A lot of dudes talking in restaurants over like having discussions over meals. So that was a weird thing. You know, at a certain point, there's only so many like square, joy, brunette, French guys.

[00:15:46] I can keep track of in my mind at any time. And this happens to me personally, you know, I'm sure this is common with a lot of talk maybe to other people with, you know, non-English movies where like the names are sort of hard to track.

[00:16:00] So it becomes hard to place a name to the character and then the character's kind in this that, like I said, is square, all square joy, brunette dudes, brunette white guys. And like who the fuck, which one of you is sort of sardis?

[00:16:10] Whatever, Darnell, what is it? What are their names? Sardis, Darria and Sardis, yeah. Yeah, it's like what the hell is happening? Who's the, which one do you use? The carnival commander? I don't know, and they kind of lose the threads.

[00:16:21] And in movie like this, whether it's all about that, you know, man who do you too much in over his head thing, it's all about the threads. So like a cat is like, a little exhausted by the end of the movie,

[00:16:32] even though it does, I think it does come to a pretty exciting climax and stuff, but up till then it's like a real slog. Yeah, I mean, I, I'm kind of with you. I think it's a little bit of a slog, a little bit of a drag.

[00:16:42] I mean, but I was also like, pretty engaged at the same time. Yeah, like I was trying to keep up with it. And it is a difficult movie to follow for a lot of the reasons that you just said Mike.

[00:16:52] I mean, part of that is just like, I wasn't around in France in the 1970s and I don't really know what the political climate was to this degree, right? You know, where it's really going hard into French politics,

[00:17:03] that's it. I mean, much like Z, this movie is also based on true events, like things that actually did sort of happen. And I have also not seen Z, and researching for this episode, and for the, and like hearing about William Freak and talking about it last week,

[00:17:18] maybe you really want to watch Z, which Z is on the criterion channel. I think I might try to watch it before our next movie, which is the outside man, similarly like another kind of thriller type thing in the same vein as this movie.

[00:17:32] And so yeah, I want to watch Z, have her good things. And yeah, it's supposed to be great. Got the best tradition domination. How bad can it be? You know? Yeah, I think, I mean, like I also have you ever watched Dave The Jackal.

[00:17:43] It's a similar thing. I don't remember, I think that's in the 60s. I don't really remember. But it's also loosely based on a French assassination plot that was like uncovered and sort of about a similar theory.

[00:17:54] That's about somebody trying to kill Charles the Gaul, but you know, it's like in this era, and it's kind of thing. Right. That is so much more exciting and tense than this movie. And I was just like man, which I was watching day of the Jackal.

[00:18:06] Yeah. That's the, I felt like it didn't do a lot to like kind of just make the plot. Like, like, you know, the plot is very complicated and difficult to follow. And that is unfortunate.

[00:18:15] But there is like, you know, just on the surface level, conspiracy thriller stuff, which is fun. You know, there's, there's some exciting chase sequences, like a certain point to the movie. And like you said, I think it does build to a really solid ending.

[00:18:27] And that ending centers on Ray Shiner who only pops up for a few scenes in the movie. When he first shows up, it seems like he's going to be a major character. And he is kind of a major character, but like totally on the sidelines.

[00:18:39] Like, you know, he's like, he doesn't really become pivotal to the movie until the very end. Right. Yeah. Yeah. He kind of, he's revealed to be one of the people pulling the strings all along. But yeah. For the most part, he's not in the movie. Right. Exactly.

[00:18:52] But he is, uh, it turns out like a CIA operative that is kind of involved in this whole conspiracy. Yeah. When he first shows up, first of all, he's speaking French. Uh, pressure is not French. Yeah. Exactly. I was like, that's not where he shires.

[00:19:07] Uh, which I wasn't expecting that to happen in the Ray Shiner season. Uh, cause I used to happen in the Michelle Yeosies and all the time, where Michelle Yeo would be,

[00:19:14] uh, it a movie and, you know, it would be a Hong Kong action movie or a Taiwanese movie or something like that. But sometimes they would like dub her over with another actress.

[00:19:21] Yeah. Well, it means sense in the, you know, with all the different dialects in China that like, Oh, this is filmed in Cantonese or dubbed into Cantonese or dubbed into Maiturian or whatever. You know, like there's, that's true things.

[00:19:31] And then there were certain languages that like she just didn't speak. She was involved in the movie and she's in it, but like somebody else is dubbing over the language and stuff. Yeah. So like there makes sense. And I mean, and that's what's going on here.

[00:19:40] It's that like, you know, spaghetti, Western style of movies where it's like nobody speaks the same language. It doesn't really matter. We're gonna, we're a little dubited and after. Uh, yeah.

[00:19:50] And I guess that's what's going on here. It makes sense that, you know, the directors made great silence. You know, that's just a beauty western kind of movie. It's like there's that lineage. And this is, I think, is also Italian co-production or something, right?

[00:20:01] Yeah. Well, the actor was in the great silence. Not the director. Oh, the act right. Yes. I don't know. It's like it's all in that, you know, kind of just European tradition of filmmaking where it's like we all speak a little bit of a different language. So whatever.

[00:20:12] So but yeah, it's strange, especially to get a movie. To get somebody like Roy Shader, you know, as recognizable coming off an Oscar, not really.

[00:20:20] And then he's dubbed. But I guess I think I saw in some of the comments or reviews or something that there is an English version. There's an American really edit.

[00:20:29] Yeah, but I don't know. Like maybe that's on the blue ray or something. Oh, I think I did see that too. Yeah, and I think the American that it is much shorter too. I think that's what I saw in 25 minute version of the movie or something like that.

[00:20:40] So yeah. I'm sure it sucks. But whatever our misgivings are with this version of the movie, I feel like a 95 American, 95 minute American version is probably worse. Yeah. So there's that.

[00:20:54] And I guess I think it's an extremely well made movie. It looks beautiful. Yeah, looks awesome. I mean the, you know, maybe it's the restoration or whatever, but it looks awesome. It looks really good.

[00:21:04] Yeah, movie looks great. I think it feels good. Like as a conspiracy thriller and I just wasn't engaged by the mystery, which is the unfortunate thing about it. Yeah, and also I couldn't really follow what was going on. I had no idea what's happening to Ramosti.

[00:21:18] I think that's the problem. Like, yeah, I guess like we saw the plots and offsets like you're reading, but yeah it's about a guy who is involved in like left wing organizations and stuff gets gets pressure put on him by the police to turn and become an informant has a past with this guy who I don't know if they say where he was like a ruler from because obviously like Algeria, right?

[00:21:39] And like Algeria is in stuff like with France and North African colonies and all that. So it's like in the the wake of that liberation and stuff, but I don't think that's where they're the sort of sort of alert of her his name is Saudi L was from or something.

[00:21:53] But yeah, so they get this guy to lure him back to France even though he's been in exile and he's this leader on the run with the promise of doing like a TV interview. So you can air, you know, we'll read your manifesto on air kind of thing.

[00:22:08] Right, like in mission impossible that one time. Yes, yeah and Roy Shader is like the TV pro like theoretically he's the guy programming the TV show he's the right. He's one of the guys that works at the TV station that's organizing this or so we think.

[00:22:23] Right, but there's a lot of that in the movie too where it's like oh who this whole day they kind of create this whole fake TV network and I can't keep track of who's who and why and what's going on and all that stuff.

[00:22:33] So that's what that's what becomes hard to keep the or why it becomes so hard to keep track of. There's a thousand characters and they all kind of look the same. Yes, sort of indistinct but it all matters who they are and that's why it's so tough.

[00:22:46] Yeah, but you are following Jean Louis Trenton Yalscharacter Darian who is kind of he's a yeah like he's like a left wing, you know revolutionary who is extremely progressive and he's kind of being forced into this police informant role and he has to like lure his old friend of Paris.

[00:23:02] And yeah, I think him like kind of figuring out the conspiracy and what's going on. And all that stuff I think that actor plays that very well.

[00:23:10] I think it's you know that that thread of like he's guy who knows too much solid that's like ultimately a bare minimum that's all I need like I don't need to necessarily know what he knows.

[00:23:21] I just know he knows too much right you know and and so that kind of carried me through the movie I think is like okay I have like the basic archetype of what this character is going through.

[00:23:30] And I can kind of piece it together a little bit and so he is supposed to be like kind of helping put it the show together.

[00:23:36] And then he learns that they're planning to kill this guy and all that stuff and yeah things start going poorly for him and he's getting separated from his girlfriend by Jean C.

[00:23:44] And the two of them are really great together, I think when they're on screen and just cool to see Jean C. Berg who I mostly know from breathless but was in a ton of movies around this period, a lot of French movies.

[00:23:55] There's a great you must remember this season that is about Jean C. Berg's life which high recommend it's really good.

[00:24:01] Interesting yeah I think I really only know where from breathless also to the point mean but also I didn't recognize her in this so I would have no idea what else she was in.

[00:24:09] So there was a biopic couple years ago with Christmas Stewart as a as a super.

[00:24:14] And I heard it was bad but but there was that yeah I mean she's in a ton of she's in a bunch of your stress breathless paint your wagon is a Jean C Berg movie which are you familiar with paint your wagon at all like I don't think so.

[00:24:27] Paint your wagon is a musical western film. Okay stars Clint Eastwood and Lee Marvin and also Jean C Berg and the reason I I've never seen paint your wagon.

[00:24:37] It's it's like largely considered one of those movies that like killed old Hollywood and like paved the way for new Hollywood essentially came out like 1969 and it was a huge flop there's a Simpsons episode.

[00:24:47] I should have known it's a Simpsons clip show episode where they like highlight all the musical episodes like all the musical sequences from the Simpsons from like last nine years but it starts because

[00:24:57] over and Bart rent paint your wagon thinking that it's going to be a really violent like fun western. It turns into a musical and so there's like sequences in that episode that are just like made up songs from paint your wagon

[00:25:09] And I've never seen paint your wagon but I can sing all the lyrics to the Simpsons version of it. That's pretty sorry look who did paint. Well what are we waiting for? Well not paint our wagon, call not paint it good. We ain't bragging we're going to.

[00:25:47] That's all you need. Yeah exactly it's great I won't do that right now but just saying that I could do it. Jean C Berg is a we all totally believe you know where right?

[00:25:57] Yes I come to the French new wave in a ton of movies this time and so it's cool to see her in this. What do you think of Roy Shader this movie? He is also I kind of the French new wave Roy Shader is in this movie.

[00:26:10] How do you think this movie deploys Roy Shader? I think it feels weird coming at it from a point of view of a Roy Shader podcast. I think seeing the poster French conspir...

[00:26:24] I fell for the thing I did it I was like okay here we go he's going to be a main. Can you be at the CIA? No tricks. I mean it's a bit of a bit.

[00:26:32] Yeah I mean it's fine you know he's pretty cool he has a little bit I mean it kind of works for his character but like he has a little bit of like a too cool for school swagger like you know in the in the scenes

[00:26:43] or he sort of like we just got to get through this stuff I mean and I don't mean like he's sleepwalking through the movie but like you know when he's in it He has this great line early in the movie where

[00:26:55] When he and Darian first meet like at a party or something you know it's Darian's sort of I think at this point he may have been contact by the police already and I don't know totally remember

[00:27:06] but obviously he's like getting embroiled in the conspiracy at this point he's meeting Roy Shader for the first time and Roy Shader is like pretending to be one of him like he's you know he's a progressive lefty who is a lesser and all this stuff right?

[00:27:18] Yeah exactly and he has this line where he's talking about like you know people like the people in France and how like so many of them are not leftists they are like you know extremely conservative and he has this line like even even

[00:27:30] the women have right wing pussies. Yeah. It's insane but that's like kind of his attitude throughout the whole movie he has that sort of like you know a surbic kind of you know it feels like

[00:27:42] American back yeah American and he any feels a little bit out of place as a result but that's like a very deliberate thing I think. Yeah yeah I think he's putting that on to play a role within the larger conspiracy but yeah it works in the movie

[00:27:54] to his benefit I think he's to make it does make him stand out in the scenes that he's in obviously you know. It's sort of what separates this movie from some of the earlier Roy Shader movies we have done

[00:28:04] which you know will have Roy Shader in a bit part like still let out or something like that and it's very clearly like those are because like well Roy Shader is not famous

[00:28:11] he's like a working actor who's popping up in this scene and then you know all that and this feels like they know who Roy Shader is like you know he's obviously like he's popped from French connection and stuff and you know they bring him over

[00:28:24] like for this role specifically because he has like a higher profile now and it feels like the movie like knows what they have with Roy Shader you know. Yeah yeah it also like a looking forward kind of thing in the sort of like you know

[00:28:37] the big getings of like a typecast thing that he gets you know he's sort of like this character in marathon man also right he's kind of that kind of sort of

[00:28:44] sort of a spy that we don't know is a spy totally into the movie and all that stuff and you know spoilers from marathon man. I mean it's like it's the kind of groundwork you know for that kind of thing

[00:28:54] you know he's always now I think for a while now he's always going to be like the kind of cop gruff kind of American a surbrecht like you said thing and that's this is you know the next step in that natural evolution if you will.

[00:29:06] So that's fun and I'm excited to see the next one too which will get me we'll get into that a little bit but I think it's another similar type de-hol so that's fun. Yeah I think that one's more of a straight thriller than it is a political thriller

[00:29:20] which might make it a little more accessible to us. Okay well excited you would have but yeah how do you think it fits into the Roy Shader roles I've seen so far Mike. Oh man I thought we already were doing that.

[00:29:28] Oh yeah we have a kind of a little bit. Yeah I mean like we said French connection obviously and yeah I think it stands out from the other small roles we've seen like you know this character next to

[00:29:40] his character from loving totally different worlds that you know if person is that Roy Shader is embodying which makes sense like we were just talking about that he in those first you know three four or five movies he's building up to this

[00:29:53] and then French connection kind of like sets a path that I think we're squarely on now. Yeah absolutely I'm excited I mean yeah I've seen jaws obviously but but there's a lot of like those like leading role movies in the 70s for Roy Shader

[00:30:07] that I have not seen like the seven ups for example is movie that I'm excited to get to and all that stuff so yeah like I've seen jaws seen sorcerer all that jazz and stuff

[00:30:14] but there's you know the stuff within the cracks if there's like kind of all-time masterpieces that I'm excited for you know any movie could be the next special delivery you know yeah this has big special delivery potential yes another one of the movies

[00:30:28] that doesn't quite live up to it maybe the next one will. Yeah whatever this we're just talking about same deal with that. Oh the year-old go blue and kind of era I think is what you're talking about no we were hoping for special delivery type.

[00:30:42] Oh still I don't still I don't still I don't still I don't still I don't still I don't but from its like description we're like oh yeah here we go and then it's getting pretty

[00:30:49] disappointed by that movie but yeah and I did want to mention I mean we kind of talked about at the top at the episode a little bit but for those who are unfamiliar with the Jeff Goldenbeam season the podcast yeah this feels sort of similar to the year-old

[00:30:59] boom era you know which we kind of talked about as like the period from the late 80s to early 90s where Jeff Goldbloom leaves America for a while and just makes movies overseas and made a lot of you know some interesting stuff some weird stuff some bad

[00:31:13] stuff but just kind of made a bunch of stuff where he was often the lead role you know let's stuff like the tall guy shooting a lizabeth or framed I think was a that was an HBO movie.

[00:31:24] But yes the the favor of the watch and the very big fish you know all the mad dream of the monkey you're a fucking old dream of the mad monkey yeah yeah so all that stuff and yeah the most these are mostly forgotten

[00:31:37] movie yes but they were they kind of came at a point in Gobloom's career where you know he had had the fly in 86 yeah and that was one of those things was like hey

[00:31:48] Jeff Goldbloom huge star now which gave him in movies and then every movie he made after he made a bomb like didn't do well. The fly was very much like an exception for Jeff Goldbloom it's a leading actor in the 80s because as American movies were like

[00:32:00] it's translanding is 65,000 it's vibes it's earth girls are easy all of which I think are at least decent movies and earth girls are easy grey vibes also very fun I like that's quite a bit there's a lot of movies that

[00:32:15] just like weren't hitting beyond therapy also one of those movies too which sort of counts of the year of gold to marah but yeah so it's that sort of feels like goldbloom leading America for a few years to kind of recalibrate a little bit

[00:32:28] and this almost feels like the opposite where Ray Shutter just had his like biggest success ever with French connection you know he got an Oscar nomination he got a lot of recognition for that role and he fucks off to France for a year to go.

[00:32:42] Yeah I think sort of traditionally that's the conception of like when American Hollywood actor goes to Europe to make a bunch of movies it's usually to like rehab a career or try and jumpstart something you know or

[00:32:57] you know they've had their sleep in the other in a slump and they're like I got to go somewhere and make some movies right but yeah here right at the peak you know right at the start of his big 70s run he goes to Europe and makes

[00:33:08] at least two movies there so yeah absolutely yeah he's only there for a year so and makes and makes those movies I think part of that is maybe just work with Jean Louie Trenton yet yeah who's the star of who's the star of both

[00:33:18] these movies and had just kind of broken through America in America with Z so I think that's an aspect of it too but I also think Shidder is somebody who at this point in his career I think he's like almost 40 or about to be

[00:33:30] 40 right like he's we don't have the exact birthday down we talked about it and curse the living corpse which was so long ago at this point it's like all two months ago you know but I you know he's somebody who I think has

[00:33:41] a had a relationship to acting where he got started kind of late right like he was somebody who had other options he could he could have been an amateur boxer for his entire life or whatever you know and I feel like

[00:33:53] his maybe relationship to fame was just like yeah I guess this is a cool thing that's happening to me but you know if it all went away I'd probably be fine right you can always go back to boxing

[00:34:03] yeah yes he is he is like a 39 when in this movie he's born in 1932 okay yeah get the approaching 40 yeah there you go so yeah it is like he's somebody who has been acting for a while and has been pursuing

[00:34:19] a for a while and wants to do it but he also has a lot of other things that he can do I mean he was you know in the military he was a boxer he has like other stuff like and that's something that I think is often

[00:34:29] missing from more modern movie stars which feel like they were which often feel like they were bred to be in movies and that's it you know yes yeah they don't have any of that real world great to bring to a movie

[00:34:42] yes to a character they were not an amateur boxer when they were 14 yeah and then join the air force or whatever he was and yeah I don't know this mean this movie made me think of or maybe want to watch some more of those

[00:34:54] Italian crime movies that I I don't think I talked about don't remember when I talked about those if I talked about those but they're put the sub-journer is called police attachie police attachie or whatever okay just about they're like

[00:35:06] from the 70s and there's a box set from arrow blue rays that I have it's like three or four movies or whatever and it's just like psycho action cop kind of like sort of I guess like a dirty

[00:35:18] Harry equivalent kind of thing but in Italy cops have gone to you know they need to go beyond the edge of the law to get things done to fight corruption or whatever you know so it's like deeply deplet romantic

[00:35:28] wave of you know kind of territory and these movie French conspiracy lacks the insanity of the at least the one that I watched but I really want to plug it for people if you're interested in the 70s euro movies I watched

[00:35:41] cold 38 special squad is the name of this movie and it's about this guy it starts at the beginning this detective it's like a big police raid on a warehouse and he kills this gang leader is brother so the gang leader in retaliation

[00:35:54] kills the detectives wife and son in front of him it's crazy that's the first 15 minutes when so now to accomplish anything you know to get his revenge he's this guy gets authorized to create a special squad in the police then they all carry 30 Col 38 revolvers and ride motorcycles

[00:36:15] it is just this motorcycle death squad basically just blasted away punks in 1970s Italy and it fucking rules and it's insane and over the top in crazy and I wish you know that movie has a also incomprehensible paranoia

[00:36:33] conspiracy plot thing going on but it also has motorcycle riding revolver wielding cops so like you know it's got the thing that I can latch onto over the threat over the web of conspiracy stuff and that's what is missing from

[00:36:48] French conspiracy yeah you know so check out Col 38 special squad because it's insane sounds are at sounds awesome any other scenes are moments in the French conspiracy scene at T-bike well I guess we could talk about the final scene the end we should talk about the end

[00:37:03] the end the right shot is it you know yes yes so the the entire movie whenever Roy Shader pops up it's usually like you know I'm here to help you plan this TV show that you're organizing and stuff like that there's a scene where

[00:37:15] he and Darryan are waiting at a table at a restaurant for somebody that's not showing up and he gets like impatient and leaves and all that right so whatever Roy Shader pops up it's usually related to the planning of that show

[00:37:27] and then at the very end of the movie Darryan is you know he's Harry, he's frantic he's had to leave his girlfriend at the train station and you know he's he knows too much he has a confession on tape

[00:37:37] he's listening to and all that stuff then Roy Shader knocks in his door right and Roy Shader knocks his door and he's the one person that he thinks he can trust but it turns out no and Roy Shader pulls out a gun

[00:37:50] and shoots Darryan and kills him and I will say that that elicited like a genuine gasp out of me I didn't see it coming out in nowhere it's crazy yeah and it is ultimately revealed that Roy Shader is like a C.A. operative

[00:38:03] who has been you know in on the conspiracy from the start and like the C.A. has been involved in organizing this whole thing and now he has a tie up all the loose ends and so he has to kill Darryan

[00:38:11] and yeah you hear the gunshot he Darryan dies falls to the floor and Roy Shader sneaks out of there with the confession before the police can arrive to inspect the body yes I think the cops are at the door knocking on the door when he shoots him

[00:38:26] so it's like they think it's a suicide because the cops have caught him right yes he replaced the tape the confession tape I don't remember I think he just gets rid of it I think he just takes it with him

[00:38:36] because there is a confession tape and the final scene of the movie where they're like reading it or listening to it in the guy from sorcerer recognizes that it's like text from a book it's like that's the final downnote on the movie

[00:38:51] is like listening to it and he really like oh this confession has been doctored like you know they've made this confession so that it will it'll select you know the case this club is like he's dead

[00:39:02] and he got his confession on tape and it's like the confession they want and they're like we can go to the media and I think it's like one of the cops it won't change anything and it's like faith to black

[00:39:12] well got damn maybe think of what we were talking about with crunch connection like movies in the 70s were so sad like it didn't mean it was so cynical so dark yeah got damn what was going on at the time oh that okay

[00:39:27] oh yeah turns out yeah understand uh... yeah no i think it's an incredibly bleak ending i think it works i think the ending is the best part about the movie and i think it

[00:39:38] it is like a genuinely shocking moment when we're really short of pulls that gun out and because it's uh you guess before he uh shoots it that's the thing i'd like the second he pulls the gun out like it's uh what's going to happen yeah it's very intense

[00:39:50] and so yeah i'm bad at any sequences is really great like it sort of saves the movie a little bit yeah that whole last you know ten fifteen minutes or twenty whatever it is and you're uh...

[00:39:59] hand-in-gene seeberg have to split up like they realize they're being like they're going to get arrested and if we split up they'll have to they'll tell both of us and whatever we can lead them misdirect them and that's where it becomes like that

[00:40:10] chase paranoia stuff when running through alleyways and trying to get to the train station in time oh that's stuff that's fun you know that's cool and then it's a sad ending yeah yeah absolutely very bleak anything else might be wanted to a hypertension repasor

[00:40:25] um... i think that's all i can remember from this movie to be totally honest i mean yeah other than like you know instantial things here and there again the uh there's a good foot chase that is pretty cool

[00:40:35] uh and all that kind of stuff but again she's one of the things like i feel like i don't have any context for why this is happening but i've enjoyed this but i'm enjoying this foot chase yeah

[00:40:44] uh yes there there is that but yeah french conspiracy it's okay i think it's an incredibly well-made movie it just didn't work for us forever isn't yeah it just didn't happen that happens sometimes but we have some letterbox views mic what do the people have to say?

[00:40:57] well let's see what the people have to say uh first off say three star of you from Nora i found this so confusing solely because i had trouble following expositiony conversations from like the very beginning however i will say that Michelle Picouli wears cool sunglasses uh j'uh

[00:41:14] j'unnoeie chrintinier and jean seabro on screen together excited me endlessly that bit with our clutch kege other and whispering on the train platform help and also why is Roy Shiter here? uh i find obscure french thrillers from the 70s with sexy casts

[00:41:29] incredibly comforting even when the plot completely loses me so i had a nice time and i feel like that's where i'm at with this bit yeah yeah i like that yeah co-sign

[00:41:40] yeah i didn't have a bad time i was watching it and like semi enjoyed it but it was like yeah i don't know what's going on here is another review a three and a half star of you from pirate neck beard

[00:41:51] uh this movie has this nice 70s french look and vibe to it that i love it plays out very much like a custa godress leftist thriller filled with all the political trappings even though it gets a little convoluted

[00:42:01] times i maintain an interest as j'unnoeie chrintinier derion was figuring things out even though we know a lot of that that is already going on i wish they used Roy Shiter's actual voice in this but alas oh and check out another bang up score by any o-more coney

[00:42:17] oh my mention but yeah any o-more coney this score for this movie and it rules yeah yeah great score absolutely all in all this was a fun film with a not American ending that i respect i got to check out more if as bushwa

[00:42:28] is that's gotta be how you pronounce it if as bushwa i mean i said that's so confident at minute 45 probably yes the mic at minute six is pretty upset at how well i said it right

[00:42:42] alright i think this is the last one one more view here it's a four star a few from g slam let's in touch has been something of a holy grail for me i've been familiar with moracone is excellent intense score for a while

[00:42:54] but a watchable copy of the movie has proved elusive um... doesn't help that it's known under at least four different titles uh... and and as a heavily edited english dubbed version under yet another title uh... what we have here is a left wing 70s conspiracy political thriller

[00:43:10] a more coney score and an absolute staff cast trintinia vadaan say g and cberg michelle bicole reishider and Bruno kramer all also make appearances and latin taught delivers a thriller full of intrigue and shadowy discussions with periodic burst of action it tells a lightly fictionalized version

[00:43:27] of the story of medie bun barka a left wing Moroccan leader assassinated by some combination of french is really american intelligence alongside other third world and non-land leaders found themselves killed in similar matters the story of ben barka is relatively unknown

[00:43:41] that alone makes latin taught even darker than films by say cost of gafras and while was what might not have the chops of cost of gafras latin taught is a hell of a thriller and deserves a much bigger audience fair

[00:43:53] so there you go i'm glad that person connected so much yes absolutely and uh... yeah i think uh... really my goal at the end of this now having watched this movie and kind of getting more familiarized with cost of gafras i got to watch see i got a

[00:44:07] yeah i got to see what this is all about people are raving about this z not the last city of z not the last city of z which is a pretty good movie uh... is it

[00:44:15] not just i've been i've never seen it but actually do you remember people being like this is kind of slept on yeah it's very good it's a james grey movie and james grey uh... makes a lot of movies that i enjoy

[00:44:26] it lost the z not one of my favorites of his but i do like it and i think it's one of the rare non-spiderman tom Holland movies where he's given the right performance he saw interesting

[00:44:35] but not that movie we're talking about z yes we're talking about z not velocity of the loss of the which is the movie's and jubilic chanetate on remember that movie uh... yes all right that's going to be it for uh... this is a bit of the

[00:44:50] thakas mic so by the work we find on the spree you can find me at md film log on twitter and better boxed and blue sky if you'd like to donate support the show you could do that at our coffee page which

[00:45:01] is coffee dot com slash mic and mic pods uh... if you want merch we have merch available on our red bubble which is mic and mic pods dot red bubble dot com that's right you follow me online and smith film log on twitter mike smith

[00:45:12] them on better box and radio mike sandwich and syram i thank you so much listen to complete works on mike smith that's my degree show don't forget to rate and if you the show on apple podcasts or any other podcast app and if you want to contact

[00:45:23] you can tweet at us at complete works pod that's the rks no oh in the word works and you can find the rest of our podcast and rapture press alongside many other podcast book on the books and movie news and all that good stuff

[00:45:34] our theme song was created by kowl calling he greets your own podcast themes at kiles podcast themes gmail dot com and our logo was designed by mec v or at fearless guard on twitter next week we're talking about the other movie

[00:45:47] that roi shatter and jamb the weeach and young made together this time which is called the outside man which like this movie is also available on canopy i think it's i think that's the only place that it's available just like this

[00:46:01] movie and what when we say this movie wasn't available like you know my date tends to find other means besides the the usual circumstances he couldn't find it we uh... asked our other buddy Andrew to see if he could find it and he knows

[00:46:15] even further means beyond like data finds stuff couldn't find it in any kind of of extra legal sense of the word uh... it's not available anywhere except for canopy right now yes to stream but i i did like we talked about i it is available on

[00:46:29] ebay if you want to find the book like by the used copy of the blue ray that's true yet they the out of print blue ray you can buy i think it's on ebay and amazon for like

[00:46:38] twenty five twenty six dollars which again not bad for an out of print blue blue ray that's pretty solid uh... so yeah if you do want to watch french conspiracy and you don't have a library card and can't use canopy uh... that is your option and the

[00:46:50] outside man similarly i believe also has a key to lower blue ray out there too uh... but yet there you go remember to go other podcasts micolumovies for all kinds of other movie related stuff including recent releases ranked list general

[00:47:01] discussions and a lot more so much listening guys and remember to always read between the lines