Alex Turner’s favourite Alain Delon and Jean-Pierre Melville films
It’s undeniable that the sound of the Arctic Monkeys has had a resolute cinematic edge for the past six years or so. The references to film production and techniques on both Tranquillity Base Hotel & Casino and the recent The Car have revealed Alex Turner to be something of a cinephile.
In a recent interview with Zane Lowe, Turner explained the albums’ cinematic tone. He claimed that throughout the writing of The Car, he felt that “someone” was in the background, mysteriously going about the crafting of a film. This would also explain the filmic nature of the recent music videos, particularly that of ‘Body Paint’.
Last month, we ran an article that showcased Turner’s favourite films, and one specific director that jumped out at us was the French filmmaker Jean-Pierre Melville. Turner had been turned on to three of the iconic director’s works, all of which star the legendary French actor Alain Delon, prior to the recording sessions of Tranquillity Base Hotel & Casino.
Turner said: “I feel like I was often overhearing conversations that went along the lines of, ‘Have you watched such and such?’ I do that, too; I’m only human. When I was writing this record, I was turned on to these three Jean-Pierre Melville films – Un Flic, Le Cercle Rouge, and Le Samouraï – that all star Alain Delon and have this jazz lounge club at the centre of the story.”
Noting the atmosphere generated by the three films and their subsequent effect on Tranquility Base, he added, “The clubs in these films were often very obviously film sets, which is something that interested me as well. At the end of Le Samouraï, for instance, there’s a shot that zooms out from one of these clubs almost to the point where you see the film lights. So when I would sit at the piano and play these types of chords, I was thinking about those Melville interiors a lot.”
As for the films themselves, 1967’s Le Samourai centres on Delon’s character, Jef Costello, a professional hitman who several witnesses of his criminal acts have recently identified. Costello’s mission is to devise an alibi to get him out of his deeds. Le Cercle Rouge was released three years later, in 1970, and this time Delon plays a recently released prisoner named Corey who gets caught up in a heist with an escaped prisoner and a former policeman.
The trio of films is completed by 1972’s Un Flic, Meville’s final directed work. The themes of Le Cercle Rouge are further examined, although this time, Delon played the cop rather than the criminal. Delon’s cop is named Edouard Coleman, and he pursues a renowned Parisian thief who is planning a risky heist, following a difficult first.
All three films are masterful in intensity and atmosphere and well worth a watch to learn more about the tone of Arctic Monkeys’ recent albums. Check out the films’ trailers below.
Alex Turner’s favourite Alain Delon and Jean-Pierre Melville films:
- Le Samouraï
- The Red Circle
- Un Flic
