Read the full article on Firstpost, here: https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/cannes-2019-remembering-a-classic-film-with-alain-delon-recipient-of-the-honorary-palme-dor-6643761.html/
For a brief while, it appeared that Alain Delon might not receive the honorary Palme d’Or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Melissa Silverstein, the founder of the American organisation Women and Hollywood, tweeted that Delon “has publicly admitted to slapping women. He has aligned himself with the racist and anti-Semitic National Front. He has claimed that being gay is ‘against nature’. The Cannes Film Festival has committed itself to diversity and inclusion. By honoring Mr. Delon, Cannes is honoring these abhorrent values.” So far, the Festival hasn’t said anything about retracting the honour, which, as always, raises the slippery-slope question about art vs. artist. Do you judge Delon by what he (apparently) said or did? Or do you simply acknowledge, as Cannes is doing, that Delon “is a legendary actor and part of Cannes history”?
It’s not easy to pick one film to celebrate the remarkable career of the ridiculously handsome Delon — so why not leave the picking to the star himself. In a 1967 television interview, promoting this famous film, one written specifically for him, Delon said of the filmmaker: “He’s the greatest director I’ve had the good fortune, pleasure and honour to work with up to this point… He’s wonderful. He knows more about cinema than anyone. He’s the greatest director I know, the greatest cameraman, the best at framing and lighting, the best at everything. He’s a living encyclopaedia of cinema.” You must remember that, by this point, Delon had already worked with Michelangelo Antonioni (L’Eclisse), René Clément (Purple Noon) and Luchino Visconti (Rocco and His Brothers, The Leopard) — so this is indeed sky-high praise. The director is Jean-Pierre Melville, and the film, Le Samouraï.
Continued at the link above.
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Baradwaj Rangan 
Ramit
May 17, 2019
“Do you judge Delon by what he (apparently) said or did?”
Tough call.
“the actor’s looks, which you’d call “beautiful” rather than the more traditionally masculine “handsome”.”
Interesting. I may check out any of his works next week.
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MANK
May 18, 2019
Le samourai is a masterpiece. Minimalist and hardboiled. Delon was born to play the lead of Le samourai. There’s no other film that inspired more Films and filmmakers as this one. Michael Mann, Walter Hill, John Woo. Thief, The Driver, The killer,…
I wrote about the Driver here and it’s samourai influences
And my latest about another most influential film that launched Clint Eastwood’s career
https://manksjoint.home.blog/2019/05/18/a-fistful-of-dollars-the-birth-of-an-icon/
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Ramit
May 22, 2019
Watched Le Samourai. I am not a fan of investigative thrillers, but what worked for me here was the soothing visuals. Yes, you have written that ‘the cinematographer [has drained] all colour and traces of life’, but still the visuals were very easy on eyes. I liked the metallic grey palette in almost every frame. Also, the unhurried pace was a reflection of the director’s confidence in his craft. Not even once did he try to seek our attention. He was content showing his story qualitatively, and it was left upto us to engage with it. I found this attractive.
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brangan
May 23, 2019
I meant “drained of life” as a descriptor. Not as a judgement.
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