Le Samouraï poster

Le Samouraï

His only friend was his gun!

7.8(1,327)19671h 45m5

After carrying out a flawlessly planned hit, Jef Costello, a contract killer with samurai instincts, finds himself caught between a persistent police investigator and a ruthless employer, and not even his armor of fedora and trench coat can protect him.

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Status
Released
Budget
—
Box office
$215.2K
Language
French
  • paris, france
  • police
  • hitman
  • jazz club
  • treason
  • stakeout
  • french noir
  • contract killer
  • mysterious
  • professional assassin
  • neo-noir
  • complex relationship

Top billed cast

Behind the camera

Gallery

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Videos

Release dates

  • United StatesUS

    • Theatrical (limited)PGNew York City, New York12 Jul 1972
  • ArgentinaAR

    • PremiereMar del Plata Film Festival9 Nov 2008
  • ChinaCN

    • PremiereClassic Film Festival (4K Restoration)24 Oct 2026
  • DenmarkDK

    • Theatrical17 Apr 1968
  • FinlandFI

    • Theatrical14 Feb 1969
  • FranceFR

    • TheatricalTPVisa CNC 3320825 Oct 1967
    • TVTPCiné+ Classic19 Sept 2026
  • GermanyDE

    • Theatrical16West Germany12 Jun 1968
    • TV26 Jan 1983
  • GreeceGR

    • Digital / OTT9 Aug 2018
    • Theatrical (limited)Re-Issue29 May 2025
  • Hong KongHK

    • PremiereHK Film Archive Series13 Feb 2005
    • PremiereLe French May Film Festival of Hong Kong5 May 2005
  • IrelandIE

    • Theatrical26 Nov 1971
  • ItalyIT

    • PremiereRome29 Feb 1968
    • Theatrical8 Mar 1968
  • JapanJP

    • Theatrical16 Mar 1968
    • Theatrical4K Restored24 Apr 2026

Frequently asked questions

Le Samouraï was released on 25 October 1967.

Audience reviews

4
  • J

    John Chard

    3/3/2014

    9/10

    Magnifique. Le Samouraï, one of the most highly praised French films of the 1960s, and justifiably so. Having only just caught it for the first time, I'm not sure what more I can say about a film that has been discussed, dissected, praised and pored over for nearly five decades now. Plot is simplicity, hit-man Jef Costello (Alain Delon) enacts a hit but he is witnessed fleeing the scene and spends the rest of…

  • C

    CRCulver

    9/1/2018

    8/10

    Jean-Pierre Melville's 1967 film <i>Le Samouraï</i> is the story of a hired assassin who slips up on a hit and his race against time to set things right. Jef Costello (Alain Delon) is given a contract to kill a nightclub owner, but on the way out he is seen by the club's pianist (Cathy Rosier) and then gets himself picked up in a police sweep. He finds himself pursued by both a cunning detective (François Périer) and…

  • M

    markavrelii

    1/13/2022

    Amazing movie! Withstood the test of times. Was watching it with a great interest unlike many movies of this era. Delon is magnifique! Unexpected plot and ending, but the title should have prepared me for it.

  • B

    badelf

    10/11/2026

    8/10

    **Summary: 8/10:** A masterclass in dialogue economy and atmosphere that hasn't lost its craft, only its element of surprise, having spent sixty years teaching every assassin movie that followed how to be cool, quiet, and doomed. A man lies motionless on a narrow bed in a room the color of a held breath; grey walls, grey light, a caged bullfinch for company. Three minutes pass before a word of dialogue arrives, …

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