As French crime thrillers go, this is about as good as it gets. It's also an important film historically, and to top it off, the jazz score, by Miles Davis, is famous in its own right.
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08/19/05
Elevator to the Gallows (1957)
95
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:40
Fresh:38
Rotten:2
Average Rating:8/10
Theatrical Release:Jun 24, 2005 Limited
Synopsis: This psychological thriller is imbued with a wonderful Parisian atmosphere and a moody, improvisational score by legendary jazz trumpeter Miles Davis. A beautiful woman, Florence, and her lover,... [More]
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Reviews for Elevator to the Gallows
Top CriticIt's precisely Malle's omnivorous appetite that makes his first feature, adapted from a policier, so delectable, one stuffed with many sumptuous sights and sounds.
06/22/05
Top CriticLike a black-and-white Hitchcockian tour of hell.
08/18/05
A straightforward but classy thriller.
02/09/06
a perfect hybrid of French noir elegance and the New Wave's rough hewn realism
04/20/06
Elevator to the Gallows is a treat for the film buff. Watching Moreau and Malle as they discover each other and a new trend in filmmaking, and listening to Miles Davis during their quest will remind you of what movies are all about.
03/23/07
In backwards-thinking terms, Malle was the Tarantino of his day, giving French cinema a creative, influential shot in the arm that opened new horizons in directorial thinking.
08/18/05
The plot crackles with energy and misdirection, while the black-and-white film sharpens angles and amplifies the shadows lurking in every hallway.
10/14/05
Top CriticA stylish noir-ish crime drama boasting, amongst other things, an improvised Miles Davis soundtrack.
01/01/00
A suspense thriller with a tense, jazzy score and a rich undercurrent of fatalistic irony.
10/05/06
Top CriticIt's easy to see why this is a classic. It's got a great story, pacing that keeps you on your toes, decent performances, and a style that's timeless.
04/07/06
An intelligent thriller that served as an important precursor in the late 1950s to such New Wave classics as Breathless and The Four Hundred Blows.
02/20/02
Moreau’s nocturnal wanderings are made unbearably poignant by an exquisite Miles Davis jazz score that became famous in its own right.
06/27/05
Top CriticThese 1950s French noirs abandon the formality of traditional crime films, the almost ritualistic obedience to formula, and show crazy stuff happening to people who seem to be making up their lives as they go along.
09/15/05
Top CriticLouis Malle was just 25 when he made this moody piece of Gallic pulp fiction about a girl, a gun and a broken lift.
05/24/03
Made almost 50 years ago, the black-and-white French classic still grabs you by the throat.
10/05/06
What turns it fabulous, indeed mythical, is the presence of another entity: Paris at night in the '50s, to the tune of Miles Davis's score as realized in the dappled hues of Henri Decae's gorgeous poetic cinematography.
09/09/05
Top Criticthe score by Miles is a remarkable one, tapping into the jazzy zeitgeist of the time
08/02/08
... a little gem...
07/30/05
Great writing, brilliant direction, awesome music... What could go wrong? Easy: smack a ridiculous, insulting to the audience's intelligence ending.
09/10/02
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