Fear Over the City (1975)

Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

Why so much hype?

It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

Excellent B Movie. French Dirty Harry. Good acting, cinematography, acting. Story was OK. Great action scenes Fast moving French Dirty Harry Movie. Great chase scenes, people getting shot, car, roof top, motorcycle, train. Good cinematography with scenes of Paris. The story needed a bit more work. But it was OK. The ending was a bit weak. The killer should have been killed.Excellent B Movie. Rating 7.

"Peur sur la ville" is one of the best films for both Jean-Paul Belmondo and director Henri Verneuil. At the time (1974-75) Belmondo is (with Alain Delon) the biggest French movie star -he's a versatile actor, but he is specialized in action movies where he can do his own stunts... His artistic and physical exploits allow him to be the Number 1 at the French box office between 1970 and 1987.Henri Verneuil is too a versatile artist -in his long career he directs film of every genre, most of them are box office hits. He works with the Top French film stars (Fernandel, Belmondo, Delon, Ventura, Gabin, ...).When the two men meet for this collaboration they are not novice artists and know exactly what they want. A solid thriller ("un polar") in the best French tradition with drama, fear and action. That's what they get and pack cinemas in many countries.Paris is frightened by a psychopath, whose name is Minos. This assassin punishes people who are (in his opinion) sinners... Commissaire Letellier is an athletic cop who reaches to catch him, in putting his life in danger many times.What else can I say? The merit of this movie is the simplicity. Because scenes are not exaggerated with special effects, they are not too violent as well. Efficacy of the movie depends on actors and their physical involvement.Belmondo, who is a mask of the French cinema, is really great. He can be funny and dramatical -in this film he's a charming tough character. He has a lighter approach than Clint Eastood's "Dirty Harry" or than any of Charles Bronson executioners.

This movie looks old and is sometimes a bit zany, but even if it can't have the same impact than 30 yrs ago, it is still worthy of a viewing. It's fast-paced psychopathic killer movie of the kind that later became so popular till nowadays. The dialog co-signed by Francis veber (La chèvre, le dîner de cons, les fugitifs, etc ...) that is the actual record-man for the number of movie that have been remade by Hollywood, are great and funny. As for the music made by Ennio Morricone, it works great with the movie (for instance the sequence in which Minos (the killer) is tracked up to the Galeries Lafayette's attic by the Comissaire Letellier (J.P. Belmondo) is thrilling partly because of the music and the ambiance). Notice the bit of humor when we can hear as Belmondo chase the killer in the Galeries Lafayette, the woman's voice of the advertising that says in French "there is always something happening in the Galeries Lafayette". As I said, it is a fast-paced movie, it also has a lot of action and Belmondo uses it to show his athletic skills, not using a stuntman to do the job. Belmondo is great as the bad-ass cop with a cynical sense of humor.I recommend you to check this movie out while keeping in mind that it looks old and there are some awkward moments due to its date of release (guns sounds like firecrackers).

Jean Paul Belmondo and his associate, Charles Denner, play tough cops after two killers in "Fear Over the City." Although not listed in the credits, the city of Paris plays a major supporting role. One killer, Marcucci, is a bank robber Belmondo's character is after for killing a fellow cop during an auto chase. At one point later in the picture, Belmondo is on the roof of a Paris Metro car above ground as it goes though Paris, with the cop killer inside the train. The viewer gets a chance to see the city sights as the train zips along.The second killer, who uses the name "Minos," wants to rid the world of sexual immorality by targeting women he finds objectionable. Belmondo gets into a gunfight with Minos while on the sloping roof of a store, apparently the Galleries Lafayette. Director Verneuil does a great job of adding thrills as Belmondo slips on the sloping roof several times, almost falling off, all the while shooting it out with Minos. The pursuit of Minos after the roof fight leads to a chase through Paris, past the Eiffel Tower and through downtown streets, Belmondo's police car after Minos, on a motorcycle.In this movie Belmondo gets a chance to play a real tough cop, one who shoots back at a suspect, hitting him, and then ignores him as he asks for an ambulance. Instead, Belmondo takes a break, reading a magazine in the wounded man's apartment until the guy talks. There is that scene in the basement of a bar, where 38 illegal aliens from Mali rent space from the bar owner. 1975 and this movie shows illegals forced to live in double or triple bunk beds in a storage basement. Belmondo's bell bottom pants have dated, but not that basement scene nor the professionalism the cast and crew bring to this movie.