SATURDAY MATINEE, NOV 5, 2016 HOSSEIN X 5:  TWO WITH MARIE-FRANCE PISIER

DEATH OF A KILLER / LA MORT D'UN TUEUR  1:30

We begin with Hossein's stylistically bold look at an incestuous crime gang and how they became fractured. Do all crime bosses have a "thing" for their sister? And must it always end in an orgy of blood? The tension in Hossein's take on this gangster tale is contained in his own voice-over, where he sees what's coming and desperately looks for ways to avoid it. But with a sister as attractive as Marie-France Pisier (with whom Hossein was romantically involved at the time), it's likely that no matter how willing the spirit may be, the flesh is going to be weak. With Robert Hossein, Marie-France Pisier, Simon Andrieu, Robert Dalban.

Dir. Robert Hossein (1964, 80 min.) Dialogue by André Tabet & Georges Tabet. Scenario/adaptation by Claude Desailly, Louis Martin & Robert Hossein from a story by Robert Hoseein. Photographed by Jean Boffety.

THE SECRET KILLER / LE VAMPIRE DE DÜSSELDORF  3:15

Not content to play a mere anti-hero, Hossein decided to embrace his inner monster by portraying notorious serial killer Peter Kurten, whose murderous exploits terrorized Germany in 1929. Blending horror tropes with noir, and deviating the story to include a strange attraction between Kurten and beautiful cabaret singer Anna (Marie-France Pisier again), Hossein collides the manhunt with the love affair with the rise of Nazism—and runs it all through the lens of a filmmaker who senses "the spirit of noir" coming full circle. Hotshot young photographer Alain Levent (Cleo de 5 à 7) matches Hossein setup-for-setup as they bring to a close a story—and an entire black-and-white era—that stems from Fritz Lang's M (1931). With Robert Hossein, Marie-France Pisier, Roger Dutoit, Michel Dacquin.

Dir. Robert Hossein (1965, 89min.) Dialogue by André Tabet & Georges Tabet. Screenplay by André Tabet, Georges Tabet & Robert Hossein from a story by Claude Desailly & Robert Hossein. Photographed by Alain Levent.