Flic Story

Flic Story

Movie · 1975 · 15 people

Jacques Deray directed Flic Story, a French-Italian crime film from 1975. It is based on the 1973 autobiography of the same name by police detective Roger Borniche, adapted for the screen by Deray and Alphonse Boudard. Alain Delon stars and also produced, and Titanus was among the production companies. It opened on 1 October 1975; in Turkey it is known as Öldürmek Hırsı.

The story is set in postwar Paris in 1947. Borniche (Alain Delon) never carries a gun and keeps his distance from colleagues who rely on brute force and torture. When Emile Buisson (Jean-Louis Trintignant), one of France's most feared killers, escapes from the psychiatric clinic where he is held, Borniche is given the job of tracking him down. He sees it as a chance to prove that a humane, methodical approach works better. But Buisson is shooting informers and men he thinks betrayed him, settling old scores, while also carrying out audacious robberies, so catching him will not be easy. Renato Salvatori plays Mario Poncini and Claudine Auger plays Catherine; André Pousse is also in the cast.

Both the book and the film recount Borniche's nine-year pursuit of Buisson, who was executed on 28 February 1956. The film runs 112 minutes.

DirectorJacques Deray
Production companyTitanus

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Cast

Only cast members with a profile on this site are listed.

Jean-Louis Trintignant Jean-Louis Trintignant Character Actor · died at 91 Michel Charrel Michel Charrel Film actor · died at 89 Alain Delon Renato Salvatori Adolfo Lastretti Claudine Auger Paul Crauchet André Pousse Catherine Lachens Christine Boisson Denis Manuel Françoise Dorner Henri Guybet Jacques Marin Lionel Vitrant

Through different eyes

Action & Thriller Fan Puts pace, tension and set pieces first; little patience for slow drama.

A cop who never carries a gun on the trail of one of France's most feared killers: a solid setup for anyone who likes cat and mouse. Buisson's daring robberies and his settling of old scores keep the danger alive throughout. Just set your expectations right; this is not a film built on hails of bullets but a patient manhunt. The pace slows at times, yet the tension never drops.

History & Society Lens Asks about the period, the social background and what the work reflects.

The story is set in Paris in 1947, just after the war, and centres on a clash of methods inside the police: colleagues who rely on brute force and torture on one side, a detective who stands for humane, orderly work on the other. That contrast opens an important question about how the state used violence in postwar France. At the same time the film rests on Borniche's own autobiography, so it is worth remembering that the story also reflects how a policeman wanted to see himself. In that sense it is no neutral document, but it is an interesting window onto the institutional culture of the period.

These are not reader reviews: they are short editorial takes written from different viewer perspectives with AI assistance. Reader reviews are below.

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