Alain Delon on the set of «Purple Noon». 1960/Alamy
Alain Delon left behind a legacy of great films, ranging from everyday detective stories to recognized masterpieces by Michelangelo Antonioni (L'Eclisse) and Jean-Luc Godard (New Wave). He did it all—acting in Soviet cinema (Assassination Attempt), appearing completely nude (Shock Treatment), prancing around an arena with a clown's nose and a red wig (Parole de flic), and portrayed historical figures ranging from Casanova to Ramón Mercader. From this impressive collection, Qalam has selected ten films that are impossible to imagine without Delon.
Purple Noon (1960)
Director René Clément discovered and shaped Delon, entrusting him with the lead role in the first adaptation of the widely known story of the talented Mr Ripley. Delon’s then fiancée, Romy Schneider, often teased him as being ‘bourgeois macho’, and in this film, his machismo instantly became timeless.
Rocco and His Brothers (1960)
Whilst French director René Clément taught the young Delon the tricks of the trade, Italian filmmaker Luchino Visconti granted him entry into truly aristocratic cinema. The role of the sentimental boxer Rocco etched a lifelong mark of high art on his career.
The Leopard (1963)
This historical tale is about vanishing nobility, where Visconti, this time, assigned Delon the role not of a commoner, as in Rocco, but of a hereditary Italian aristocrat. Nevertheless, the former marine Delon looked just as natural in Sicilian palazzos as he did in the slums.
Le Samouraï (1967)
Delon appeared in several films by Jean-Pierre Melville, and all of his roles in them are, in one way or another, masterpieces. However, their first collaboration, where Delon plays the role of a ghostly hitman, remains unmatched.
The Last Adventure (1967)
Delon starred in so many adventure films and became acquainted with an innumerable array of weapons (swords, guns, and even a grenade on a vinyl record player) that it’s difficult to choose just one entry in this genre. Perhaps The Last Adventure stands out for its particularly poignant nostalgia (possibly due to its release in the Soviet film market): a love triangle, attempts to fly under the Arc de Triomphe, treasure hunts, and an unshaven Delon as a pilot, complete with African dances and guzzling wine from a wicker bottle.
The Swimming Pool (1969)
This movie is filled with shockingly beautiful people, weaving a tragedy in the equally shockingly beautiful summer setting of Saint-Tropez, accompanied by Michel Legrand's fitting music. Yet, even among such physically perfect beings as Romy Schneider, Maurice Ronet, and Jane Birkin, Delon managed to stand out with his remarkable beauty.
Indian Summer (1972)
A wonderful role in a wonderful film by Valerio Zurlini. Here, Delon trades the white coat of a French police commissioner for the camel coat of an Italian philology professor who falls in love with his student and sets off a tragic ending. It is worth noting that Delon was accustomed to being surrounded by the most beautiful women on set—from Mireille Darc to Anne Parillaud—but even by his standards, his partner here is stunningly beautiful, the Russian-Parisian Sonia Petrovna.
Two Men in Town (1973)
Delon plays an ex-convict bank robber who now works in a printing shop, listens to jazz in a green bathrobe, and tries to return to a normal life, though gangsters and police make it impossible. The finale, where Delon’s shaved head lies under the guillotine, presents a nightmarish union of two symbols of France.
Mr Klein (1976)
Perhaps the most complex and significant role of Delon’s entire career. In Joseph Losey's film, Alain Delon plays a successful art dealer who, in 1942, buys art from doomed Jews and lives a carefree life until a mysterious doppelgänger of his is discovered.
Our Story (1984)
In this absurdist phantasmagoria by Bertrand Blier, Delon takes on the unexpected role of a tormented alcoholic who exclusively drinks beer and fluctuates between dreams and reality. For this unusual role, with bags under his eyes and a straight face, Delon received a César Award, a rare acknowledgement from his home country, which, truth be told, had always treated him rather coldly.