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Jean-Pierre Melville

French filmmaker and actor (1917–1973)

5.06body-of-work score · ranked #207 of 2631 directors · 9 films in our library

A director's score is the sum of their films' composite canon scores — methodology.

Born
October 20, 1917 · 9th arrondissement of Paris
Died
August 2, 1973 · 13th arrondissement of Paris
Nationality
France
Work
actor, film director, screenwriter, film producer
Reference
Wikipedia · Wikidata
Portrait of Jean-Pierre Melville
Unknown authorUnknown author · Public domain

Films in our library, ranked

Ranked by composite canon score across 20+ authoritative lists, awards and polls — our ordering, with every placement citing its evidence on the film's page.

  1. 1
    Army of ShadowsL'Armée des ombresMust-See #306

    1969 · France / Italy · drama, war

    Film Comment year-end poll 2006 #3 · Sarris's annual top 10 2006 #1 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #211

    2.218 citations
  2. 2
    Le Samouraï

    1967 · France / Italy · film-noir, crime, drama

    Hoberman's annual top 10 1997 #4 · Empire 500 (2008) #183 · Criterion Collection spine #306

    0.825 citations
  3. 3
    Bob le flambeur

    1956 · France / Italy · crime, film-noir, drama

    NYT Best 1,000 Movies · Criterion Collection spine #150 · Roger Ebert's Great Movies

    0.463 citations
  4. 4
    Le Cercle rouge

    1970 · France / Italy · crime, film-noir, drama

    Empire 500 (2008) #298 · Criterion Collection spine #218

    0.342 citations
  5. 5
    Le Doulos

    1962 · France / Italy · crime, film-noir, mystery

    Empire 500 (2008) #472 · Criterion Collection spine #447

    0.332 citations
  6. 6
    Léon Morin, PriestLéon Morin, prêtre

    1961 · France / Italy · drama

    Criterion Collection spine #572 · Roger Ebert's Great Movies

    0.292 citations
  7. 7
    Les Enfants Terribles

    1950 · France · drama, romance

    Criterion Collection spine #398 · Rosenbaum's Essential Cinema

    0.272 citations
  8. 8
    Le Silence de la mer

    1947 · France · drama

    Criterion Collection spine #755

    0.161 citation
  9. 9
    Le deuxième souffle

    1966 · France · crime, film-noir

    Criterion Collection spine #448

    0.161 citation

Complete filmography

All 14 directorial credits recorded on Wikidata, in chronological order; films in our library link to their canon-score page.