Les égouts du paradis

This crime drama tells the true story of Albert Spaggiari. Spaggiari (Francis Huster) masterminded one of the biggest bank jobs in modern history when he and a group of underworld types dug through the sewers to break into the Société Générale bank in Nice, France. The group, who broke in over a holiday weekend, eventually took 60 million francs. The film follows Spaggiari from the time he devises the scheme to act itself and ends with his astounding escape from custody. Huster is quite good as the likable thief and there is a fine supporting cast. Director Jose Giovanni gets a little bit political at times but it is never heavy handed. Having worked previously with both Delon and Belmondo, he handles the action well although a lot of it is routinely following the guys as they dig. The Spaggiari story also provided the groundwork for THE GREAT RIVERIA BANK ROBBERY from the same year. In that one, Ian (DEADWOOD) McShane plays the Spaggiari role as "The Brain."