[Le Samouraï], with Delon doing what he does best (looking impassive and slightly tarnished), is a lovely introduction to the work of a most idiosyncratic filmmaker.

The interweaving of ritualised Japanese and American themes, the formalised colour and camerawork that create a world at once fantastic, allusive and coherent, mark out Le Samouraï as both a Melville film and the Melville film to date.

Everything is in harmony: acting, photography, editing. As an example of classic directorial technique, Le Samouraï should be required viewing for any film training school.

What a gifted French director can with the sordid material is something else.