With a story based on the lives of real gangsters Paul Carbone (“the Emperor of Marseille”) and François Spirito, Borsalino is an excellent French gangster film shot in 1970 by the distinguished filmmaker Jacques Deray. Starring the fascinating duo of Alain Delon and Jean-Paul Belmondo in the leading roles, it takes us back to Marseille in 1930, where two gangsters solve their dispute over a woman and become friends and business partners, determined to take over the city's fish and meat markets. Their ambition pushes them forward, but ultimately leads to their downfall, as accumulating power always leads to accumulating enemies.
Alain Delon came up with the idea to shoot this film with Jean-Paul Belmondo after he read a chronicle about French gangsters from the first half of the 20th century. Looking for a universally recognizable name that wouldn't need to be translated for the film's distribution abroad, they landed on Borsalino, the famous company specialized in making fedora hats. Besides reviving the fashion trend of wearing fedoras, the film was a huge success at the box office, becoming the fourth most-watched film of the year in France. This fast-paced stylish gangster flick is carried on the electrifying chemistry of its two stars and is a joy to go back to countless times.
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