Borsalino et Cie

Produced by Delon primarily, it seems, as a showcase for himself (his wardrobe is prodigious), this takes up the story of the underworld struggle for the supremacy of Marseilles in the '30s where the immeasurably superior Borsalino left off. Delon's brutality is presented as somehow less reprehensible than that of Mafia capo Cucciolla (who aims to promote Fascism through heroin) because he is sustained by the love of Rouvel's golden-hearted tart (the violins are almost audible). Delon's overblown reprise of Gene Hackman's drug addiction in French Connection II effectively tips the movie into the realm of hackneyed but not altogether unenjoyable fantasy.