Le trou (1960)

a.k.a Le Trou

131 min
Directed by Jacques Becker

Four prison inmates have been hatching a plan to literally dig out of jail when another prisoner, Claude Gaspard, is moved into their cell. They take a risk and share their...

3.8K 917 17

23.8%

53:1

8.5

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JStein

Very well done prison escape movie. I love the amount of time they spend showing them actually digging / filing away at things. It should be so monotonous but it ends up being very immersing.

11 years ago

Warning! Spoilers ahead.

Jacques Becker - "The fascinating thing about this story is that it is completely true. About ten years ago, I read a newspaper account of an attempted escape from La Santé Prison and of how five prisoners spent four months digging their way into the Paris sewers. They were caught within minutes of freedom because one of them betrayed the plan to the prison authorities. The ingenuity of their scheme and the courage of the undertaking intrigued me both as a man and as a filmmaker. I prepared a rough draft of a scenario based on the incident; however, due to a previous work commitment, I had to set it aside. Several years later, I discovered that José Giovanni had used the same story as the basis for a best-selling novel. My interest in the project was immediately rekindled. I contracted the book's publisher (Gallimard) and expressed my interest in the screen rights to the novel. Giovanni, himself a former prisoner, was most particular about how his book should be filmed and we spent many long hours discussing the project. Finally, the author agreed that I should make the film and he became my principal collaborator in the preparation of the screenplay. So that the film could be as authentic as possible, we enlisted as technical consultants three members of the original escape who, having served their sentences, were now living in Paris. Among these three men was Jean Keraudy, who plays Roland in the film.

In keeping with our aim to make Le trou totally realistic, I cast the five leading roles with nonprofessional actors. I avoided 'known' personalities because I wanted five men audiences could identify as real people and not as stars 'play-acting' in a new part.

I desired the same sense of naturalism which Vittorio De Sica obtained so perfectly from his amateur players in The Bicycle Thief. Most of the film was shot in the sections of La Santé where the original escape attempt had taken place. Our studio sets, built under the supervision of our three experts, were authentic to the smallest detail.

During the three months of filming, we worked and lived together very much like a family. I feel that this very close personal and professional relationship between cast and crew added much to the production and enabled me to obtain the maximum from both sides of the camera."

7 years ago

Forrester

One of the best prison escape films I've ever seen. I never thought it would be so exciting to see a group of prisoners dig tunnels. The lack of music makes the film suspenseful and gives it a very realistic feel. I really had the feeling like I was there with the prisoners, and you really hope they succeed in digging the tunnel without the guards noticing. The ending was a shocker and I'm still in awe of it.

13 years ago