La Course Du Lievre A Travers Les Champs (aka And Hope To Die) (1972)

Pursued by a band of gypsies bent on revenge, a Frenchman (Jean Louis Trintignant) on the run flees to Canada. There he stumbles upon a gang of criminals who are planning a complicated robbery. Rather than confront his gypsy pursuers, he joins the gang in their heist. Directed by Rene Clement (PURPLE NOON), the film runs close to 2 1/2 hours and was cut down to an hour and 40 minutes for the U.S. release. I saw the long version and I'm not so sure the U.S. distributor was wrong in editing it down. The film is way too long and the film's last 40 minutes or so are a mess. It's a gorgeous looking movie thanks to Edmond Richard's (DISCREET CHARM OF THE BOURGEOISIE) cinematography which partially compensates for the often convoluted narrative. Heist films are best when a tight rein is kept on them but this one is flabby. The film has two American stars, Robert Ryan as the gang leader (his voice is dubbed into French) and Aldo Ray (who speaks French in his own voice) as a gang member. With Lea Massari (L'AVVENTURA), Jean Gaven, Daniel Breton and Tisa Farrow.