Un Condé (aka The Cop) (1970)

When a crackdown on drugs leads to his partner's (Bernard Fresson) killing, a police inspector (Michel Bouquet) decides to take the law in his own hands and thus an honest cop becomes as corrupt as the criminals he's after. Based on the novel LA MORT D'UN CONDE by Pierre Lesou and directed by Yves Boisset (DOG DAY). This morally ambiguous crime thriller has no heroes. The fine line between the bad guys and the good guys becomes considerably thinner as the movie plays out until, with no one to empathize with, you throw your hands up in the air and just wait for the movie to reach its destination. Ahead of its time with its anti-police stance, it's a violent film that necessitated some cuts before its release in France. It's extremely well done and one has to give a nod to Boisset for not compromising the nihilistic material by giving it a conscience. With Francoise Fabian, Gianni Garko, Adolfo Celli, Michel Constantin, Rufus, Theo Sarapo and Anne Carrere.