Out of prison after a five-year stretch, jewel thief Tony turns down a quick job his friend Jo offers him, until he discovers that his old girlfriend Mado has become the lover of local gangster Pierre Grutter during Tony's absence. Expanding a minor smash-and-grab into a full-scale jewel heist, Tony and his crew appear to get away clean, but their actions after the job is completed threaten the lives of everyone involved.
A 1955 classic whose story and production values have not aged. Sure, security technology has changed, and special effects have advanced. In spite of that, this movie has all the marks of a perfect film. Only one thing depicted in Rififi is no longer true: There is no longer any "honor among thieves". In my grandfathers time, thieves (Mafia?) had an honor code, or as it's called in this movie, "the rules". In today's world, the criminals (many of whom are the politicians and CEOs of monopolies) have no moral compass whatsoever. If that dates this movie, so be it. It's still a fantastic action film!