Tonight on TV: Americans Have Deadly Weapons, French Have … Them!

The success of Les Ripoux, released in 1984, is legendary. At the box office, it won the favor of the public with 5.8 million viewers, and three awards at the César – Best Film, Best Director and Best Editing – won the critics.

Its popular triumph would allow two sequels to see the light of day: Ripoux vs. ripoux in 1990, then Ripoux 3 in 2003. There is none more iconic – and more French – than Claude Zid’s trilogy.

The story here is about René, an old cop from the 18th arrondissement of Paris, a bribe collector who likes to hang out with mobsters. Her well-established little life is turned upside down, however, when she has to team up with François, a young freshman at police school who is ready to fully enforce the law.

With the help of his concubine, a former prostitute, Simone, he completes his new mission: to convert the Blues to his ways, a quest that may turn against his…

Therefore, in the early 1980s, the French fell under the spell of Ripu. The mismatched duo of a rotten cop and his honest teammate is a classic that easily convinced the public. Thirty-nine years later, the comedy hasn’t aged a bit, and the antagonism between the two cops is still as enjoyable and funny as ever.

An engaging police comedy, Les Ripoux is above all a duo of actors: Philippe Noiré opposite Thierry Lhermitte, both irresistible and relatable.

Nowadays, the film is also a journey through time, between the small everyday life and the criminal underworld in the heart of the popular Paris of the 1980s.

Great moments of comedy, but also great moments of emotion: this is what characterizes our Ripu, very French for us. Sophisticated dialogues, funny situations, quality acting and famous direction: everything comes together to make a feature film a success.

Les Ripoux, Claude Zide with Thierry Lhermitte, Philippe Noiret, Régine…

from the age of 14

Tonight on ARTE at 20:50.