Second Breath (1966) - Jean Pierre Melville 

Opening with a period prison break our first thoughts when Second Breath starts is that this might be yet another daring tale of resistance during WWII. Instead it falls into even more familiar Melville territory, the gangster film. Moody and atmospheric the picture is on the surface all levels of formulaic, but there's something special about it. A character film that doesn't really let us in the head of any of our characters. A man of honor whose only comfort is in not being a snitch. Characters have different sides and alliances that seem perplexing. The inspector doesn't tell Manouche that Gu's last words were her name, yet he makes a point to have the press pick up the crooked police chief's confession, certainly a man of mixed morals. The caper itself is arguably the most boring part of the film, simply highway robbery which is more interesting in its set up than execution. Can't say this excels above Melville's other crime films but it certainly sands up on equal footing. From what I can tell this was Melville's last black and white film and was part of his most prestigious period, beginning with Le Doulos.