Cinematheque: Claude Sautet

In this French film noir, Ventura plays a career thief who executes a broad daylight payroll heist on the streets of Milan. With the help of a new partner (Belmondo), he returns to France after holing up in Italy, and realizes, perhaps too late, that there’s more to life than being a gangster. Following up on 50s masterworks like Rififi while anticipating 60s thrillers like Le Samourai, Classe... contains the first teaming of Ventura and Belmondo, two of French cinema’s greatest icons.