Author Edward Chisholm introduces this screening of Jean-Pierre Melville's Le samouraï, to celebrate the publication of Murder in Paris '68, the follow-up to his international bestseller A Waiter in Paris. Murder in Paris ’68 covers the infamous murder of Alain Delon’s (star of Le samouraï) bodyguard and friend, following production of La Piscine, and references Delon’s rich oeuvre throughout the book’s narrative, diving into the world of the Nouvelle Vague and its secrets.

In a career-defining performance, Alain Delon plays Jef Costello, a contract killer with samurai instincts. After carrying out a flawlessly planned hit, Jef finds himself caught between a persistent police investigator and a ruthless employer, and not even his armor of fedora and trench coat can protect him. An elegantly stylized masterpiece of cool by maverick director Jean‑Pierre Melville, Le samouraï is a razor-sharp cocktail of 1940s American gangster cinema and 1960s French pop culture—with a liberal dose of Japanese lone-warrior mythology.

The screening will be followed by a book signing.