Rififi (France; Jules Dassin, 1955)

  
  This might just be the ultimate heist film. American-born director Dassin's dark and poetic account of a jewelry store's successful robbery takes us deep into the criminal underworld where old habits die hard and greedy men die harder. Fresh out of jail, Tony le Stephanois has just learned that his old girlfriend (Marie Sabouret) is now shacked-up with a nightclub owner/crime boss (Marcel Lupovici); has been since not long after his incarceration. Having nothing left to lose, he accepts his friend Jo's (Carl Mohner) proposition to rob the store, a decision that leads to trouble as his team is targeted for their loot once the deed is done. Sometimes reminiscent of The Asphalt Jungle and The Killing, Rififi goes beyond the focus of the heist itself and explores its repercussions, weighing the monetary gains against the human losses. That is not to say that the robbery is neglected. On the contrary, the execution of the heist is easily the film's highlight, arguably its most famous and significant scene in which there is no dialogue for over 30 min, the act of thievery being told through powerful visuals alone. The imagery is strongly supported by George Auric's masterful score which is largely responsible for the picture's dangerous yet lively tone. Supposedly filmed on an unbelievably small  budget, there is nothing small about Rififi's cinematic quality as it raises the standards set for the production of violent art.