Influence and legacy
Stephen Teo calls Le Samouraï "possibly the most influential French crime thriller ever made, a mixture of a police procedural (le film policier) and a suspenseful action thriller concentrated on a professional hit man, Jef (spelled with one "f") Costello, played by Alain Delon, giving the definitive performance of his career".
The film has influenced numerous other works and directors:
The German film Liebe ist kälter als der Tod pays tribute to French cinema masters such as Claude Chabrol and Éric Rohmer. Furthermore, the directing style is inspired by Melville's Le Samouraï, while the artwork on the poster resembles the silhouette of Alain Delon in Le Samouraï. The character Bruno (Ulli Lommel) is also inspired by the character portrayed by Delon.
The character of Jef Costello, portrayed by Delon in Le Samouraï (1967), had a major impact on Fernando Di Leo and his Milieu Trilogy (Caliber 9, The Italian Connection, Il Boss).
Luc Besson drew inspiration from Jef Costello (played by Delon in Le Samouraï) to create Léon, the titular character embodied by Jean Reno in Léon: The Professional.
Richard Ayoade cites The Samurai as a major inspiration for his films. In Submarine, Oliver Tate's character wears the same costume as Delon in The Samurai and displays a poster of the film in his room, out of admiration for the character he plays. Some scenes in the film are directly inspired by the French classic.
Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza, in Salvo, sought to recreate the aura of French film noir. Their choice of Saleh Bakri to play Salvo, a Sicilian hitman, stemmed from this vision: “We wanted a strong physical presence that would dominate the screen with charisma, thinking of Jean-Pierre Melville, French film noir, and actors like Alain Delon.”
The overall atmosphere, character development, and narrative style of the American film The French Connection are largely influenced by Le Samouraï (1967) by Jean-Pierre Melville. William Friedkin also drew inspiration from the character played by Alain Delon—a solitary and methodical hitman—to shape the character of Popeye Doyle (Gene Hackman). Moreover, the subway chase scene in The French Connection is directly inspired by Bullitt and Le Samouraï.
While Francis Ford Coppola’s The Conversation is rooted in the paranoia and technological anxieties of the 1970s, its lead character, Harry Caul (Gene Hackman), shares striking similarities with Jef Costello (Alain Delon), the taciturn hitman of Le Samouraï. Like Costello, Harry Caul is a man of meticulous habits, defined more by his actions than his words. Their lives are austere, defined by routine and isolation.
Through his portrayal of Jef Costello, Alain Delon established the archetype of the "silent and stoic antihero." Ryan O'Neal's character in The Driver is almost entirely based on Jef Costello. The Driver is also considered an unofficial adaptation of Le Samouraï.
Scorsese also noted that Jef Costello, played by Delon in Le Samouraï, served as an inspiration for the creation of Travis Bickle, the protagonist of Taxi Driver (a role that was offered to Alain Delon).
Le Samouraï is one of Quentin Tarantino’s favorite films. The French classic influenced his creation of the world of Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction. In this regard, the costume design for Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction stemmed from a discussion between Tarantino and costume designer Betsy Heimann about French noir films featuring Alain Delon.
Michael Mann, for Heat (just like for Collateral), creates the character of Neil McCauley, played by Robert De Niro, drawing inspiration from the minimalist and detached style of Delon in Le Samouraï. The line "I am alone, not lonely" from McCauley (De Niro in Heat) directly echoes the one from Jef Costello (Delon in Le Samouraï) : "I never lose, never really".
Ronin’s narrative structure owes a debt to Le Samouraï. While Ronin revolves around a heist, its heart lies in the psychological and moral dilemmas of its protagonist. Sam (Robert De Niro), like Jef, operates in a world of deception and shifting allegiances, where trust is scarce and survival depends on foresight and adaptability.
In Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai by Jim Jarmusch, film’s ending openly pays homage to Le Samouraï, as both Alain Delon and Ghost Dog carry an unloaded firearm in a scenario where they are fully aware of their impending fate. Forest Whitaker also drew inspiration from Delon’s role as Jef Costello in Le Samouraï for his performance : “As part of my preparation, I watched this masterpiece with Alain Delon. Thanks to him, I understood the virtue of silence.”
To prepare for his role as Vincent in Collateral, Tom Cruise stated that he “first watched several films about professional killers, including Le Samouraï by Jean-Pierre Melville with Alain Delon. I was [Tom Cruise] deeply fascinated by his solitary and melancholic charisma in carrying out his ruthless business.” Cruise’s appearance and demeanor in the film strongly recall Jef Costello from Le Samouraï.
The film by Anton Corbijn, The American (inspired by Melville's Le Samouraï) stars George Clooney as an assassin, who resembles Costello.
In Drive by Nicolas Winding Refn and Baby Driver by Edgar Wright, both directors drew inspiration from Le Samouraï, crafting protagonists—played by Ryan Gosling and Ansel Elgort, respectively—who are taciturn yet charismatic getaway drivers, reminiscent of Jef Costello. Ryan Gosling has stated that his acting in Drive was influenced by Delon’s performance in Le Samouraï .
In developing The Equalizer film franchise, director Antoine Fuqua acknowledged that Delon influenced the character of Robert McCall, a solitary man with strong moral motivations who acts as a vigilante for those unable to defend themselves. Played by Denzel Washington, Fuqua explained: “My biggest inspirations were foreign films from the 1970s, really […]. And of course, all those Alain Delon films, particularly the French ones, like Le Samouraï (1967), with that kind of slow rhythm and character development as the story unfolds. That’s the kind of film that inspires me.”
Chad Stahelski, the director behind the John Wick franchise, is also a great admirer of Alain Delon and Jean-Pierre Melville. Stahelski drew inspiration from Le Cercle Rouge and Le Samouraï when crafting John Wick : "The John Wick films are all love letters from Keanu, myself, our stunt team and our creative team to everyone from Wong Kar-wai to Sammo Hung to Sergio Leone, Kurosawa, Alain Delon and "The Samurai", Spielberg, Tarantino... To all those people we loved growing up."
In The Killer, Michael Fassbender and David Fincher are inspired by the character played by Alain Delon in Melville's The Samurai.
Jon Watts (director of the Spider-Man trilogy) cites The Samurai among his influences, which he considers a model of "lone wolf movies", inspiring the creation of the characters of George Clooney and Brad Pitt in Wolfs.
In the 2024 remake of The Killer, John Woo pays explicit tribute to Delon by setting the action in Paris.
Chow Yun-Fat, in John Woo’s The Killer, does not merely reprise Alain Delon’s role in Le Samouraï; he embodies a character who dreams of being Alain Delon.
Tony Leung, in his role as the undercover inspector in Hard Boiled, adopts characteristics reminiscent of Delon’s Le Samouraï. His character is even named after Alain Delon—he is called Alan.
Johnnie To’s films frequently pay homage to Melville’s work, with Fulltime Killer and Vengeance serving as notable examples. Although Delon ultimately declined the lead role in Vengeance, To retained the character Francis Costello—his name a direct reference to Jef Costello from Le Samouraï.
The protagonist of A Bittersweet Life, named "Jeff" after Costello, is a direct descendant of Jef Costello, sharing the same traits as the betrayed, solitary assassin.
In Pang Ho-Cheung’s comedy You Shoot, I Shoot, Eric Kot plays a hitman who idolizes Jef Costello, dressing like him and even speaking to a Le Samouraï movie poster in his apartment.
South Korean actor Jung Woo Sung also drew inspiration from Alain Delon’s performance in Le Samouraï for his first criminal role in Cold Eyes.
Adilkhan Yerzhanov's 2020 film Yellow Cat features a protagonist who quotes and performs scenes from Le Samouraï throughout the film as a major character trait.
Madonna's 2012 song "Beautiful Killer" is an homage to Alain Delon and alludes to his role in Le Samouraï with the lines: "You are a beautiful killer / I like your silhouette when you stand on the streets / Like a samurai you can handle the heat / Makes me wanna pray for a haunted man."
