Rider on the Rain (1970)

A lonely passenger of a bus arrives in a rainy day in a remote place in Marseille; he stalks, follows and rapes the gorgeous Mélancolie 'Mellie' Mau (Marlène Jobert), who is married with a jealous husband that is a navigator of Air France and is coming back home. Mellie shoots and kills the masked rapist, but she does not call the police; she prefers to dump his body in the sea and destroy the evidences of his identity. Sooner, the mysterious Harry Dobbs (Charles Bronson) arrives in the location and meets Mellie. Harry seems to know what she has done, scaring Mellie and forcing her to tell the truth.The cult "Le Passager de la Pluie" is one of those unforgettable thrillers of my adolescence, with intelligent and witty dialogs in the duel between Mellie and the smart Harry Dobbs and one of the most beautiful music scores of the cinema history. In this movie, Charles Bronson certainly has the best performance of his successful career, and Marlène Jobert is impressively beautiful performing a very clever character. Unfortunately this film has not been released on DVD in Brazil, but at least the rare VHS has a good quality of image. My vote is eight.Title (Brazil): "O Passageiro da Chuva" ("The Passenger of the Rain")

The film 'Rider On The Rain' (or, French title 'Le Passager De La Pluie') is simply a gem. But, do not buy the awful DVD from Orbit Media, released April 3rd 2006. There is hardly any colour and the print is atrocious! I have complained to Orbit and they said they are checking copies, but it is simply a case of poor quality in the Way the DVD has been made from the master. This is the worst DVD release I have ever seen. The picture is not clear enough either. I can't believe this mess. The only place you can get this film is France, but it's all in french (with Charles Bronson dubbed in French). However, the French DVD is by STUDIO CANAL and the print is breathtaking! Be warned.

I find it hard to say why exactly but I liked this film. It was well made, well acted and different enough that it wasn't the usual predictable Hollywood pulp. I'd recommend it for anyone who has more than a few brain cells to rub together as at least a refreshing change of pace that shows films can be both different and entertaining.Charles Bronson has a reputation for making mostly the other kinds of films so this is very different for him. The French spin adds something hard to define but enjoyable. The female lead is wonderful to watch too.I found I really enjoyed the sets and locations and, yes, especially the rain. Perhaps rain overdoes some moodiness in a way but I find I love to see a film with rain in it as a backdrop. Maybe that comes from living in a place where I rarely see and real rain.Nevertheless, I'd buy this if I could find it locally, especially if it was on wide format DVD. I don't think anyone who was behind the project gave it enough support when it was a new film (I originally saw it in an "art house" cinema) and I certainly don't think the mainstream types will support it now. I think it's a rare gem of film making and deserves to be preserved, owned and watched by lots of new people. I'll keep looking for it along with other rare but obscure gems I'd love to own.

Yes, folks, I'm sick of reading the comments "more violence from Bronson". This in my opinion is a minor masterpiece of a film. It creates an atmosphere; that of '60s Europa. Those who can't get into this film can't get into the '60s. I can see how Jim Morrison based Riders on the Storm on this. Marlene Jobert is great as the naive woman who stumbles into Bronsonian intrigue. The film itself directed by Clement is a success in expressing artistic vision in the guise of a "typical Bronson film". The comedic interplay between Bronson and Jobert make the film. It's basically an esoteric love story with that '60s feel that only us Jim Morrisons can appreciate.Aside from this film I think Bronson is a great, cool, and at times brilliant actor. His great underrated films include: Death Wish (I hate every Death Wish sequel), Evil that Men Do, Mechanic, Once upon a Time in the West, and all his '60s and '70s stuff. His '80s stuff is the throwaway stuff.