This week's Noir of the Week selection is Le Trou (1960), directed by Jacques Becker, which was released in the United States as The Night Watch. The 2 ½ hour prison escape film, similar to Rififi, employs lengthy, uninterrupted sequences, often without dialogue, to heighten the straightforward narrative about a group of prisoners attempting an ambitious breakout from their facility. Le Trou is presented in black …

Jacques Becker directed and co-wrote the screenplay for Le Trou (The Hole), alongside Jose Giovani and Jean Aurel, adapting Giovani's novel. The film features Michel Constantin, Jean Keraudy, Philippe Leroy, Raymond Meunier, Marc Michel, and Jean-Paul Coquelin. This was Jacques Becker’s final film before his death shortly after its completion; it is a tightly controlled prison story that emphasizes stark realism a…