So long, beautiful

Alain Delon died a few days ago, and while I don’t pretend to be upset by the news, I am nevertheless feeling a bit melancholy. He was once known as the most beautiful man in the movies, and good goddam, he did look stunning on screen. In Borsalino and Co. (1974), as a vengeful gangster –– and brandishing pistols in both hands –– not only does he fatally ambush a group of his enemies, but he then throws both guns at the slumping heaps in an automatic, contemptuous spasm of holy cow! When I first saw that scene back in film school, the whole class of sleepy-eyed students cheered out loud. Best known for his work in the ‘60s and ‘70s, Alain Delon was my Norma Desmond: a real goddam movie star.