---
title: "Le Trou: the reviews"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/le-trou/reviews"
title_page: "https://film.one/film/le-trou"
critics_score: 74
critics_reviews: 7
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Le Trou (1960): what the critics said

Critics' score 74 from 7 reviews: 4 positive, 3 mixed, 0 negative.

Most critics respond favourably to Le Trou, with praise clustering around the detailed escape work, convincing performances and steadily mounting tension. The reviews repeatedly stress how much the suspense depends on watching physical labour: digging feels slow, difficult and exhausting, and the patient storytelling builds dread. Several also find warmth and empathy in the prisoners’ relationships. Sight and Sound singles out the natural sound and absence of a musical score as particular strengths.

The clearest reservation comes from The New Yorker, which admires the precise craftsmanship and empathy but argues that silence about the criminal past of the film’s source compromises its perspective. This is a disagreement about what the film leaves unexamined, rather than how effectively it stages the escape. The supplied ratings range from enthusiastic to mixed, with none negative, though two incomplete review texts limit what can be said about the less favourable responses.

## Los Angeles Times — Kenneth Turan

Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 31 August 2017. 

Turan regards the restored film as a standout among prison-break movies, with steadily escalating tension. He especially praises its authenticity, detailed craft and convincing performances.

[Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-le-trou-review-20170831-story.html)

## Sight and Sound

Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 

The page presents Becker’s film as a gripping and emotionally affecting final work. It singles out the austere use of natural sound, with no music score.

[Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/film/c7509de3-99b3-5fec-abf1-877f94639156/le-trou)

## Variety — Variety Staff

Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 31 December 1959. 

The review regards the film as taut and solidly constructed, with its human focus elevating the jailbreak story. It especially praises the dynamically detailed escape and the clear performances by the non-actors.

[Read the review](https://variety.com/1959/film/reviews/le-trou-1200419676/)

## Time Out — EC

Fi1m's normalised score 69/100 (inferred from the text). 

The available page does not reveal the critic’s verdict. Its metadata identifies the film as a huis-clos and notes its place in Time Out’s ranking of the 100 best French films.

[Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/fr/cinema/le-trou-1960)

## The New York Times

Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 23 June 2017. 

The URL identifies a review of Becker’s prison drama, but the page itself is inaccessible. Its specific verdict and praised elements cannot be verified from the supplied text.

[Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/23/movies/le-trou-jacques-becker-prison-drama.html)

## The New Yorker

Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 

The critic finds the film meticulously crafted and deeply empathetic, but sees its perspective as compromised by its silence about the criminal past of its source. The precise, physical depiction of the escape plot is singled out for praise.

[Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/goings-on-about-town/movies/the-hole-2)

## Eye for Film — Amber Wilkinson

Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 25 August 2017. 

Wilkinson regards Le Trou as one of the great escape films, with its patient storytelling building a steady sense of dread. She especially praises its physicality, making the prisoners’ laborious digging feel tangible and exhausting.

[Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/le-trou-1960-film-review-by-amber-wilkinson)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/le-trou.md