Here is a quote about Melville for you, from Volker Schlondorff:

“He begged us to turn our backs on what he considered to be misguided works like Johnny Guitar, and to look instead to the American classics for inspiration. Biased as he was, he contended that only two–at that time, disdained–directors counted for anything at all; William Wyler and Robert Wise.”

One thing I can safely mention (because I still want our readers who haven’t seen the movie to be able to see it without knowing the plot and the events ahead of time): on the special features of the DVD set they had a TV interview with Melville and a resistance leader named André Dewavrin whom Melville had gotten to play a small part. The host asked Dewavrin how he dealt with the memories (they’d been talking about all the comrades who had died). He said he tried not to think about it, and just to live his life. And that when he had to talk about it (like at that moment) he tried to keep his sense of humor, because you need a sense of humor to live. And this reminded me of my father, who lost his leg in the battle of the Bulge, and yet who, if he ever said anything about his army days, and he didn’t often, had a great sense of humor about it all.

(I remember my dad telling me that some of the orderlies in his hospital were German POWs, veterans of the Afrikakorps. They were allowed to keep their corps insignia. Those were the days, treating prisoners fairly and with respect.)

Oh, and that opening pre-credits shot by the Arch of Triumph: Melville’s editor Françoise Bonnot told a great story on the features about how they went back and forth putting that scene in the beginning and at the end of the movie. Finally opened the movie in six theatres in Paris with the scene at the end. Next day Melville changes his mind, calls up Bonnot and they drive to each theatre and splice the scene back into the opening.

Now my comment on your comment is almost as long as my original piece!