Le Cercle Rouge (The Red Circle) - Criterion Collection | Alain Delon, Bourvil

Le Cercle Rouge (The Red Circle) - Criterion Collection | Alain Delon, Bourvil | A fine movie by Jean-Pierre Melville, and be sure to watch Army of Shadows

DVDs:

Le Cercle Rouge (T...

	Le Cercle Rouge (The Red Circle) - Criterion Collection Alain Delon, Bourvil Criterion, 2003 average customer review:based on 32 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Master thief Corey (Alain Delon) is fresh out of prison. But instead of toeing the line of law-abiding freedom, he finds his steps leading back to the shadowy world of crime, crossing paths with a notorious escapee (Gian Maria Volonté) and an alcoholic ex-cop (Yves Montand). As the unlikely trio plots a heist against impossible odds, their trail is pursued by a relentless inspector (André Bourvil), and fate begins to seal their destinies. Taking its title from Buddhist lore, Jean-Pierre Melville?s Le Cercle rouge combines honorable anti-heroes, coolly atmospheric cinematography, and breathtaking set pieces to create a masterpiece of crime cinema.

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Melville's best film...

This is my favorite Melville film, one that I constantly think about. Jean Pierre Melville never gets mentioned with the French New Wave or any other film movement, even though many have acknowledged his influence (John Woo is a major fan, for example. He listed Melville's Le Samourai as his favorite film). Here the film centers around 3 thieves pulling off a startling heist. The actual heist is one of the greatest set pieces in the history of cinema, running roughly 30 minutes and with only one single word of dialogue. You are completely mesmerized despite having no dialogue. The look and style of the film is all Melville. He really was a true auteur. Many (like Woo) have tried to capture what he did, but they can't do it. His films all have a beautifully washed out, muted colour scheme. The performances are always understated, almost Bressonian in their quietness and exactingness. Melville is the epitome of cool, but his films have an underlying sadness to them, and this one is my favorite among his works. Some have suggested that us film buffs like this just because it's "different", and that's not it at all. We love it because it's simply a masterpiece.

The extras on this disc are marvelous, as they contain rare behind the scenes footage of Melville at work, and interviews with Jean-Pierre. I love the look of Melville. He is quite an imposing man, with very cool sunglasses and a great cowboy hat. It is also immensely intelligent in his answers to the interviewers. He pauses a lot before answering, making sure he says exactly what he wants to. There is also a booklet included in the DVD with more interviews from Melville. Melville is as fascinating as his films. He's one of the greatest filmmakers France ever produced, and this is his best film.

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A fine movie by Jean-Pierre Melville, and be sure to watch Army of Shadows

"All men are guilty," says the chief of the police. "They're born innocent but it doesn't last." Add this bit of nihilism to Jean-Pierre Melville's fascination with the idea of the crook's code of honor and you have Le Cercle Rouge. This code of honor among crooks, however, is not simply a cliché; it's a figment of the imagination even when film moralists -- realistic moralists by their viewpoint, romantic moralists by most others' -- began to make movies on the subject. Their theme is that it isn't what one does, but how one does it. We most often wind up with stories all about experienced men with their own sense of honor, stories where fate, fatalism and the code run things.

For most of humanity, except screen writers and movie directors, this would seriously get in the way of living one's life, raising one's children and being a good friend. This mannered fatalism is something of a self-indulgent notion. Le Cercle Rouge is, in my view, a classic film for people who may secretly enjoy the adventure of just missing the last bus home. But where Melville's Le Samourai - Criterion Collection, in my opinion, is style dominating story, Le Cercle Rouge manages the great trick of combining style with a strong story and with compelling actors. The point of the movie, in my view, is nonsense...but the movie itself is a first-class experience.

Melville's hopeless tale of three crooks -- Cory (Alain Delon), Vogel (Gian-Maria Volonte) and Jansen (Yves Montand) - is based on a bit of wisdom which is, maybe, attributed to the Buddha: That all men who are destined to meet, will...along with their destiny they cannot change. Maybe, because some believe Melville himself came up with the wording if not the thought. Either way, we know right at the start that this movie will not end happily, will depend upon fate and coincidence to set things up for us, and will leave us recalling the nihilistic philosophies we discovered and loved when we were in high school. Once Corey and Vogel meet and then gather in the unique talents of Jansen, we are off on a one-way ride to rob an exclusive, heavily protected jewelry story on the Place Vendome. The tension arises because we not only know the French police are after Vogel, we also realize that some determined crooks are after Corey.

The great pleasure of the movie, for me, came from admiring the work that Delon, Volonte and Montand brought to their characters, and the intelligent ruthlessness that Andre Bouvril brought to his character, the police captain Mattei. Melville hooked me as he developed these characters and their own situations; he built me up emotionally and then released me when he brought me to appreciate their probable fate and let me see see it happen. Melville establishes his set pieces -- the escape from the train, the escape from the woods, the later shootout in the woods, the meetings with Mattei and a man who refuses to inform -- with intriguing possibilities. He builds tension in all these cases by taking his time; a rare trait in movie making and an even rarer trait now. And Melville takes the time to build up Mattei as an individual. Mattei is a rueful, experienced man. He's a loner. He has a set routine when he returns to his apartment -- he greets his three cats affectionately, he draws his bath and while the tub is filling he sets out food for them. I don't know who Mattei is destined to meet, but I hope it's someone who likes cats.

Nihilism is always fashionable among some creative people and some critics. In most cases, I think it's a much harder task to set nihilism aside and to simply live one's life without damaging too many people. (And that's even more challenging to show compellingly in a film.) Le Cercle Rouge is a movie which, for me, tells me little, but it is in its own way, I think, a beautifully put together film.

For those who enjoy a well-planned jewelry store break-in and heist, there's Rififi - Criterion Collection. Jules Dassin manages this nihilistic story with a great deal of depth and tension. For those who simply enjoy expensive diamonds, Paris and a good mystery-drama with Catherine Deneuve, there's Place Vendome. For those who like Jean-Pierre Melville as much as I do, treat yourself to great movie making and watch Bob le Flambeur - Criterion Collection and, especially, Army of Shadows - Criterion Collection.

The Criterion DVD of Le Cercle Rouge looks very good and, on the second disc, has several extras. Criterion also includes a 24-page booklet.

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Essential French cinema: Melville's 'Le Cercle Rouge .'

French film director, Jean-Pierre Melville (1917-1973) is best known for his austere films noir, Le Samourai - Criterion Collection and Le Cercle Rouge (1970). He remains an important influence for directors like John Woo and Quentin Tarantino. Le Cercle Rouge is a classic crime/drama/thriller featuring Alain Delon as the leading character, Corey, a glacier-cool master thief, released from prison on the same day that Vogel (Gian Maria Volonté), a murderer, escapes police custody by jumping from a moving train. The two meet as if by fate and then conspire with an alcoholic ex-cop (Yves Montand) to pull off a Paris jewel heist against seemingly impossible odds. Meanwhile, they are relentlessly pursued by a cat-loving inspector (André Bourvil), who seals their destinies.

The suspenseful film opens with an explanation of its title: "Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, drew a circle with a piece of red chalk and said: 'When men, even unknowingly, are to meet one day, whatever may befall each, whatever the diverging paths, on the said day, they will inevitably come together in the red circle'."

Criterion presents Le Cercle Rouge in a crisp digital transfer and a clear jazzy score; 30 minutes of interviews with director Melville, Alain Delon, Yves Montand, and André Bourvilin; and the original theatrical trailer and a 2003 Rialto Pictures re-release trailer.

G. Merritt

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Intellectual Caper Film

A caper film with a fatalistic twist. The protagonists are thieves working in ignorance of larger forces around them. Clever plotting and very interesting cinematography but this movie lacks the psychological power of Melville's best work.

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

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