Le cercle rouge (1970)

User Rating:

8.1/10   

Director:

Jean-Pierre Melville

Writer:

Jean-Pierre Melville (writer)

Release Date:

1 December 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

No place to hide..Nowhere to run..

Plot:

Corey is a cool, aristocratic thief, released from prison on the same day that Vogel, a murderer, escapes from the custody of the patient Mattei...

Plot Keywords:

Police | Jewel Heist | Sharpshooter | Pimp | Heist

Cast

Alain Delon	...	Corey
Bourvil	...	Le Commissaire Mattei (as André Bourvil)
Gian Maria Volontè	...	Vogel (as Gian-Maria Volonte)
Yves Montand	...	Jansen
Paul Crauchet	...	Le Receleur
Paul Amiot	...	L'inspecteur général de la police
Pierre Collet	...	Le Gardien de prison
André Ekyan	...	Rico
Jean-Pierre Posier	...	L'assistant de Mattei
François Périer	...	Santi (as François Perier)
Yves Arcanel	...	Le juge d'instruction
René Berthier	...	Le directeur de la P.J.
Jean-Marc Boris	...	Le fils Santi
Jean Champion	...	Le garde-barrière
Yvan Chiffre	...	Un policier

Also Known As:

I senza nome (Italy)
The Red Circle

Runtime:

140 min | Italy:150 min

Country:

France | Italy

Language:

French

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Brazil:14 | France:U | West Germany:16 | UK:A (original rating) | USA:Not Rated | UK:PG (video rating) (2003) | South Korea:15 | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-15 (restored version, 2002) | Finland:K-16 (original rating) | Norway:16 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

25 rue Danielle Casanova, Paris 1, Paris, France

Company:

Euro International Film (EIA)

Trivia:

Captain Mattei, the role played by André Bourvil, was originally offered to Lino Ventura; the role of Jansen, played by Yves Montand, was originally offered to Paul Meurisse; and Jean-Paul Belmondo was originally planned to play the role of Vogel ultimately played by Gian Maria Volonté.

Goofs:

Continuity: There's a cut as Commissaire Mattei turns on the lamp in his apartment. The cat beside the green chair disappears and the cat in it switches from facing sideways to facing the camera.

Quotes:

Le chef de la police: All men are guilty. They're born innocent, but it doesn't last.

Movie Connections:

References Du rififi chez les hommes (1955)

Don't Sleep: Melville is the Man!

Jean-Pierre Melville is one of the most slept on directors of all time. A little too old to ride the crest of the French New Wave, Melville was respected by Godard, Truffaut and the rest but never caught the attention of the international film community like those who followed him did. Melville's crime tales are directed perfectly straight forward without the hipness that permeated the French New Wave . His protagonist of choice Alain Delon had the ability to portray either cop or crook and the audience would always side with him. "The Red Circle," is one of Melville's best collaborations with Delon--not as good as "Le Samourai" (1967) but superior to "Un Flic" (1971). Nowadays cats tend to say "they don't make movies like that anymore" but "they" weren't making films like Melville during his time--over thirty years ago. Don't sleep on Melville, he's the real deal. To put it simply, Melville was and still is the man.