Le cercle rouge (1970)

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 | Nightclub | Nightclub Owner | Sharpshooter | Escape

Cast

Alain Delon	...	Corey
Bourvil	...	Le Commissaire Mattei (as André Bourvil)
Gian Maria Volonté	...	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:

One of Aki Kaurismäki's favorite films.

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:

Vogel: Between shooting two men six feet away and hitting a target at 100 feet there's a certain difference. It's the difference between an amateur and a professional. And, despite all appearances, I'm not professional.

Movie Connections:

References Du rififi chez les hommes (1955)

As Good As It Gets

This is only the second film I've checked out on IMDB and both have had negative user comments. In this case the person contributing comments was a tad chauvinistic and appeared to be strongly biased against French movies. I am English and can't get enough of French movies,but I also can't get enough of GOOD movies, be they English, American, French, Italian, whatever. Whichever way you slice it Le Cercle Rouge is a masterpiece, shot by a director at, as the cliche has it, the height of his powers. Cool, stylish, slick, professional,call it what you will, it's a winner. Everyone is on top of their game,not least Bourvil in a rare attempt at straight acting - he is best known as a zany comic in a series of box office smashes that don't translate well into English. The Melville schtick, a set-piece, is a doozy this time around, a jewellery heist on the Place Vendome, carried out in total silence in a nod to Rififfi and if anything surpassing it. The sombre,muted tones, embody the sense of cool and also the melancholy that informs the film making anything other than a downbeat ending unthinkable. Like the man said, if you only see one movie this year make it this one.