Le cercle rouge (1970)

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, a cat-loving police superintendent. Corey ... See full summary »

Director:

Jean-Pierre Melville

Writer:

Jean-Pierre Melville

Stars:

Alain Delon, Bourvil, Gian Maria Volonté

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

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, a cat-loving police superintendent. Corey robs Rico, his mob boss, then enlists Vogel and an ex-police sharpshooter, Jansen, in a jewel heist. While Corey is harried by the vengeful Rico, Mattei pressures Santi, a nightclub owner and pimp, to help him trap the thieves. Over all hangs the judgment of the police directeur, that every man is guilty.

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Plot Keywords:

police | prison | nightclub owner | heist | escape | 

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Taglines:

The Red Circle is a powerful in-depth study of the French Underworld

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Genres:

Crime | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

France Italy

Language:

French

Release Date:

20 October 1970 (France)

Also Known As:

Le Cercle Rouge

Filming Locations:

Gare de Marseille-Blancarde, Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône, France

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$14,843 (USA) (10 January 2003)

Gross:

$372,229 (USA) (12 September 2003)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Euro International Film (EIA), Les Films Corona, Selenia Cinematografica

Technical Specs

Runtime:

140 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jean-Pierre Melville said he originally wrote a version of the jewel heist scene in 1950, but after The Asphalt Jungle (and, later, Rififi) came out, he shelved the idea until 1970.

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Goofs

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.

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Quotes

Le chef de la police: And don't forget: All guilty.
Le Commissaire Mattei: Even policemen?
Le chef de la police: All men, Mr. Mattei

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Connections

Featured in Ebert Presents: At the Movies: Episode #1.13 (2011)

User Reviews

The circle

Not having seen this film in quite some time, we caught with it not long ago in the nicely transferred Criterion DVD. "Le cercle rouge" is a film that owes a lot to other movies, as it keeps reminding us about "Rififi", "The Asphalt Jungle", among others, because they all deal with capers that take center stage in the movie and reproduce it in great detail. Unfortunately, one knows that old adage that crime does not pay, and from the start, these men involved in it are doomed from the onset.

Jean-Pierre Melville was a director of few words. He didn't fill his pictures with a lot of dialog, as it's the case here. Yet, for not being "talky", they had a style of their own as proved with "Le Dolous", "Le Samurai", and his masterpiece, "Bob le flambeur", among others. Mr. Melville had a sense of style that comes across in everything he did. In this film, working with his cinematographer, Henri Decae, he takes us along for a ride through the streets of Paris that shows the vibrant city mainly at night and the bleak winter in France. The score is by Eric Demarsan that emphasizes a jazzy music that accompanies most of the action.

Although the film shows Alain Delon, as Corey, at the center of the action, it is however, the smart inspector Mattei who is the real hero of the movie. As played by the great Bourvil, he is a man that shows a lot of patience because he has figured from the beginning how to catch Vogel, and in the process he gets involved in the investigation of the jewel heist in which he knows the escaped man he is tailing looms large behind it. Bourvil gives an enormously satisfying performance as Mattei showing equal parts of determination and tenderness, as it's the case with the three cats he adores.

Alain Delon always responded with interesting performances his appearances in Mellville's pictures. In here he is Corey, the man who is first seen leaving prison and promising himself he won't go back, but he cannot pass a good thing when he decides to go ahead and participate in the robbery. His association with Vogel and Jansen, pays off in the way they get the job done, but it will also prove a mistake in the way they will not be able to dispose of the loot as the fence they have relied on has a change of heart.

Gian Maria Volonte and Yves Montand are seen as Vogel and Jansen, respectively. They were excellent actors who blend well in the action of the film. Both actors were at their best moment when they took the roles in the film and it shows. Mr. Montand has the more complex character to play as we witness him in his first moment in front of the camera as a man with many demons inside his head.

Jean-Pierre Mellville got wonderful results from his cast and crew in a film, that although feels a bit longer, but still succeeds in showing his style in one of the most memorable pictures from the director.