Le Cercle Rouge

Le Cercle Rouge

28/9/1993 2h 20m 7.6/10

Overview

When French criminal Corey gets released from prison, he resolves to never return. He is quickly pulled back into the underworld, however, after a chance encounter with escaped murderer Vogel. Along with former policeman and current alcoholic Jansen, they plot an intricate jewel heist. All the while, quirky Police Commissioner Mattei, who was the one to lose custody of Vogel, is determined to find him.

Director

Jean-Pierre Melville

Top Billed Cast

Alain Delon

Alain Delon

Corey

Gian Maria Volonté

Gian Maria Volonté

Vogel

Yves Montand

Yves Montand

Jansen

Bourvil

Bourvil

Commissioner François Mattei

François Périer

François Périer

Santi

Paul Crauchet

Paul Crauchet

The Receiver

Reviews

CinemaSerf

CinemaSerf

6/3/2023

7/10

Though it takes quite a while to get going, and I constantly wanted to rub that annoying moustache from the face of Alain Delon ("Corey") I really rather enjoyed this crime caper. Delon recruits the dapper ex-cop with a drink problem - "Jansen" (Yves Montand), and the recently escaped "Vogel" (Gian Maria Volontè) into his plan to rob an exclusive Parisian jewellers. Situated on the top floor of a town house with state of the art security, they must recce the scene and use all of their initiative and ingenuity to crack the systems and pinch - and dispose of - $20 million worth of loot. Simultaneously, a couple of hoodlums are chasing "Corey" after he relieved his former boss of some cash, and the police - led by accomplished copper "Mattei" (André Bourvil) are on the hunt for "Vogel". I can't say the acting set the thing on fire for me, it is certainly "cool" but you can over-do that, and at times these three men are pretty devoid of much depth to their characters. I could also have been doing with more going on in the first hour; the plot establishment all takes too long - but once Jean-Pierre Melville gets his ducks in a row and the film has a clearer focus, then the pace picks up nicely and there is quite a decent degree of tension peppered with the odd bit of dark humour. Not mad keen on the ending, but hey - that'd be telling.

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