Le Cercle rouge

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Le Cercle rouge
Le Cercle rouge Criterion Collection DVD cover
Directed by	Jean-Pierre Melville
Produced by	Robert Dorfmann
Written by	Jean-Pierre Melville
Starring	Alain Delon Bourvil Yves Montand Gian Maria Volonté
Distributed by	The Criterion Collection Rialto Pictures StudioCanal
Release date(s)	1970
Running time	140 min.
Language	French
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

Le Cercle rouge (The Red Circle, 1970) is a crime film set in Paris, France. It was directed by Jean-Pierre Melville and starred Alain Delon, Bourvil, Gian Maria Volonté and Yves Montand. It is perhaps best known for its final heist sequence which is about half an hour in length.

The title comes from the film's epigraph which translates as

"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.'"

In fact, the Buddha said no such thing; Melville made it up[1], just as he did with the epigraph in his film Le Samouraï.

1 Plot
2 Cast
3 Remake
4 External links

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Corey (Delon) is a cool, aristocratic thief, released from prison on the same day that Vogel (Volonté), a murderer, escapes from the custody of the patient Mattei (Bourvil), a cat-loving police superintendent. Corey robs Rico, his mob boss, then enlists Vogel and an ex-police sharpshooter, Jansen (Montand), 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.

[edit] Cast

Alain Delon - Corey
Bourvil - Le Commissaire Mattei
Gian Maria Volontè - Vogel
Yves Montand - Jansen
Paul Crauchet - Le Receleur
Paul Amiot - Le chef 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 (Santi's son)
Jean Champion - Le garde-barrière
Yvan Chiffre - Un policier (a policeman)
Anna Douking - L'ancienne amie de Corey (as Ana Douking)
Robert Favart - Le vendeur chez Mauboussin
Roger Fradet - Un policier (a policeman)
Édouard Francomme - Le gardien du billard (as Edouard Francomme)
Jean Franval - Le tenancier d'hôtel
Jacques Galland - Le chef de train
Jean-Pierre Janic - Paul, l'homme de Rico
Pierre Lecomte - L'adjoint de l'I.G.S.
Jacques Léonard - Un policier (a policeman)
Jacques Leroy - Un policier (a policeman)
Jean Pignol - L'employé du greffe
Robert Rondo - Un policier (a policeman)

[edit] Remake

John Woo has stated that he wants to direct a remake of Le Cercle rouge and call it The Red Circle.[2] Woo wrote an essay for the Criterion DVD of Le Cercle rouge arguing the film's merits.

[edit] External links

Jean-Pierre Melville
Vingt-quatre heures de la vie d'un clown (1945) • Le Silence de la mer (1947) • Les Enfants terribles (1950) • Bob le flambeur (1955) • Deux hommes dans Manhattan (1959) • Léon Morin, prêtre (1961) • Le Doulos (1963) • L’Aîné des Ferchaux (1963) Le Deuxième souffle (1966) • Le Samouraï (1967) • L'Armée des ombres (1969) • Le Cercle rouge (1970) • Un flic (1972) •

Jean-Pierre Melville

Vingt-quatre heures de la vie d'un clown (1945) • Le Silence de la mer (1947) • Les Enfants terribles (1950) • Bob le flambeur (1955) • Deux hommes dans Manhattan (1959) • Léon Morin, prêtre (1961) • Le Doulos (1963) • L’Aîné des Ferchaux (1963) Le Deuxième souffle (1966) • Le Samouraï (1967) • L'Armée des ombres (1969) • Le Cercle rouge (1970) • Un flic (1972) •