Le Cercle Rouge

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=80 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF" bgproperties="fixed" background="04000500dvldtc.png"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Arial" ><B>Reel Movie Critic.com</B></FONT><B>     |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Reel Movie Critic.com"><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id1957.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="20,000 Leaques Under the Sea"><U>20,000 Leaques Under the Sea</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1938.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Almost Salinas"><U>Almost Salinas</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1909.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Arcangels Feather"><U>The Arcangel's Feather</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1900.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Armageddon"><U>Armageddon</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1890.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Baran"><U>Baran</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1901.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Better Luck Tomorrow"><U>Better Luck Tomorrow</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1964.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Boogie Nights"><U>Boogie Nights</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1949.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Bruce Almighty"><U>Bruce Almighty</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1932.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Caputring the Friedmans"><U>Caputring the Friedmans</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1880.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chaos"><U>Chaos</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1913.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Charlotte Sometimes"><U>Charlotte Sometimes</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1934.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="City of Ghosts"><U>City of Ghosts</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1879.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Cowboy Bebop"><U>Cowboy Bebop</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1942.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Cremaster 3"><U>Cremaster 3</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1884.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Embalmer"><U>The Embalmer</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1931.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Dirt (from the Chicago Latino Film Festi"><U>Dirt (from the Chicago Latino Film Festival 2003)</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1899.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Dysfunktional Family"><U>Dysfunktional Family</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1908.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Enamorada"><U>Enamorada</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1963.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Dances with Wolves"><U>Dances with Wolves</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1962.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Dark Angel: The Complete First Season"><U>Dark Angel: The Complete First Season</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1907.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Fairy Tales to Put Crocodiles to Sleep"><U>Fairy Tales to Put Crocodiles to Sleep</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1928.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Family Affair"><U>Family Affair</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1943.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="House of Fools"><U>House of Fools</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1955.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The InLaws"><U>The In-Laws</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1937.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Interview with Abel Ferrara"><U>Interview with Abel Ferrara</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1951.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="A Conservation with Prince Chatri Chaler"><U>A Conservation with Prince Chatri Chalerm Yukol</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1895.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Interview with Ed Solomon"><U>Interview with Ed Solomon</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1960.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="A Conversation with F. Gary Gray"><U>A Conversation with F. Gary Gray</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1927.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="A Conversation with John Malkovich"><U>A Conversation with John Malkovich</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1967.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="A Conversation with Joseph GordonLevitt"><U>A Conversation with Joseph Gordon-Levitt</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1894.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Interview with Neil Jordan"><U>Interview with Neil Jordan</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1893.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Interview with Oliver James"><U>Interview with Oliver James</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1919.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="It Runs in the Family"><U>It Runs in the Family</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1959.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="King Kong"><U>King Kong</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1896.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Italian Job"><U>The Italian Job</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1939.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Kiss Me Kate"><U>Kiss Me Kate</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1905.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="19th Annual Latino Chicago International"><U>19th Annual Latino Chicago International Film Festival</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1944.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="L Auberge Espagnol"><U>L' Auberge Espagnol</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1953.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Last Sumauri"><U>The Last Sumauri</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1904.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Laurel Canyon"><U>Laurel Canyon</U></A>   |   <B>Le Cercle Rouge</B>   |   <A HREF="id1952.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Legend of Suriyothai"><U>The Legend of Suriyothai</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1936.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Lilya 4Ever"><U>Lilya 4-Ever</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1902.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Long Days Journey Into Night"><U>Long Day's Journey Into Night</U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF" background="041d2c00dvldtc.png"> <div> <B>Home Page for</B></div> <div> <B>      </B><A HREF="http://newbookdiscounts.com/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://newbookdiscounts.com/"><U><B>Books</B></U></A></div> <div> <B>           </B><A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/travelforless/id364.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/travelfor"><U><B>Travel</B></U></A></div> <div> <B>                </B><A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/"><U><B>Movies</B></U></A></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>                   </B><A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/travelforless/id361.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/travelfor"><U><B>Great Web Sites</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <B>Similar Genres</B></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/id1707.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/id1707.ht"><U><B>Crime</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/id1682.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/id1682.ht"><U><B>Thriller</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/id959.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/id959.htm"><U><B>France</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/id604.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/id604.htm"><U><B>Film Noir</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/id1737.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/id1737.ht"><U><B>Heist</B></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=400 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> Le Cercle Rouge</div> <div> <IMG SRC="35cf5600.png" border=0 width="245" height="352" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="592" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 20 WIDTH="588"><div> <B>Le Cercle Rouge              </B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Wingdings 2" ><B>êêêê</B></FONT><B>                  Not Rated</B></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="588"><div> Reviewed by Shelley Cameron</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="588"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="19" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="588" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 23 WIDTH="588"><div> As Good As it Gets</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="593" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 ><NOBR><div> Alain Delon. . . . . . . . . . . . . Corey</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> Yves Montand  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jansen</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 ><NOBR><div> André Bourvil . . . . . . . . . . .Capt. Mattei</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> Gian Maria Volonté . . . . . . . . . . .Vogel</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="293"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="19" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="293" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="293"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="19" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="293" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 ><NOBR><div> Directed by Jean-Pierre Melville</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="293"><div> 140 Minutes.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 ><NOBR><div> In French with English subtitles.</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="293"><div> Crime / Noir / Drama</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> Like his famous American namesake, Jean-Pierre Melville's stories are more than meets the eye.  An admirer of writer Herman Melville and many things American, his films are deceptively simple.  With little dialog and a sound track that consists primarily of natural effects, <I>le Cercle Rouge</I> is among his very best.  This spellbinding French noir works famously as a straightforward jewel heist by a noble, if brutal, trio of pros.  On another level, it is also a masterful portrait of primitive human connections, notably male, based on the dynamics of the moment.  Without regard to the future but mindful of past betrayals; guilt, loyalty and chance and atonement are its' key elements.  Women are strictly decorative or exist as conduits of past treachery; the red circle is a man's world.  First and foremost, it's a great gangster film.  As newly released ex-con Corey, Alain Delon, whose mustached upper lip puts a rougher edge on his beauty, is arguably one of the most watchable faces of the 20<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Arial" >th</FONT> century.</div> <bR> <div> On the day Corey is exiting prison (wearing an improbably cool trench coat) after a five-year stint, another convict, Vogel (Gian Maria Volonté) makes a bold escape from a moving train and from police Captain Mattei (André Bourvil).  Before he was released, Corey received a tip about a perfect high stakes job needing a delicately balanced team to pull off.  The chance meeting of Vogel and Corey, intersecting in Melville's fictional Buddhist  "red circle" (alluded to in the mystical, abstract introductory scene), sets in motion a plan to carry out the theft if they can hook up with the right third man needed for the job.  A crony recommends Jansen (Yves Montand), a sharpshooter ex-cop perfect for the task if he can put his alcoholic DTs at bay.   </div> <bR> <div> The essence of what movie magic is all about is creating a mood that carries us off to another place.  No one is better at creating that mood than Melville, with these players, so natural at their craft, and flawless cinematography by Henri Decaë, this elemental piece is riveting.  The writer of <A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/2002/id1949.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/2002/id19"><U><I><B>Bob le Flambeur</B></I></U></A><A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/2002/id1949.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/2002/id19"><U><B>,</B></U></A> recently remade as <A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/20031Q/id1796.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/20031Q/id"><U><I><B>The Good Thief</B></I></U></A><A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/20031Q/id1796.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/20031Q/id"><U><B>,</B></U></A> Melville asserts that the guilt of all men, as the police chief reminds Mattei, is unquestionable.  These guys have all been around the block and are very, very cool.  They've internalized a code of living that instinctively accepts its truths: that life is short, that you don't betray someone you like, that someone you like may betray you.  As Mattei puts the puzzle together and turns up the heat, the thieves retain their impenetrable cool.  A careful recklessness guides their actions and their loyalties.  Their terrain is the present, plans for the future do not occupy their minds. A simple, unyielding system of honor among thieves underlies their choices.  </div> <bR> <div> Rialto Pictures continues its mission of restoring and re-releaseing superb films in new prints, with Melville apostle John Woo listed here as presenter.  Following the recent success of such first rate and little seen films as <I>Pepe le Moko</I><B>, </B><A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/holiday2002/id1874.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/holiday20"><U><I><B>Quai des Orfeveres</B></I></U></A><B>, </B>and <I>Rififi</I>,<B> </B><I>le Cercle Rouge </I>joins the collection.  Melville's second to last picture before his death in 1973 at age 55, this film ended his career with a bang.  With his gritty post world war II films, he was considered by many to be on the vanguard of the French New Wave, spawning a new generation of filmmakers including François Truffaut and Claude Chabrol.  The long wordless heist scene was ahead of its time and still captivating.  The smooth, brisk editing finishes 140 minutes of great enjoyment.</div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="592" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 20 WIDTH="588"><div> Shelley Cameron <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Symbol" >Ó</FONT> 2003</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="588"><div> <A HREF="mailto:shlcameron@aol.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:shlcameron@aol.com"><U><U>Shelley@reelmoviecritic.com</U></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>