The Film
Hollywood has always loved the heist film, but the heist film has not always loved Hollywood in return. Recent films such as the dreadful Ocean's Eleven series may have struck gold at the box office, but they certainly did nothing to further the genre along. The bad guys have become the good guys, and we are supposed to cheer when they get away with their crimes. Director Jean-Pierre Melville (Army of Shadows) made a series of hard-nosed crime dramas in the 1960s, but his brilliant heist film, Le Cercle Rouge (1970) is the one really worth paying attention to. Melville's portrayal of the French underworld is as gritty as it is bleak and violent. There are no good guys; not even the police who use a network of mob informants to rat out the culprits. In Melville's world, there is a twisted sense of loyalty among thieves and the consequences for all are quite deadly.
Sterling Hayden (Dr. Strangelove) was absolutely brilliant in the heist classic, The Asphalt Jungle, and French screen star, Alain Delon (Corey), delivers a very similar performance in Le Cercle Rouge. Melville's film is rich with really bad men; the type who will shoot a man dead because he stands between them and freedom. Going back to prison is not an option for Delon, nor is it an option for Gian Maria Volonte (Vogel), a violent criminal on the run from the diligent Captain Mattei (Andre Bourvil) who has the entire French police force hunting Vogel from Marseille to Paris. Vogel introduces Corey to a former police officer, played by French star Yves Montand, who joins the two men in a jewelry heist in Paris. Captain Mattei must use his underworld connections to bring the desperate criminals to justice and may need to sacrifice his principles in the process.
Le Cercle Rouge is wonderfully constructed and unabashedly harsh in its treatment of the criminal element. Melville's characters don't speak a lot; they let their eyes and fists do the talking, but one still learns enough about each man to care -- just a little. For the three criminals, loyalty and honor matter. The dialogue that exists is pointed and intelligent; there are no "that's not what your mother said when I was with her last night" jokes that make these seemingly bad men look and sound like children. When you turn your back on Danny Ocean, you get a smug remark. When you turn your back on Corey or Vogel, you end up with a bullet in the head. Melville's film influenced a number of directors, including John Woo who imitated the French director's style in films such as Hard Boiled, and The Killer.
The Picture
Criterion has preserved the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and the 1080p transfer is probably as good as the film is ever going to look on home video. My main criticism is that some of the dark scenes have poor shadow detail and I sometimes wondered if my TV had momentarily gone dark. Weird.
The Sound
Criterion has remastered the original mono track into 24-bit LPCM 1.0, but I really wish they had offered a stereo track for this film because the music is so wonderful. Composer Eric Demarsan worked on the music for Army of Shadows, but what he composed for Le Cercle Rouge was on a totally different level; the score moves from jazz to a musette waltz to big band. The jazz tracks give one the feeling that the characters are trapped in their fate and nothing can save them. There isn't a lot of dialogue in the film, but what exists is well written and important to the development of the characters. The mono track is quite strong and I never had to strain to understand any of the dialogue.
The Extras
Jean-Pierre Melville died in 1973, but Criterion discovered thirty minutes of rare on-set and archival footage featuring interviews with Melville, Alain Delon, Yves Montand, and Andre Bourvil and it all adds a great deal to the story behind the making of the film. Melville may not be as interesting as Samuel Fuller whose interviews are hilarious, but he was clearly a very a thoughtful director who put a lot of emphasis on character development in his films.
Also included in the bonus material are video interviews with assistant director Bernard Stora and Rui Nogueira, the author of "Melville on Melville." The original theatrical trailer and 2003 Rialto Pictures rerelease trailer are also included. The best part of the additional features are the excerpts from Cineastes de notre temps: "Jean-Pierre Melville", which were shot for French television in 1970-71. Melville was a fascinating man with a very dark past and the interviews offer some real insight into his psyche.
Final Thoughts
Le Cercle Rouge is a bleak and often depressing look at the French underworld, but also a beautifully framed and constructed story with real men who are not afraid to be tough. The cinematography and score are first rate and Criterion has done an admirable job restoring this film in HD. Each character may be fatally flawed but they are no less interesting in the end and it ranks as one of the greatest heist films in film history. Highly recommended.
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