Le Cercle Rouge

French writer-director Jean-Pierre Melville (1917-73) was an innovative filmmaker who originated many of the stylistic devices of the New Wave while expressing the conventions of the American gangster films he loved in a pure, almost idealized form. This was his penultimate work, a heist film from 1970 in the tradition of The Asphalt Jungle, The Killing, and Rififi. The centerpiece is an elaborate jewelry store robbery committed by an ex-con (Alain Delon), an alcoholic ex-cop (Yves Montand), and an escaped prisoner (Gian Maria Volonte); in the aftermath, the police inspector (Andre Bourvil) from whom the prisoner escaped uses all his connections to track down the perpetrators. But much of the picture--the first 90 minutes, in fact--presents the various characters as iconic figures (Montand, for example, has a spectacular delirium tremens scene), and the real theme, expressed in the title based on a supposed quotation by Buddha, is destiny, which brings them all together to suffer their respective fates. The result is somewhat overlong and self-indulgent, but nonetheless gloomily fascinating, and Le Cercle Rouge has had considerable influence on filmmakers, including action director John Woo, who was primarily responsible for the superb restoration features on this double-disc Criterion Collection set, which in addition to the pristine-looking film, features a wide array of archival and interview footage, trailers, and photos. Recommended. (F. Swietek)[Blu-ray Review—Apr. 12, 2011—Criterion, 140 min., in French w/English subtitles, not rated, $39.95—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 1970's Le Cercle Rouge sports a decent transfer with mono sound. Blu-ray extras include an “Archival Footage” collection of excerpts from French TV shows including Cinéastes de notre temps and interviews with director Jean-Pierre Melville and stars Alain Delon, Yves Montand, and André Bourvil (52 min.), interviews with assistant director Bernard Stora (30 min.) and Melville on Melville author Rui Nogueira (27 min.), trailers, and a booklet featuring essays by film critics Michael Sragow and an appreciation from filmmaker John Woo. Bottom line: a fine Blu-ray debut for an influential French thriller.]