How sad is this?

Excellent adaptation.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Hard to tell who is the best actor in this movie, Delon, Bourvil, Montand, Périer or Volontè? Because all five are excellent. Directed by Cinema Expert Jean-Pierre Melville, all five are self-surpassing, every one, depending on the size of the role. Montand and Perier have secondary roles but they do a great job. Delon is better than in most of his other films, except perhaps Le Samouraï (1967) directed by the same Melville. Volontè is as incredible as in all his movies, simply the greatest actor ever. The total surprise of this "Le Cercle Rouge" is Bourvil, who plays a unique role throughout all his career, here he is no longer the comic simpleton of many previous films, but a policeman as never seen before. Great direction, great cinematography by Henri Decaë, everything great. Absolute masterpiece!

for the story. for acting. for music. and for the wise manner to define each character. after many films from same genre in the "60'-"70', Le Cercle Rouge cold seems be part of a series. but the work of a great director, a splendid cast - the performance of Bourvil is one of the great revelations -, the care for details and the shadows of personal stories as mixture of flavors are the virtues of a thriller who remains more than memorable. a film about few people as signs of theirs worlds. about duty. and about forms of madness. all - very simple. almost like drawings of a state of soul. a film about solitude.and a splendid atmosphere.short, a film who must see. maybe, only for the delicacy to expose delicate things who define each of us.

Jean-Pierre Meville's 1970 film LE CERCLE ROUGE (The Red Circle) is a crime caper based on the interplay of several initially unacquainted individuals. As Melville's fake quote from the Buddha that serves as the intertitle goes, "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." These men are Corey (Alain Delon), who has just been released from prison, Vogel (Gian Maria Volonté), who has escaped from his police guard before he could even reach prison, and the alcoholic marksman Jansen (Yves Montand). In the jewelry heist that these desperate lowlifes plan together, they are pursued by the detective Mattei (André Bourvil).Meville's pacing is extremely slow -- it has to be in order to ensure that the audience understands the complex relationships of who knows who -- and suffice it to say, people who don't already like mid-century French auteur films may find this intolerable. However, if you are a fan of the French New Wave, you may find Meville's ability to sustain suspense a delicious torture. This viewer was on the edge of his seat the whole time waiting to find out what would happen next. Melville's visual aesthetic is also consistently attractive: muted colours, careful shots of the characters faces at a couple of key moments, and a striking contrast between the quiet world of these criminals and the bustle of everyday Paris.I must admit that I was prepared for some disappointment, as this was Meville's third film of criminal conspiracy in three years (preceded by the hit-man drama Le Samourai and the French Resistance saga L'Armée des ombres). However, in spite of Meville's continued interest in the genre, LE CERCLE ROUGE offers something fresh and individual. There are a couple of intertextual looks back to LE SAMOURAI in the sets, but Meville shows how talented his favourite actors were by having a couple of good guys in that film play baddies in this one and vice versa.All in all, this is not a must-see, life-changing film, but certainly a classic film that has stood the test of time and well worth seeing.

"The Red Circle" (Le Cercle Rouge) is an exceptionally well executed heist film of the old-school variety, featuring four well known European actors: Alain Delon, Yves Montand, Gian Maria Golante, and Andre Bourvil, written and directed by Jean-Pierre Melville. Unlike recent Hollywood heist films involving complicated acrobatics, electronic expertise and an inevitable love interest, "Le Cercle Rouge" is refreshingly straight forward, careful , if slow-moving in its exposition, and well acted. Without going into plot details, Delon is an ex-con, Golante a murderer who escaped police custody and is on the run, Montand is an ex-police sharpshooter in the grips of post-spree DTs when he's introduced and Bourvil is the police inspector who pursues them. Montand's performance in an uncharacteristic role is worth a special note. If you like heist films and have not been spoiled by Hollywood excess, this film is worth pursuing.