One of the best heist films and arguably Jean-Pierre Melville's masterpiece. Recently sprung con Alain Delon teams up with recent escaped con Gian Maria Volonté and ex-cop Yves Montand to rob a jewelry store. Things would be as smooth as silk if it weren't for André Bourvil's policeman relentlessly pursuing Volonté. Melville's exceptional thriller takes its time unfolding but is never dull. Delon and Volonté have great chemistry and Montand is terrific as a world weary drunk (he actually hallucinates while drying out; it's a really creepy scene). The bleak cinematography by Henri Decaë captures a gloomy Paris in winter and there's a stunning, albeit sparsely used, music score by Éric Demarsan. The supporting cast includes André Ekyan as one of Delon's sleazy cohorts and François Périer as a very reluctant informer. Bourvil, who died before the film's release, steals the show as a wily modern day Inspector Javert.
Review of The Red Circle
