After leaving prison, master thief Corey crosses paths with a notorious escapee and an alcoholic former policeman. The trio proceed to plot an elaborate heist.After leaving prison, master thief Corey crosses paths with a notorious escapee and an alcoholic former policeman. The trio proceed to plot an elaborate heist.After leaving prison, master thief Corey crosses paths with a notorious escapee and an alcoholic former policeman. The trio proceed to plot an elaborate heist.
Bourvil
- Le Commissaire Francois Mattei
- (as André Bourvil)
Gian Maria Volontè
- Vogel
- (as Gian-Maria Volonte)
François Périer
- Santi
- (as François Perier)
Anna Douking
- L'ancienne amie de Corey
- (as Ana Douking)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe heist sequence lasts for exactly 27 minutes and features no dialogue at all.
- GoofsWhen Mattei returns to his office after Le Receleur's son has overdosed, he pulls the door open. In the next cut from inside the office, Mattei is seen pushing the door open.
- Quotes
Le chef de la police: All men are guilty. They're born innocent, but it doesn't last.
- Crazy creditsThe movie's Opening Credits include an epigraph: "Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, drew a circle with a piece of red chalk and said: '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.'" This quote explains the title of the film.
- Alternate versionsAn alternate, 83-minute English-language version also exists, wherein most of the lead performers delivered their lines in (generally phonetic) English. This version was released to Korean home video under the title "Circle It In Red", although the actual onscreen title of the print reads "The Red Circle".
- ConnectionsFeatured in Sous le nom de Melville (2008)
Featured review
Great Heist Movie
On the eve of his release after five years imprisoned, the thief Corey (Alain Delon) is contacted by one guard of the prison that offers him a jewelry heist. However Corey seeks out his former boss Rico (André Ekyan) and steals money from him. Rico sends two gangsters to hunt Corey down and retrieve the stolen amount. Meanwhile the criminal Vogel (Gian- Maria Volonte) is transported by train by the Police Officer Mattei (André Bourvil) and succeeds to escape. Corey drives from Marseille to Paris and Vogel hides in the trunk of his car. Corey finds him but does not object to ride Vogel to Paris hidden in the trunk. When the gangsters sent by Rico cut in Corey's car, Vogel saves him from the criminals, but Corey loses the money. Without money, Corey decides to heist the jewelry with Vogel and invites the former police detective Jansen (Yves Montand) to team-up with them. The trio executes a perfect heist but Rico is seeking revenge and Mattei is an unethical but efficient police officer capable to use any means to resolve the case.
"Le cercle rouge" is another great heist movie by the French director Jean-Pierre Melville, one of the best in the genre crime and thriller. The thin line between the behavior of police members and criminals is impressively realistic. The scenes are very detailed and there are long sequences in absolute silence along 140 minutes running time but the movie is developed in an adequate pace and is never boring. The dream cast with Alain Delon, Gian-Maria Volonte and Yves Montand among others makes this movie totally believable. My vote is eight.
Title (Brazil): "O Circulo Vermelho" ("The Red Circle")
"Le cercle rouge" is another great heist movie by the French director Jean-Pierre Melville, one of the best in the genre crime and thriller. The thin line between the behavior of police members and criminals is impressively realistic. The scenes are very detailed and there are long sequences in absolute silence along 140 minutes running time but the movie is developed in an adequate pace and is never boring. The dream cast with Alain Delon, Gian-Maria Volonte and Yves Montand among others makes this movie totally believable. My vote is eight.
Title (Brazil): "O Circulo Vermelho" ("The Red Circle")
helpful•224
- claudio_carvalho
- Feb 21, 2015
- How long is The Red Circle?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Le Cercle Rouge
- Filming locations
- Place du Panthéon, Paris 5, Paris, France(arrest of Santi's son)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $432,820
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $14,843
- Jan 12, 2003
- Gross worldwide
- $473,646
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