There is one cool, understated scene after another.
100
Boston GlobeTy Burr
Boston GlobeTy Burr
For some of us, this constitutes a religious event.
100
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
Watching Le Cercle Rouge, we're caught up in a world that, however improbable some of its twists and turns seem, strikes us as a perfect, imaginative creation.
A glistening gem among caper movies, this impeccably elegant jewel-heist drama takes its title from Buddhist lore, its cast from France's great gallery of leading men, and its style from the unique blend of cinematic savoir-faire and brooding existential angst.
90
L.A. Weekly
L.A. Weekly
Melville seems to peer out from behind the camera with a reassuring wink and nod. Le Cercle Rouge is the most self-consciously cool of his famously underheated films noirs.
90
Washington PostDesson Thomson
Washington PostDesson Thomson
For students of cool ... Le Cercle Rouge is required viewing.
90
New York Magazine (Vulture)Peter Rainer
New York Magazine (Vulture)Peter Rainer
At its best, the film compares favorably to its obvious antecedents, "Rififi" (which Melville once hoped to direct) and "The Asphalt Jungle."
80
Village VoiceJ. Hoberman
Village VoiceJ. Hoberman
A work of leisurely development and tragic inevitability.
80
Chicago ReaderBill Stamets
Chicago ReaderBill Stamets
Key action points are edited with finesse, but the denouement, with its dutiful hail of gunfire, is heartless and mechanical.
75
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
If you've got the patience, this is still one of the all-time exercises in cinematic cool.