5/5 Fast excellent service
  by bjetner
The service was great. The DVD came quicker than expected and was in great condition.

A friend introduced me to Le Samurai. The composition in the opening scene from that film, along with its palette, exactly mirrored a painting I had made a few months back. After watching the movie I had to check out more of Melville's films. I think the space and the palette are the elements that excite me the most. Those aspects of Le Samurai, are continued in Le Cercle Rouge.

This film is definitely worth seeing.

5/5 le cercle rouge
  by Tim Allen
The red circle is entertaining on a dramatic thriller level. The action entails purposefully and the cinematography is much on the level of the artistic. The main situation is cerebral rather than theme park speeded. The story is very enticing and pulls you in.

4/5 And another one...
  by me (Raleigh, NC)
Another great Melville film. you really start to get the impression that alot of director Michael Mann's influence was derived from Melville. just a really cool and slick approach to the whole "cop's and robber's" genre. great movie!

5/5 French caper film with cool cast
  by T O'Brien (Chicago, Il United States)
Three years after director Jean-Pierre Melville made Le Samourai with Alain Delon, the duo teamed up for another classic movie in the crime/heist/gangster genre, Le Cercle Rouge. After serving five years in prison, a master thief named Corey is released on good behavior, but not before a guard approaches him with a difficult job, a heist that if done by the right people could make millions. Corey says he'll at least think about it if nothing else. On the way to look into the job, Corey comes across a fugitive on the run, Vogel, with the two immediately hitting it off with a mutual respect. Teaming up with a ex-policeman, the trio start to plan for the heist, all the while with a driven investigator and the Parisian police on their tail. This is a movie that plain and simple is supremely cool, mostly because no one tries too hard. The cast and crew know what they're doing and it shows. The heist, almost 25 minutes long, is full of tension after almost 90 minutes of the plot slowly unravelling. It's one of the best examples of a heist movie so don't let this one slip by.

Leading a strong cast is Melville's favorite actor to work with, Alain Delon, who plays Corey, a master thief fresh out of prison who quickly begins to plan his next heist. Delon is perfect for this movie because he plays everything so calmly, so cool no matter what the situation. Gian-Maria Volonte is the right choice as Corey's unlikely partner, Vogel, a mysterious fugitive on the run who takes his chance at freedom when it comes. There's a respect between the two similar men which makes the ending work that much better. French actor Bourvil is a good adversary as Mattei, the driven police investigator desperately trying to catch Vogel thanks to pressure from his superiors. Rounding out the leads is Yves Montand as Jansen, the third member of Corey's team trying to put some past demons behind him.

The Criterion Collection DVD is a must-have for fans of Melville. The two-disc set basically could serve as a biography about the director and his films. As usualy, Criterion pulled out all the stops in the extras department. And of course, the movie in its widescreen presentation has never looked better. Definitely give Le Cercle Rouge a try!

5/5 L'OEUVRE D'UN MAITRE
  by Herve Bridoux
23h40 ... sur le boulevard presque désert, le commissaire Matteï roule à vive allure vers la gare de Marseille-Blancarde. Là, il doit prendre le Train Bleu en direction de Paris accompagné de son prisonnier, Vogel.
Au même moment, à Marseille, un gardien de prison propose à Corey "une affaire" au moment de sa libération ......
Héritier des grands polars américain de l'après-guerre, "Le Cercle Rouge" est un film exceptionnel.
Le scénario est solide et les acteurs superbes. On soulignera notamment un rôle secondaire mais essentiel magnifiquement interprété par Yves Montand, celui de Jansen, un ancien policier victime de "la perversité de l'ambiance dans laquelle il a vecu" et atteint de delirium tremens, sans oublier André Bourvil, étonnant de sobriété dans le rôle du commissaire.
L'atmosphère est froide, humide, les dialogues brefs, épurés, les hommes solitaires, pas de doute c'est un Melville.
Un film que l'on peut visionner de nombreuses fois sans jamais se lasser, à l'image d'un tableau de Maître, à chaque fois c'est le même plaisir.