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Le cercle rouge (1970)
Rate:
5
Viewed:
6/22
6/22:
There are many French films that literally scream for an editor, and Le cercle rouge (The Red Circle) is one of
them.
It's just an ordinary heist story turned into 140-minute marathon of actors walking around and not saying much. The
epigraph at the beginning is stupid, pretentious, and nonsensical (FYI: it was made up by the director). Funnily enough, even
though the film needs extensive cutting, there are occasional examples of bad editing with a bit of cheating involved.
Sometimes, I don't know what's going on, especially during the caper which had been done before in
Rififi. The ending
is anticlimactic. I can see it's the same inspector from the beginning, but I don't know how Vogel figured it out, coming from
nowhere to save Corey. Ditto for the transportation of a prisoner on the passenger train. Really, what police force does that?
At least, Henri Decaë's cinematography is outstanding. It's what kept me awake although I took plenty of breaks.
Alain Delon and Yves Montand aren't boring with the former reviving his Jef Costello-like personality from
Le samouraï. They're perfect for this sort of thing.
All in all, although brilliantly shot, Le cercle rouge is dull as hell.