Le Cercle Rouge 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		2.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		2.0

Le Cercle Rouge 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov February 22, 2022

Jean-Pierre Melville's "Le Cercle Rouge" (1970) arrives on 4K Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the release include archival footage from various French television series, including Cineastes de notre temps and Morceaux de bravoure; video interviews with assistant director Bernard Stora and writer Rui Nogueira; and more. In French, with optional English subtitles. Region-Free.

There are three types of gangster films: bad, good, and those directed by Jean-Pierre Melville. Le Cercle Rouge is one of the French director’s very best films, starring legendary actors Alain Delon, Yves Montand, Bourvil, and Gian Maria Volonte.

The story of Le Cercle Rouge revolves around three men: Corey (Alain Delon, The Leopard, Borsalino), an aristocratic thief who has been in prison for five years; Vogel (Gian Maria Volonte, Faccia a faccia, Sacco & Vanzetti), a dangerous criminal who has been recently captured by the police; and Jansen (Yves Montand, The Wages of Fear, César and Rosalie), an ex-cop and sharpshooter who is slowly killing himself to death.

The night before Corey is released from prison a guard enters his cell and tells him that he has a job. It could make both of them rich -- Corey would be able to retire while the guard would be able to walk away from his job. It sounds good, but Corey is not the man he used to be. He needs time to think. On the following day, Corey is released from prison. He immediately sees Rico (André Ekyan), his ex-boss, who owns him money. Corey takes Rico’s money and gun, buys a car, and disappears.

Vogel and Commissar Mattei (Bourvil, Four Bags Full, The Hunchback of Paris) are on a train to Paris. Even though Vogel is handcuffed, he manages to escape. Mattei goes after Vogel but he covers his tracks and disappears in the countryside. A day later, he ends up on the parking lot of a small roadside restaurant where he jumps in the trunk of the first car he sees.

Corey is inside the restaurant having lunch. He sees Vogel getting in the trunk of his car. He finishes his lunch and then drives into a wide open, muddy field where he tells Vogel to get out. He does, pointing a gun at Corey. They talk and Corey offers to help Vogel get to Paris where he is going to be safe. Vogel jumps back in the trunk. Before they reach Paris, Corey’s car is pulled over by two of Rico’s men. Moments before they shoot Corey, Vogel jumps out of the trunk and kills them. The bodies of the dead men are left to rot.

In Paris, Corey and Vogel discuss the guard’s job -- robbing a prestigious jewelry store on the Place Vendome. Vogel likes the idea but tells Corey that they will need the assistance of a true professional. The man he has in mind is Jansen.

Corey and Jansen meet in the nightclub of a man the police has been monitoring for years - Santi (François Perier, Le samourai). Jensen agrees to help not because he needs money but because he needs a job to keep him away from the bottle. He begins training while Corey and Vogel get in touch with a shady dealer who is going to help them sell whatever it is they steal from the jewelry store on the Place Vendome.

Born Jean-Pierre Grumbach in 1917, director Melville adopted his pseudonym as a tribute to novelist Herman Melville, whose Moby Dick is widely considered one of the greatest American novels. Director Melville was also involved with the French Resistance and after the end of WWII became obsessed with American cinema. In 1949, he directed his first feature film, Le silence de la Mer, about a German officer living in France during the Nazi occupation.

Le Cercle Rouge is a dark, stylish, notably minimalistic gangster film with fascinating characters. They are lonely, honorable men whose fates are predetermined. They smoke a lot and speak only when they have to. They kill only when they are attacked.

Another important aspect of Le Cercle Rouge is the fact that there are no women of interest in it. Neither the gangsters nor the cops talk about women. Instead of sumptuous romance the film offers an elaborate heist, approximately half an hour long.

Le Cercle Rouge 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Criterion's release of Le Cercle Rouge is a 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack. The 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray offer presentations of the recent 4K restoration of the film.

The following text appears inside the booklet that is provided with this release:

"This new digital restoration was created by StudioCanal in 4K resolution from the 35mm original camera negative and interpositive at Hiventy in Joinville-le-Pont, France. A 35mm positive print was used as a color reference. The monaural soundtrack was remastered from the 35mm soundtrack negative. Additional restoration was performed by the Criterion Collection. On the 4K Blu-ray disc, the feature is presented in Dolby Vision HDR (high dynamic range). On the Blu-ray, it is presented in high-definition SDR (standard definition range).

Two sets of screencaptures are included with this review. Please note that the screencaptures from the 4K Blu-ray are downscaled to 1080p. Therefore, they do not accurately reflect the quality of the 4K content on the 4K Blu-ray disc, including the actual color values of this content.

Screencaptures #1-19 are taken from the Blu-ray.
Screencaptures #22-35 are taken from the 4K Blu-ray.

This release is sourced from the recent 4K restoration of Le Cercle Rouge, which was initially introduced on 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray in the United Kingdom and a couple of other European territories. (You can see our listing and review of the UK release from StudioCanal here).

I do not have any new comments to add to the ones that I left in the review that is linked above. I think that with or without Dolby Vision/HDR enabled the new color grading job is deeply flawed and obviously very disappointing because it alters the native identity of the film. Indeed, the new warm grade effectively eliminates various ranges of blues that are part of the intended cold appearance of the visuals, as well as diverse ranges of whites that were essential for specific highlights. Also, as it usually happens when such dramatic color alterations are introduced, in many darker areas shadow nuances are unconvincing because the native dynamic range of the visuals is destabilized. In this recent 4K restoration this is particularly easy to see because the issues are present during outdoor daylight footage as well as during darker indoor and nighttime footage (you can see examples in screencaptures #1, 14, and 17). There are no traces of problematic degraining or sharpening adjustments. Image stability is excellent. The entire film looks spotless as well.

Le Cercle Rouge 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this release: French LPCM 1.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The lossless French is very healthy and sounds great. Regardless of how much you will turn up the volume of your system, you will now notice any signs of ageing. This said, I don't think that there is a dramatic difference between this track and the ones from the previous releases. (I still have the old Region-B release from StudioCanal and the more recent release from Criterion). The older audio tracks were very solid and healthy as well.

Le Cercle Rouge 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Please note that all bonus features are placed on the Blu-ray disc. There are no bonus features on the 4K Blu-ray disc.

• Archival Footage -
  
  -- Cinéastes de notre temps - excerpts from "Jean-Pierre Melville (portrait en 9 poses)", an episode of the French television series Cineastes de notre temps, directed by Andre S. Labarthe. In these excerpts, the French director discusses his fascination with America cinema (and especially the gangster films Warner Brothers produced), how he prepares to shoot his films, etc. In French, with optional English subtitles. (28 min, 1080i).
  
  -- Pour le cinema - an episode of Pour le cinema first aired on French television on March 15, 1970, and directed by Pierre Mignot. Director Jean-Pierre Melville, Alain Delon, Andre Bourvil, Yves Montand and are seen and heard discussing Le Cercle Rouge. In French, with optional English subtitles. (6 min, 1080i).
  
  -- Midi magazine - an episode of the French television program Midi magazine, entitled "Jean-Pierre Melville: Le Cercle Rouge", which aired on May 27, 1970. Director Jean-Pierre Melville answers a series of questions about his upcoming film, Le Cercle Rouge, while Alain Delon compares the film to Le Samourai. In French, with optional English subtitles. (5 min, 1080i).
  
  -- Vingt-quatre heures sur la deux - an episode of Vingt-quatre heures sur la deux, on Le Cercle Rouge, first aired on October 21, 1970, and presented by France Roche. Director Jean-Pierre Melville and Alain Delon answer a series of provocative questions about Le Cercle Rouge. In French, with optional English subtitles. (4 min, 1080i).
  
  -- Morceaux de bravoure - excerpts from "Les films policiers - Melville: L'ere partie", taken from the May 7, 1973, episode of the French television series Morceaux de bravoure, directed by Jean-Paul Sassy. Once again, director Jean-Pierre Melville discusses his fascination with American cinema, the unique characters and atmospehere of his films, etc. In French, with optional English subtitles. (10 min, 1080i).

• Bernard Stora - Mr. Stora, who has worked primarily as an assistant director for Jean Eustache, Henri Verneuil, John Frankenheimer and Jean-Pierre Melville, and script-writer for Claude Miller and Georges Lautner amongst others, recalls his first encounter and consequent collaborations with Jean-Pierre Melville. In French, with optional English subtitles. In French, with optional English subtitles. (31 min, 1080p)

• Rui Nogueira - a video interview with Rui Nogueira, author of Melville on Melville, produced for Criterion and conducted by Robert Fischer in Munich in 2003. In French, with optional English subtitles. (27 min, 1080p)

• Trailer - presented here is a vintage French trailer for Le Cercle Rouge. In French, with optional English subtitles. (2 min, 1080i)

• Booklet - an illustrated booklet containing essays by film critics Michael Sragow and Chris Fujiwara, excerpts from Melville on Melville, a reprint interview with composer Eric Demarsan, and an appreciation from director John Woo.

Le Cercle Rouge 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

A giant opportunity was missed to deliver a proper, definitive presentation of Jean-Pierre Melville's classic thriller Le Cercle Rouge on 4K Blu-ray. I think that the new 4K master that is being licensed to various distributors around the world is very poorly graded and as a result alters the native identity of the film. It makes it look oddly warm, plus it introduces other anomalies that produce even more issues impacting the dynamic range of the visuals. It is too bad because Le Cercle Rouge is a truly great film that could have looked marvelous in native 4K, if it was properly restored.