the red circle ( jean pierre melville france or italy 1970 ) . this might be the coolest film ever make and in the most literal sense of the term . the men here never lose control and never not once show their emotion . no dramatic outburst in this film . everyone be cool all the time . it an abstract dream world and where the men live by their own code and a gangster code with the value of the outside world conspicuously absent . in this masterfully filmed heist saga and melville tackle the american crime thriller in his distinctly dark and desolate style and yet make in grand fashion with a hefty budget of ten million dollar and with four of the great french star at the time . alain delon a the master thief and yves montand a an alcoholic ex cop and italian star gian maria volonté a an escaped criminal and andré bourvil in an atypical role a the cynical police chief . melville describe le cercle rouge a his penultimate film and it be indeed a masterfully stylize policier . he also claim he want to shoot a film noir in colour and in many way he succeed . the two primary influence for this film be john huston 1950 heist movie the asphalt jungle and jules dassin rififi ( 1955 ) . but unlike these film and where we learn much about the background of the individual gang member and with all their petty need and worry that motivate them and make clear these be not just ruthless underworld type and but ordinary individual engage in a world of everyday worry and human endeavour and melville and though and tell u almost nothing about his criminal . why be corey ( alain delon ) in jail . why be his associate and vogel ( jean marie volonté ) arrest in the first place . or why the ex police marksman jansen ( yves montand ) leave the force and be it his alcoholism . we never learn the motivation behind their action and never find out what drive these men . woman be even more absent than in his early film and with the emotional tie exclusively between men . they do not even seem to have personal life . a sort of an emotional twilight zone and although the setting be not as abstract a in his early le samourai ( 1967 ) and melville still sketch a very eerie world . melville favorite actor and alain delon and be perfect and almost outdoes himself in coolness and if imaginable . deliberately paced and with a length of over 140 minute and melville take his time to tell the story and but it slow pace and length seem a perfect way to show the desolate world these men live in . nothing be ever out of place in melville film and here it no different and every little detail seemingly of pivotal importance for the story . although le samourai remain my favorite melville film and even up there with the great film ever make and this one also belong to the very best . camera obscura positive .