all men be guilty and say the chief of the police . theyre born innocent but it doesn not last . add this bit of nihilism to jean pierre melville fascination with the idea of the crook code of honor and you have le cercle rouge . this code of honor among crook and however and be not simply a cliché while it a figment of the imagination even when film moralist realistic moralist by their viewpoint and romantic moralist by most others begin to make movie on the subject . their theme be that it isn not what one do and but how one do it . we most often wind up with story all about experience men with their own sense of honor and story where fate and fatalism and the code run thing . for most of humanity and except screen writer and movie director and this would seriously get in the way of live one life and raise one child and be a good friend . this mannered fatalism be something of a self indulgent notion . le cercle rouge be and in my view and a classic film for people who may secretly enjoy the adventure of just miss the last bus home . but where melville le samourai criterion collection and in my opinion and be style dominate story and le cercle rouge manage the great trick of combine style with a strong story and with compelling actor . the point of the movie and in my view and be nonsense . but the movie itself be a first class experience . melville hopeless tale of three crook cory ( alain delon ) and vogel ( gian maria volonte ) and jansen ( yves montand ) be base on a bit of wisdom which be and maybe and attribute to the buddha represent that all men who be destine to meet and will . along with their destiny they can not change . maybe and because some believe melville himself come up with the wording if not the thought . either way and we know right at the start that this movie will not end happily and will depend upon fate and coincidence to set thing up for u and and will leave u recall the nihilistic philosophy we discover and love when we be in high school . once corey and vogel meet and then gather in the unique talent of jansen and we be off on a one way ride to rob an exclusive and heavily protected jewelry story on the place vendome . the tension arise because we not only know the french police be after vogel and we also realize that some determined crook be after corey . the great pleasure of the movie and for me and come from admire the work that delon and volonte and montand bring to their character and and the intelligent ruthlessness that andre bouvril bring to his character and the police captain mattei . melville hook me a he develop these character and their own situation while he build me up emotionally and then release me when he bring me to appreciate their probable fate and let me see see it happen . melville establish his set piece the escape from the train and the escape from the wood and the late shootout in the wood and the meeting with mattei and a man who refuse to inform with intriguing possibility . he build tension in all these case by take his time while a rare trait in movie making and an even rare trait now . and melville take the time to build up mattei a an individual . mattei be a rueful and experienced man . he a loner . he have a set routine when he return to his apartment he greet his three cat affectionately and he draw his bath and while the tub be fill he set out food for them . i do not know who mattei be destine to meet and but i hope it someone who like cat . nihilism be always fashionable among some creative people and some critic . in most case and i think it a much hard task to set nihilism aside and to simply live one life without damage too many people . ( and that even more challenging to show compellingly in a film . ) le cercle rouge be a movie which and for me and tell me little and but it be in it own way and i think and a beautifully put together film .