Red Circle Video Reviews

Le Cercle Rouge (Le Cercle Rouge, also translated as "The Blood Circle" or "The Blood Circle"), which Melville wrote and directed in 1970, is recognized as his masterpiece. It is a film that has been hailed as "extremely pure, perfect and classic" and can be called a model for police movies. "The Red Circle" stars three German superstars, Alain Delon, Yves Montand and André Bourvil, as well as Italian character actor Gian Maria Volante. -Maria Volonte, who won the Best Actor title at the 36th Cannes International Film Festival in 1983 for "The Death of Mario Rizzi") and other well-known actors co-starred. The film was a huge artistic and commercial success and is one of the most successful French films of all time. "The Red Circle" has multi-layered themes and rich connotations, so you can simply regard "The Red Circle" as a classic police film, or you can understand the subtle meaning it contains through deeper thinking.

The first is the theme of fate in this film. The opening of "The Red Circle" directly quotes an allusion from Buddha Siddhartha Gautama (the real name of Sakyamuni, the founder of Buddhism): Buddha Siddhartha once drew a red circle with red chalk and said: "Although people don't know it at first, they will meet one day. Even if their life encounters are different and they take different paths, on that specific day, they will eventually meet in the blood circle (red circle) "Meet in the middle". This allusion at the beginning of the film is extremely important for understanding the entire film. Director Melville said when talking about "The Red Circle": "The blood ring is the mark of the devil. It draws the fate of certain people and makes them different from ordinary people." separate human societies”. It is obvious what he wants to express: a person can never escape his fate no matter what. That could be life or death.

Melville often put people and stories on the screen who wandered on the fringes of society, were incompatible with the social system or even opposed to it. He idealized those people and things who committed murder and robbery, and through his director's The works show. We can see his pursuit of perfection in "The Red Circle". "The Red Circle" tells the story of the released gangster Collet (played by Alain Delon), the former police sharpshooter Jeanson (played by Yves Montand) who became an alcoholic after being dismissed, and the old police chief Mattel (played by Bouvier). ) who escaped from the hands of Mattei and is being hunted by Mattei. The experiences of the three of them and the main story line of jointly robbing jewelry combine the desperate fight between the underworld that is often seen in police and gangster movies. Themes such as "The Righteousness of Thieves, Benevolence and Honor, Loyalty and Friendship" are more profound, moving and unique. The film further metaphorically sublimates the above theme to the social philosophical level and height of a special group wandering on the edge of society and the legal system confronting a powerful ruling power. The tragic ending of the three people finally meeting in a pool of blood also echoes It is an allusion to the "blood circle" of Buddha Sakyamuni in the opening film, and reflects the helpless tragic fate and inescapable fate of those who resist the system under the suppression and pursuit of powerful forces.

The most praised thing about "The Red Circle" is the film's rather cold and calm style, the dialogue is also extremely concise, and it is very full of Jean-Pierre Melville's personal characteristics and unique style. This point can be analyzed with the most representative and classic scene in the film, "The Nighttime Robbery of a Jewelry Store". The whole scene includes: the 16th paragraph "The action begins, entering the house" (14:18 long) starting at 89 minutes and 26 seconds, and the 17th paragraph "Looting the jewelry" (12:29 long).

Although there is almost no dialogue in the nearly half-hour play, Melville presents this scene to the audience smoothly and smoothly through the precise and perfect combination of images and sound effects. With his excellent photography and cool lens images, unexpected plot arrangement, excellent and skillful camera scheduling between complex and changeable scenes, and smooth and concise editing, he made the whole scene extremely watchable. At the same time, environmental sounds and special sound effects are also used, as well as the streamlined soundtrack notes that are click-to-click. The excellent use of these sound montages added endless tension to the film, making the whole scene full of dramatic force and tension, which was so gripping that the audience was so nervous that they held their breath. This whole scene is worthy of being a model of the artistic conception of "silence is better than sound at this time". It is also the most popular and classic film clip. Its unique film skills are breathtaking and can be called a film demonstration textbook.

In addition, in the scene where the sharpshooter makes Sen's first appearance in the film, Melville uses surrealism to highlight the sad situation that makes Sen sink into a sea of ??alcohol and the helpless fear in his heart. , is also a magical touch in the film.