event Le Cercle Rouge

Effectively erasing the distinction between cops and crooks, Jean-Pierre Melville’s masterpiece Le Cercle Rouge settles on the question of “how”: How do men conduct themselves? How professionally do they do their work? How will they be judged under the honor code? In this rigorously defined moral universe, several of Melville's archetypal loners converge for a jewelry heist, functioning as strangers bound only by the principle of honor among thieves. The big heist resembles the masterful centerpiece of Jules Dassin's Rififi, with its languorous silences and slow, careful attention to every minute detail, which builds suspense while quietly admiring a good plan executed to perfection. (Also Feb. 7)

Effectively erasing the distinction between cops and crooks, Jean-Pierre Melville’s masterpiece Le Cercle Rouge settles on the question of “how”: How do men conduct themselves? How professionally do they do their work? How will they be judged under the honor code? In this rigorously defined moral universe, several of Melville's archetypal loners converge for a jewelry heist, functioning as strangers bound only by the principle of honor among thieves. The big heist resembles the masterful centerpiece of Jules Dassin's Rififi, with its languorous silences and slow, careful attention to every minute detail, which builds suspense while quietly admiring a good plan executed to perfection. (Also Feb. 7)