The Red Circle (Le Cercle rouge) (1970) dir. Jean-Pierre Melville

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This is the first flick by J.P. Melville I have ever seen. I was cued into it by watching Bertrand Tavernier's documentary, My Journey Through French Cinema which included an entire chapter on Melville, who gave Tavernier his start in filmmaking.

The picture is shot ‘medium cool’, laconic and elliptical from first to last. Yves Montand is great in this film, as is Alain Delon. I especially liked the long jewel heist sequence that was filmed entirely without dialogue. Other than that I was surprised and very impressed by Melville’s subtle use of subdued colors, the sartorial splendor of his crooks, and their samurai-like code of conduct.

Trailer https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=h749Aeg3w ... =emb_title

Le Cercle Rouge "The Red Circle") is a 1970 crime film set mostly in Paris. It was directed by Jean-Pierre Melville and stars Alain Delon, Andre Bourvil, Gian Maria Volonté, François Périer and Yves Montand. ~source: Wikipedia