Press Release Criterion Press Release: Le cercle rouge (1970) (4K UHD) (1 Viewer)

[Ronald Epstein]

​

Alain Delon plays a master thief, fresh out of prison, who crosses paths with a notorious escapee (Gian Maria Volontè) and an alcoholic ex-cop (Yves Montand). The unlikely trio plot a heist, against impossible odds, until a relentless inspector and their own pasts seal their fates. With its honorable antiheroes, coolly atmospheric cinematography, and breathtaking set pieces, Le cercle rouge is the quintessential film by Jean-Pierre Melville—the master of ambiguous, introspective crime cinema.

FILM INFO​

• France
• 1970
• 140 minutes
• Color
• 1.85:1
• French
• Spine #218
  
  
  

• SPECIAL FEATURES​

  • New 4K restoration from STUDIOCANAL of the uncut version of the film, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
  • One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features
  • Segments from a 1971 episode of Cinéastes de notre temps featuring director Jean-Pierre Melville
  • Interviews with assistant director Bernard Stora and Rui Nogueira, author ofMelville on Melville
  • On-set and archival footage, featuring interviews with Melville and actors Alain Delon, Yves Montand, and André Bourvil
  • Trailer
  • New English subtitle translation
  • PLUS: Essays by film critics Michael Sragow and Chris Fujiwara, excerpts from Melville on Melville, a 2000 interview with composer Eric Demarsan, and an appreciation by filmmaker John Woo
    
    New cover by Art Chantry Design Co.
    
    March 15, 2022

 

[Ronald Epstein]

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[Winston T. Boogie]

So, I have the old Criterion Blu of this picture. I am guessing this "all new restoration" is different than the older disc...and when they say uncut version is this different than the version on the older Criterion Blu?

 

[Angelo Colombus]

Came close to buying the Studio Canal 4K UK release from last year and now happy that Criterion will release it on 4K. Noticed the different disc releases have different colors on the image.

 

[Konstantinos]

So, I have the old Criterion Blu of this picture. I am guessing this "all new restoration" is different than the older disc

You can see here the difference between this Studio Canal restoration and the old Criterion bluray.
The former is warmer in colors. I don't know which color palette is the original though.
https://caps-a-holic.com/c.php?go=1&a=0&d1=15043&d2=15034&s1=157018&s2=156860&i=2&l=0

 

[david hare]

You can see here the difference between this Studio Canal restoration and the old Criterion bluray.
The former is warmer in colors. I don't know which color palette is the original though.
https://caps-a-holic.com/c.php?go=1&a=0&d1=15043&d2=15034&s1=157018&s2=156860&i=2&l=0

I have the Canal UHD set. The ”warmer” color palette in this is totally correct and matches original Eastman prints. The UHD is gorgeous and reveals terrific upgrades in detail, color, blacks, depth. Even the 1080p looks good, but not as deep or detailed. There were reports that when the uhd was played back on monitors/projectors that enabled only HDR there was a serious issue with video banding issues in the tone mapping from the DV layer. It plays flawlessly with HDR on my Epson 6050 PJ. The reviewer at that other site incorrectly claims the color palette and grade is wrong because he thinks it should look like the desaturated cool palettes Melville achieved on only one other film shot with his DP Pierre Lhomme. That film was purposely shot with a cool palette and design to suit the period. Cercle was shot by Henri Decae and was never intended to have a “blue” cast. The Criterion should look as good as the Euro Canal disc.

 

[titch]

I discussed the StudioCanal release a year ago - the UHD is much better than the old Criterion blu-ray.

4K UHD Le Cercle Rouge

Have to say I'm baffled by that nitwit Dr. Whatever over at the other site about his review he posted yesterday. He gave the picture a 2.5, which is about the worst he can ever bring himself to award, over there. (Remember: he gave the film This Is Spinal Tap 2.5). He said the colour grading was...

www.hometheaterforum.com

 

[Richard M S]

The original Criterion blu-ray of Le Cerce Rouge must have been out-of-print; it was very much in demand. Four years ago a new, unsealed copy would sell for over $100 on Ebay. I look forward to purchasing this "uncut" fully-restored edition in 2022.

 

[lark144]

I have the Canal UHD set. The ”warmer” color palette in this is totally correct and matches original Eastman prints. The UHD is gorgeous and reveals terrific upgrades in detail, color, blacks, depth. Even the 1080p looks good, but not as deep or detailed. There were reports that when the uhd was played back on monitors/projectors that enabled only HDR there was a serious issue with video banding issues in the tone mapping from the DV layer. It plays flawlessly with HDR on my Epson 6050 PJ. The reviewer at that other site incorrectly claims the color palette and grade is wrong because he thinks it should look like the desaturated cool palettes Melville achieved on only one other film shot with his DP Pierre Lhomme. That film was purposely shot with a cool palette and design to suit the period. Cercle was shot by Henri Decae and was never intended to have a “blue” cast. The Criterion should look as good as the Euro Canal disc.

I have a Melville Studio Canal set--Region B--from maybe 3 years ago. I doubt if this is the 4k master, but it's much different, and much better, than the old Criterion, which I also have. It's not just that the old Criterion is graded towards blue, and other tonalities are repressed. Also, everything is much too dark. For me, the key scene, is the "Rex" chase, where all the dogs are going after Gian-Maria Volonte in the forest. In a theatre, that grassy knoll, where the helicopters land and the dogs dismount, along with the police, is bright green and highly saturated, almost like a swirl of pure pigment in a Van Gogh, and the sky is very sunny and bright, a happy, yellowish blue. Also when they reach the river, all those reds and yellows of the leaves are so highly saturated, they almost blot out the figures around them. In the Criterion, however, that grassy knoll isn't green at all, but a dark, indeterminate shade, and the sky is crepuscular, as if the sun has already set. You can't really see the dogs on the hill. Also, when they get to the river, you can hardly make out the autumn leaves, it's so dark. The Studio Canal, on the other hand, matches the theatrical prints.

 

[david hare]

Mark I think the UHD is a revelation.

 

[TheSteig]

I have the SC UHD, will wait for reviews and any potential disc replacements which is the 2021 trend with all the labels !

 

[lark144]

Mark I think the UHD is a revelation.

Well, David, someday, when my ship comes in, I hope to upgrade. It was amazing, even revelatory, in a theatre. I read a enthusiastic review of this in "Variety", in I think 1969, and then I waited 50 years for it to show up in a theater in NYC. I saw it at least a dozen times when it first opened. The light and the color dazzled, it pulled you in, it was like a post-impressionist painting come to life, textures were so supple and sensual and lifelike, and the contrast between the sequences, the movement from exteriors to interiors and even in the depths of darkness, there was something arresting, like the green of the pool table or those dancing light beams that seems to caress the shoulder of a woman that passes by in a cafe in Marseilles or the breathy steam coming from Delon and Volonte's mouths shimmering in a sudden beam of sunlight at the end of a snow flurry and it had almost nothing in common with the first Criterion Blu. What an eye Melville had! And while the SC Blu is way closer, and an excellent approximation of what the film looked like in a theater colorwise, there is plenty of room for improvement.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Preorder link added