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Le Cercle Rouge poster

Movies that feel likeLe Cercle Rouge (1970)

When French criminal Corey gets released from prison, he resolves to never return. He is quickly pulled back into the underworld, however, after a chance encounter with escaped murderer Vogel. Along with former policeman and current alcoholic Jansen, they plot an intricate jewel heist. All the while, quirky Police Commissioner Mattei, who was the one to lose custody of Vogel, is determined to find him.

If you loved Le Cercle Rouge, the closest films we have are Rififi (1955), Le Samouraï (1967) and Caliber 9 (1972). All three share Le Cercle Rouge's gritty and tense feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Across 110th Street (1972).

🍅 96% Rotten Tomatoes★ 7.9 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Jean-Pierre Melvillegrittycontemplativetenseplayful
6 of 12 streaming nowHBO Max · Amazon Prime Video · Criterion Channel

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If Le Cercle Rouge hit the spot, these will too

Rififi poster
Rififi
1955 · dir. Jules Dassin
🍅 92%★ 8.1crime · thriller · drama

The same preoccupation in both: heist

Out of prison after a five-year stretch, jewel thief Tony turns down a quick job his friend Jo offers him, until he discovers that his old girlfriend Mado has become the lover of local gangster Pierre Grutter during Tony's absence. Expanding a minor smash-and-grab into a full-scale jewel heist, Tony and his crew appear to get away clean, but their actions after the job is completed threaten the lives of everyone involved.

Le Samouraï poster
Le Samouraï
1967 · dir. Jean-Pierre Melville
🍅 92%★ 8crime · thriller · dramaPrime VideoMax

Jean-Pierre Melville directing both, with the same fingerprints on each

The difference: Trades the play of Le Cercle Rouge for an angle of its own

After carrying out a flawlessly planned hit, Jef Costello, a contract killer with samurai instincts, finds himself caught between a persistent police investigator and a ruthless employer, and not even his armor of fedora and trench coat can protect him.

Caliber 9 poster
Caliber 9
1972 · dir. Fernando Di Leo
★ 7.4crime · thriller

One thread runs through both: police

The difference: Takes it somewhere less contemplative than Le Cercle Rouge does

Just out of prison, ex-con Ugo Piazza meets his former employer, a psychopathic gangster Rocco who enjoys sick violence and torture. Both the gangsters and the police believe Ugo has hidden $300,000 that should have gone to an American drug syndicate boss.

The Killing poster
The Killing
1956 · dir. Stanley Kubrick
🍅 96%★ 7.9crime · thriller · dramaPrime Video

Both keep coming back to the same thing: corruption

Career criminal Johnny Clay recruits a sharpshooter, a crooked police officer, a bartender and a betting teller named George, among others, for one last job before he goes straight and gets married. But when George tells his restless wife about the scheme to steal millions from the racetrack where he works, she hatches a plot of her own.

Le Doulos poster
Le Doulos
1962 · dir. Jean-Pierre Melville
🍅 96%★ 7.7drama · thriller · crime

Both are Jean-Pierre Melville's work, and they rhyme

Enigmatic gangster Silien may or may not be responsible for informing on Faugel, who was just released from prison and is already involved in what should be a simple heist. By the end of this brutal, twisting, and multilayered policier, who will be left to trust?

Army of Shadows poster
Army of Shadows
1969 · dir. Jean-Pierre Melville
🍅 97%★ 8.1drama · thriller

Contemplative and tense in the same breath

Betrayed by an informant, Philippe Gerbier finds himself trapped in a torturous Nazi prison camp. Though Gerbier escapes to rejoin the Resistance in occupied Marseilles, France, and exacts his revenge on the informant, he must continue a quiet, seemingly endless battle against the Nazis in an atmosphere of tension, paranoia and distrust.

The Friends of Eddie Coyle poster
The Friends of Eddie Coyle
1973 · dir. Peter Yates
🍅 98%★ 7.4crime · drama · thriller

Gritty crime, and it commits to that

An aging hood is about to go back to prison. Hoping to escape his fate, he supplies information on stolen guns to the feds, while simultaneously supplying arms to his bank robbing chums.

Across 110th Street poster
Across 110th Street
1972 · dir. Barry Shear
🍅 85%★ 7crime · drama · thrillerPrime Video

Both lean on grit more than on drama

In a daring robbery, some $300,000 is taken from the Italian mob. Several mafiosi are killed, as are two policemen. Lt. Pope and Capt. Mattelli are two New York City cops trying to break the case. Three small-time criminals are on the run with the money. Will the mafia catch them first, or will the police?

The Hit poster
The Hit
1984 · dir. Stephen Frears
🍅 89%★ 7drama · thriller · crimePrime Video

Common ground: criminal

Ten years after ratting on his old mobster friends in exchange for personal immunity, two hit men drive a hardened criminal to Paris for his execution. However, while on the way, whatever can go wrong, does go wrong.

Red Rock West poster
Red Rock West
1993 · dir. John Dahl
🍅 95%★ 7crime · thriller

Both are built on the same subject: criminal

The difference: 23 years apart, and the 1990s show

When a promised job for Texan Michael fails to materialize in Wyoming, Mike is mistaken by Wayne to be the hitman he hired to kill his unfaithful wife, Suzanne. Mike takes full advantage of the situation, collects the money, and runs. During his getaway, things go wrong, and soon get worse when he runs into the real hitman, Lyle.

Bob le Flambeur poster
Bob le Flambeur
1956 · dir. Jean-Pierre Melville
🍅 97%★ 7.5drama · action · crime

Thriller with a pulse of stillness, in both cases

The difference: Sits closer to action than Le Cercle Rouge does

In Paris, Bob Montagne is practically synonymous with gambling -- and winning. He is kind, classy and well-liked by virtually everyone in town, including police inspector Ledru. However, when Bob's luck turns sour, he begins to lose friends and makes the most desperate gamble of his life: to rob the Deauville casino during Grand Prix weekend, when the vaults are full. Unfortunately, Bob soon learns that the game is rigged and the cops are on to him.

The Italian Job poster
The Italian Job
1969 · dir. Peter Collinson
🍅 82%★ 7.2crime · comedy · thriller

Both are working the same pair: prison, thief

The difference: Leans harder into comedy than Le Cercle Rouge does

Charlie's got a 'job' to do. Having just left prison he finds one of his friends has attempted a high-risk job in Torino, Italy, right under the nose of the mafia. Charlie's friend doesn't get very far, so Charlie takes over the 'job'. Using three Mini Coopers, a couple of Jaguars, and a bus, he hopes to bring Torino to a standstill, steal a fortune in gold and escape in the chaos.

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The best-reviewed films that share Le Cercle Rouge’s defining feeling.