Le cercle rouge (1970)

Alain Delon plays a skilled thief recently released from prison, who plans a sophisticated jewelry heist with an unpredictable duo of accomplices: a reputed convict and an alcoholic ex-cop. However, their plans are compromised by the relentless pursuit of an inspector and the shadows of their pasts. The film, marked by its honorable antiheroes, elegant cinematography and gripping action sequences, is the epitome of Jean-Pierre Melville's mastery of his enigmatic criminal universe.