Le Cercle Rouge

(Jean-Pierre Melville, 1970). High-priest of tough-guy mysticism, inventor of the attitudinous thriller, Jean-Pierre Melville directed this buddy-manhunt-caper flick. The elegantly functional script pivots on a neat series of reversals and, despite the presence of Euro stars Alain Delon and Yves Montand, the tone is less preening than businesslike—a series of rituals performed by a cast of solitary men in trench coats. The existential doom is so thick, you could spread it on a baguette.

Fri., Aug. 15, 1, 3:50, 6:40 & 9:30 p.m.; Sat., Aug. 16, 1, 3:50, 6:40 & 9:30 p.m., 2008