Classic French Cinema Discussion Thread

Hi all,after the Battles set,I opened another Arrow Blu set that I've been wanting to play,from a film maker who worked in France.





Blanche (1971)10

Designing the musical instruments that transform into weapons himself, writer/co-production designer (with Jacques D'Ovidio) co-editor/ (with Charles Bretoneiche)/ directing auteur Walerian Borowczyk shows a meticulous ear for splintering each non-dialogue piece of audio on the soundtrack, arranging the music of arrangements based on the Carmina Burana book of songs in a manner which keeps each instrument being played in a isolated state.

Pulling back any score from being played when instruments are off-screen, Borowczyk creates music with a striking naturalistic soundtrack within the confines baron Chatelain, from the lone sounds of Blanche's feet sliding down the steps and servant Bartolomeo darting across the floor to embrace Blanche, to silences being broken by the sudden shot of darts breaking the airwaves, and ravens squawking round the grounds waiting for death. Getting the role after her husband stood firm against the producers demanding Catherine Deneuve to be given the lead role, Ligia Branice gives a enticingly understated performance in the title role, whose husband Chatelain calls a "Sorceress",which Branice matches by casting a spell of spiritual suppression and unfulfilled desire (both major themes across his credits) making her hysterical, which Branice spreads as she slithers down the stairs calling all men in her sight like a siren.

Whilst not given the most dignified appearance thanks to close-ups of him slobbering, Michel Simon gives a performance as Chatelain brimming with fire in his belly, as Simon has Chatelain bellow orders for those who get near to psychologically freeing Blanche, to be placed behind walls where they can die into the soulless castle. Transferring Polish Romantic poet Juliusz Slowacki's poem Mazepa setting to France, avoiding the connection of Ukrainian nationalism the main character has, and shifting to a emphasises on Blanche, the screenplay by Borowczyk grinds a earthy impending tragedy fantasy atmosphere, (fantasy being a genre he would explore across his credits) from studying the tragic objectification of Blanche.

Borowczyk surrounds the castle with all the men desiring to keep her held within their own personal castles, with the resurrection/ purifying of Bartolomeo, being unable to break the wall from the only release Blanche can have in order to express her own will, being a explosion of violence. Keeping at a distanced level from the activities, Borowczyk carves a observing, rather then embracing atmosphere, with stilted, long flat-on wide-shots capturing a unsettling atmosphere of Blanche not being up close and personal,but cut off from the world.

Cross-cutting between Blanche's caged pet dove and Chatelain mischief-making monkey, Borowczyk and co-editor Charles Bretoneiche dice the flat wide-shots across the castle with fragmented, avant-garde editing, nailing the religious symbolism of Bartolomeo's pure rebirth from the cells,and his crucifixion-like death,as her dove is freed from the cage,but the castle walls remain high for Blanche.

Hi there MDF Looks like a fabulous boxed set collection , I have a few of Walerian Borowczyk films here,  and once again thankyou for inspiring a classic film re-watch of a long forgotten favourite  Blanche .
It was a real treat to become totally immersed in Borowczyk's medieval world, one created from his uniquely fertile & dynamic artistic imagination.  
Beautifully composed with a soft-focus light illuminating the innocence & beauty of Blanche, a bold contrast to the medieval stark grey castle. Muted colour tones & uncluttered imagery reflect the feelings surrounding the castle's other inhabitants & without distraction their tremendous performances of dark passionate emotion are highlighted throughout.
  
A vivid & enchanting cinematic story, a medieval world of stark contrasts. Coupled together, great visual beauty with vivid undertones of dramatic impulse & medieval barbaric cruelty, the final scene brilliantly breaking the bounds of castle confinement with a galloping rhythm...

Looking forward to checking out some of Borowczyk's  animated works. Thanks again for sharing your interest and your wonderful spotlight on Walerian Borowczyk 

                                                                                              


 

Mademoiselle 1966, directed by Tony Richardson. I watched the French speaking version of this French-British co-production that was made on French locations.
Maybe I read the synopsis a bit too quick, and thinking it could be a crime movie. That it was based on a story by Jean Genet and with a screenplay written by Marguerite Duras should have given me a hint that this wasn't a conventional crime movie, it's more a crimes by passion movie. Since the Mademoiselle (schoolmarm) is spreading accidents around her, because she has lusts for an Italian guest worker that she want's for herself, and not to be shared by other villagers. She floods, starts fires and even poisons animals just to see the Italian shirtless as he helps other villagers in the disasters. Since the Italian is not French and always seems to be in the right spots when disasters breaks out he gets blamed for whats going on. At least that is how I interpret what this movie was about. 
Made in beautiful black and white cinematography, and it is an interesting movie to watch don't get me wrong, but I had a feeling that it might have been on a bit higher level than I could grip.
Anyway seeing Jeanne Moreau is never wrong!

Hi Tel,I hope you are having a good weekend,and I'm sorry for the late reply. With Tony Richardson being so well known for his Kitchen Sink films,I'm shocked that this has so few votes-has the Eng speaking version come out on disc?

Great to read that you enjoyed it Spike. The film was a unexpected flop at the box office, but having seen half of his credits, it has become my favourite FT.

Whilst Aznavour is very good,I find the double bill of Marie Dubois & Mercier to be the ones who hit all the notes.

From when I first saw it in 2015.

Wrapped in an alluring dress,the ravishingly beautiful Michèle Mercier, (who appears topless.. Yay!) gives an exquisite performance as Clarisse,who Mercier shimmers in a light,playful mood which gradually becomes sterner,as Edouard's gangster run-ins start to bleed into her life. Sparkling on the screen as a femme fatale, Marie Dubois gives a splendid performance as Léna,whose detailed facial expressions give the first footsteps in her romance with Edouard a sweet light comedy touch.

Getting caught up in Charlie's Film Noir loner footsteps, Dubois gives Léna a captivating determination edge,which leads to Dubois giving Léna's final,snow-covered moments a tragic,poetic note. Displaying his sharp music skills Charles Aznavour gives gripping performance as Edouard,with Aznavour keeping up with Edouard's early piano playing by giving his early encounters with Clarisse & Léna a care-free mood. Opening up Edouard's past in flashbacks, Aznavour puts tough pressure on Edouard increasingly tough shoulders,which gives the ending a wonderfully bitter taste,as Aznavour builds the strong impression that Edouard has always expected that he would be right back where he started.

Unable to film in a studio,co-writer/(along with Marcel Moussy)directing auteur François Truffaut & cinematographer Raoul Coutard give the illegal on street filming (Truffaut in da hood!) a gritty Film Noir atmosphere,which scans the title with rapid-fire tracking shots which subtly reveal the frantic Noir world that is gripping Edouard . Keeping up with the brittle tracking shots, Truffaut & Coutard pour Film Noir elegance over the movie,as Edouard & Léna's doomed Noir romance is shadowed in ultra-stylised awkward angels,which brilliantly expresses the nervous excitement that they feel for each other.

Pulling David Goodis's novel from the US to France, Truffaut & Moussy's adaptation delicately uses flashbacks to cut deep into Edouard's raw wounds and uncover the events that have led to him being a Film Noir loner. Showing a real relish in going back and fourth on Edouard's life,the writers pull Edouard into a harsh Film Noir world with decaying shades,thanks to the writer's making Edouard brother gangster troubles put Edouard in a corner where the only way out is death,as the gangsters set their guns on the piano player.

10.

Hi all,I hope everyone has a happy festive season, & I've just seen:

Every French film from 1944 with English subtitles,from best to worst:

GO!



La vie de plaisir 10

Partly set during Christmas Eve, co-writer/ (with Charles Spaak) director Albert Valentin presents a tantalising "What could have been" mood,on a title which ended his run of films for four years,after this movie got banned at the end of the Occupation.

Closely working with Carnival of Sinners (1943-also reviewed) editor Christian Gaudin, Valentin courts the pessimism of Film Noir for a brittle atmosphere shimmering across dazzling, ultra-stylised dissolves between the high (court) of society, and the (as seen by the rich) low night club- a place Maulette had envisioned where all levels of society could freely mingle.Setting out the rules of the game with gliding tracking shots across the court room towards graceful close-ups on Helene, (played by a alluring Claude Genia.)

Valentin contrasts the chic, wide-panning shots across the glamour of the nightclub, by loading up on the wicked discreet charms of the bourgeoisie, (a society Maulette wants to climb the ladder up to, but one he never fits into) tilting towards them as they scuff over Maulette (played with a terrific unsettled edge by Albert Prejean) on the hunting ground,which Valentin hits with a startling shot of surreal satire by overlapping a cackling bishop blessing howling hounds.

Over a decade before the French New Wave would reach cinemas and years before alternative views were offered in Rashomon (1950),the screenplay by Valentin & Spaak take a thrilling, experimental stance to the court hearing, seamlessly criss-crossing the different perspectives unveiled in flashbacks, that is being up by lawyers on opposing sides,as evidence to a life of pleasure.

Le ciel est à vous 8

Accused after the Occupation of the film being too cosy with Petain/ the Vichy Govt, the screenplay by Albert Valentin & Charles Spaak soars through the accusations for a rousing tale that pays tribute to the perseverance of people living under Occupation, as Therese stands firm in resistance against those who want to clip her wings.Landing in the Gauthier household, the writers bring a excellent Poetic Realism quality out in the dialogue between the chauvinist, grease monkey Pierre, and the head in the clouds daydreams of his wife Therese.

Partly based on the real couple Gustave and Andree Dupeyron ( In May 1938 , Andree broke the women's record for non-stop straight line distance,by flying 4,360 km between Oran in Algeria and Tel El Aham in Iraq) directing auteur Jean Gremillon flies the Dupeyron's onto the screen with a continued building of his distinctive tracking shots. Entering into the heart of the family, Gremillom rolls out a elegant atmosphere in long tracking shots round the household,sailing to future Beauties of the Night (1952-also reviewed) editor Louisette Hautecoeur stylish wipes.

Given the appearance of a odd couple,Charles Vanel and Madeleine Renaud thoughtfully fold this aspect into their great performances, as Vanel gets under the grease and oil to reveal Pierre's love for his wife,whilst Renaud grips Therese with a quiet determination to reach for the sky.

The 1944 final:



From Joan of Arc to Philippe Pétain .1.

Stating in the film that streets in Britain are named after failed battles, auteur film maker Sacha Guitry brings "The Guitry Touch" along to pay his respects to Philippe Petain/the Vichy Govt (unlike the British and their failures in battle, you only back winners,right Sacha?) Only showing his hands on camera, Guitry continues to show his love for the stage,and distaste for the cinema of this period with dull static camera shots over the historical books Guitry reads from/points to camera, only interrupted by dissolves to close-ups of the pages.

Beginning his "history" of France at Joan of Arc (used by the Vichy Govt Head of State's Bureau of Documentation as a symbol of "Eternal France",and also as a anti-British propaganda image) Guitry's "history lesson" is one that avoids mentioning huge moments in French history, from no kings after the 17th century appearing,and Petain being the lone French politician to be featured,to Guitry completely skipping over The French Revolution (!) Unknown to Guitry as he placed his bet on Petain,a new chapter in French history was going to be written two months after his lecture came out in cinemas: The liberation of France.

Crime and Punishment (1935)10.

One of just two titles Andre Galitzine edited, (the other being Abel Gance's The Life and Loves of Beethoven (1936) ) co-writer/(with Marcel Ayme/ Christian Stengel and Vladimir Strizhevsky) directing auteur Pierre Chenal closely works with Galitzine to dip Raskolnikov's crimes in a ultra-stylised Film Noir atmosphere.Haunting Raskolnikov with the shadow of his crime, Chenal stages mesmerizing dialogue-free set-pieces tracking shots shadowing Raskolnikov slithering down long corridors to the stairs in a race against time to not get caught for the crash-zoom axe murder,which Chenal compliments with a strikingly shot and edited first-person sequence (backed with Arthur Honegger's ominous score) ,from Porphyre directly pointing his suspicions at the audience/ Raskolnikov.

Meeting up the year after with Marcel Ayme for Les mutines de l'Elseneur, here the duo are joined by Christian Stengel and Vladimir Strizhevsky in taking on adapting Dostoevsky's classic novel, and placing it within the confines of Film Noir.The writers wonderfully pluck the increased alienating/ isolating Noir loner state Raskolnikov pulls himself towards, altering the deep personal pride which had kept him detached via looking down at all others in society, into an increasingly poisonous mind-set of attempting to separate himself from the tide of guilt coming in.

Reuniting afterwards for Feu Mathias Pascal (1937-also reviewed-which has the same style final shot as this film)) Pierre Blanchar gives an incredible turn as Raskolnikov,who Blanchar has moving like a slippery eel, sliding into the shadows as others get framed,and unintentionally allowing for the edges of his mask to slip off, as Raskolnikov fights to keep his emotions detached as the accusations increase.Stamping in determination to solve the case, Harry Baur gives a thrilling, barnstorming performance as Porphyre,with Baur tightening the screws on each encounter with a suspect until it cracks to the emotionless face of Raskolnikov, who Porphyre suspects is trying to avoid punishment.