For the second-to-last feature Alain Resnais made in the 1980s, Mélo (1986) is arguably his most accessible, set in 1920s Paris and based on a play by Henri Bernstein (which was originally adapted as a 1932 German film). The idiosyncrasies of titles like My American Uncle (1980) and Love Unto Death (1984) are nowhere to be seen in this cramped chamber piece, which would mimic the vibes of his late period adaptations of playwright Alan Ayckbourn. Love as an unpredictable force of nature, however, remains a central favored motif, as acted upon by his usual cast of actors, wife Sabiné Azema and his onscreen stand-in André Dussollier.…...
- 6/6/2019
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Alain Resnais’ Melo (1986) will be available on Blu-ray April 9th From Arrow Academy
Master director Alain Resnais (Last Year At Marienbad) blurs the line between cinematic technique and theatrical artifice in his acclaimed Mélo, adapted from Henri Bernstein s classic play about a doomed love triangle in 1920s Paris.
Pierre and Marcel are both celebrated concert violinists and lifelong friends, in spite of their differing temperaments. Pierre is modest, sensitive and content with his lot; Marcel is hungry, driven, and pursues a solo career that takes him to the four corners of the world. After years apart, the two friends reunite when Pierre invites Marcel to his home for dinner. It is then that Marcel first meets Pierre s wife Romaine, sparking a passionate affair that can only end in tragedy before the curtain falls.
As thrillingly intimate on film as it was on the stage, Mélo s César award-winning...
Master director Alain Resnais (Last Year At Marienbad) blurs the line between cinematic technique and theatrical artifice in his acclaimed Mélo, adapted from Henri Bernstein s classic play about a doomed love triangle in 1920s Paris.
Pierre and Marcel are both celebrated concert violinists and lifelong friends, in spite of their differing temperaments. Pierre is modest, sensitive and content with his lot; Marcel is hungry, driven, and pursues a solo career that takes him to the four corners of the world. After years apart, the two friends reunite when Pierre invites Marcel to his home for dinner. It is then that Marcel first meets Pierre s wife Romaine, sparking a passionate affair that can only end in tragedy before the curtain falls.
As thrillingly intimate on film as it was on the stage, Mélo s César award-winning...
- 3/19/2019
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Complex and avant-garde French film director best known for Night and Fog and Last Year in Marienbad
Alain Resnais, who has died aged 91, was a director of elegance and distinction who, despite generally working from the screenplays of other writers, established an auteurist reputation. His films were singular, instantly recognisable by their style as well as through recurring themes and preoccupations. Primary concerns were war, sexual relationships and the more abstract notions of memory and time. His characters were invariably adult (children were excluded as having no detailed past) middle-class professionals. His style was complex, notably in the editing and often – though not always – dominated by tracking shots and multilayered sound.
He surrounded himself with actors, musicians and writers of enormous talent and the result was a somewhat elitist body of work with little concern for realism or the socially or intellectually deprived. Even overtly political works, Night and Fog,...
Alain Resnais, who has died aged 91, was a director of elegance and distinction who, despite generally working from the screenplays of other writers, established an auteurist reputation. His films were singular, instantly recognisable by their style as well as through recurring themes and preoccupations. Primary concerns were war, sexual relationships and the more abstract notions of memory and time. His characters were invariably adult (children were excluded as having no detailed past) middle-class professionals. His style was complex, notably in the editing and often – though not always – dominated by tracking shots and multilayered sound.
He surrounded himself with actors, musicians and writers of enormous talent and the result was a somewhat elitist body of work with little concern for realism or the socially or intellectually deprived. Even overtly political works, Night and Fog,...
- 3/3/2014
- by Brian Baxter
- The Guardian - Film News
Director Allan Dwan, actor George O'Brien, cinematographer George Webber, East Side, West Side Are you a movie lover in Los Angeles, unable to travel either to Venice or Telluride? Don't despair. L.A. has its own glamorous film festival this weekend. It's called Cinecon, now in its 47th year. What's more: unlike the vast majority of movies screening at the more highly publicized Venice and Telluride — which will shortly be made available at theaters, DVD stores, or online streaming services — most Cinecon movies are nearly impossible to be seen anywhere else. In other words, it's September 1-5 at the Lloyd E. Rigler Theatre at Grauman's Egyptian on Hollywood Boulevard or (quite possibly) never. [Cinecon 2011 Schedule.] This year's Cinecon rarities includes the following: The first Los Angeles area screening in eight decades of Allan Dwan's East Side, West Side (1927), a risque silent drama starring Sunrise's George O'Brien and Virginia Valli, the...
- 9/2/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
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