At last count, Pyramide is selling the most films (6) which are showing in the Festival and its satellites. Four are in the Official Selections of the Cannes International Film Festival (Cannes Ff Premiere, Cannes Ff Special Screening, and Cannes Ff Un Certain Regard); one is in Critics’ Week / La Semaine de la critique and one is in Directors’ Fortnight/ Quinzaine des realisateurs.
Throughout the festival, we will watch not only their films to report on, but will keep an eye on the sales to some 60 international territories.
Pyramide International is part of the Pyramide Group which is also a domestic distribution company in France (Pyramide Distribution) and a French production company (Pyramide Productions). The company was founded in 1989 by Claudie Cheval, Fabienne Vonier, Francis Boespflug, Louis Malle and Michel Seydoux. Claudie also founded Ace which is still going strong today. (see current blog on Ace in Cannes).
Claudie brought Eric Lagesse into Pyramide International as a young man and, typically for everyone who is involved with Pyramide, he continues to work with them today as their CEO. Claudie was one of the most wonderful, warm and creative women in the business and unfortunately for us all, she died much too soon, on July 30, 1999 at age 48. Claudie set a tone of willing cooperation and support among the French film business colleagues. One can see at a glance when entering the Unifrance umbrella offices how the French international sales agents at the markets cooperate with each other. When reading how films in the Cannes Film Festival and the sidebars seem to be apportioned out to them when the titles are announced and there is no international sales agent attached yet, one surmises that there is a special kind of sharing going on among them.
Pyramide is one of the oldest and most respected of some 450 interntional sales agents. Last year they represented one of my favorite films of the festival, the Critics’ Week film A Tale of Love and Desire. Please read my blog about it here. The French government support of film as a cultural heritage allows the French sales agents to serve as the best examples of agents for the 7th Art to all other countries. As a world sales agent, Pyramide International has deliberately focused on the “film d’auteur” and promotes international sales of young directors.
As distributors in France itself as well as international sales agents, they also can boast of one of the top acquisitions executive in the business, Christine Ravet buys the films the French public lines up to see at their theaters as well as those that are sold internationally.
This year’s Cannes titles are described here:
Cannes Ff Premiere Dodo directed by Panos H. Koutras is a coproduction of Greece, France, and Belgium.
Dodo directed by Panos H. Koutras
Cannes Ff Special Screenings My Imaginary Country/ Mi país imaginario directed by Patricio Guzmán is a production of Chile. Sales have already been made for UK and Ireland to New Wave; Benelux to Cineart; Italy to I Wonder, Ex-Yugo to Discovery.
My Imaginary Country/ Mi país imaginario directed by Patricio Guzmán
Cannes Ff Un Certain Regard Metronom is eligible for the Camera d’Or as it is the third film, but the first fiction feature of director Alexandru Belc of Romania.
Metronom is eligible for the Camera d’Or as it is the third film, but first fiction feature of director Alexandru Belc
Cannes Ff Un Certain Regard The Worst Ones/Les pires is also eligible for the Camera d’Or. It is directed by Lise Akoka and Romane Gueret of France.
Directors’ Fortnight Harkis/ Les Harkis directed by Philippe Faucon of France tells the story set during the Algerian War 1954–1962, when impoverished young Algerian men known as “Harkis” volunteered to join the French Army.
Critics’ Week in Competition The Pack/ La jauría directed by Colombian Andrés Ramírez Pulido is a coproduction of Colombia and France. It tells of a country boy, Eliú, incarcerated́ in an experimental juvenile correction center in the heart of the Colombian jungle after he committed a crime with his friend El Mono. Ordered to perform manual labour and undergo intensive group therapy, Eliú discovers that El Mono has been transferred to the same center, bringing with him a past that Eliú is trying to escape.Pulido’s feature directorial debut follows a distinguished track record in short films that saw Damiana premiere in Competition in Cannes in 2017 a year after El Edén played in the Berlinale.
And in the Marche: I Love Greece. And who doesn’t?...
Throughout the festival, we will watch not only their films to report on, but will keep an eye on the sales to some 60 international territories.
Pyramide International is part of the Pyramide Group which is also a domestic distribution company in France (Pyramide Distribution) and a French production company (Pyramide Productions). The company was founded in 1989 by Claudie Cheval, Fabienne Vonier, Francis Boespflug, Louis Malle and Michel Seydoux. Claudie also founded Ace which is still going strong today. (see current blog on Ace in Cannes).
Claudie brought Eric Lagesse into Pyramide International as a young man and, typically for everyone who is involved with Pyramide, he continues to work with them today as their CEO. Claudie was one of the most wonderful, warm and creative women in the business and unfortunately for us all, she died much too soon, on July 30, 1999 at age 48. Claudie set a tone of willing cooperation and support among the French film business colleagues. One can see at a glance when entering the Unifrance umbrella offices how the French international sales agents at the markets cooperate with each other. When reading how films in the Cannes Film Festival and the sidebars seem to be apportioned out to them when the titles are announced and there is no international sales agent attached yet, one surmises that there is a special kind of sharing going on among them.
Pyramide is one of the oldest and most respected of some 450 interntional sales agents. Last year they represented one of my favorite films of the festival, the Critics’ Week film A Tale of Love and Desire. Please read my blog about it here. The French government support of film as a cultural heritage allows the French sales agents to serve as the best examples of agents for the 7th Art to all other countries. As a world sales agent, Pyramide International has deliberately focused on the “film d’auteur” and promotes international sales of young directors.
As distributors in France itself as well as international sales agents, they also can boast of one of the top acquisitions executive in the business, Christine Ravet buys the films the French public lines up to see at their theaters as well as those that are sold internationally.
This year’s Cannes titles are described here:
Cannes Ff Premiere Dodo directed by Panos H. Koutras is a coproduction of Greece, France, and Belgium.
Dodo directed by Panos H. Koutras
Cannes Ff Special Screenings My Imaginary Country/ Mi país imaginario directed by Patricio Guzmán is a production of Chile. Sales have already been made for UK and Ireland to New Wave; Benelux to Cineart; Italy to I Wonder, Ex-Yugo to Discovery.
My Imaginary Country/ Mi país imaginario directed by Patricio Guzmán
Cannes Ff Un Certain Regard Metronom is eligible for the Camera d’Or as it is the third film, but the first fiction feature of director Alexandru Belc of Romania.
Metronom is eligible for the Camera d’Or as it is the third film, but first fiction feature of director Alexandru Belc
Cannes Ff Un Certain Regard The Worst Ones/Les pires is also eligible for the Camera d’Or. It is directed by Lise Akoka and Romane Gueret of France.
Directors’ Fortnight Harkis/ Les Harkis directed by Philippe Faucon of France tells the story set during the Algerian War 1954–1962, when impoverished young Algerian men known as “Harkis” volunteered to join the French Army.
Critics’ Week in Competition The Pack/ La jauría directed by Colombian Andrés Ramírez Pulido is a coproduction of Colombia and France. It tells of a country boy, Eliú, incarcerated́ in an experimental juvenile correction center in the heart of the Colombian jungle after he committed a crime with his friend El Mono. Ordered to perform manual labour and undergo intensive group therapy, Eliú discovers that El Mono has been transferred to the same center, bringing with him a past that Eliú is trying to escape.Pulido’s feature directorial debut follows a distinguished track record in short films that saw Damiana premiere in Competition in Cannes in 2017 a year after El Edén played in the Berlinale.
And in the Marche: I Love Greece. And who doesn’t?...
- 5/10/2022
- by Sydney
- Sydney's Buzz
Films by auteurs Claire Denis, Hong Sangsoo and Rithy Panh are part of the lineup in competition at the 72nd Berlin Film Festival.
Berlin’s 2022 selection spans 18 movies, seven directed by women, which will compete for the Golden and Silver Bears. The films originate from 15 countries, with 17 serving as world premieres. Two of the films are first features, both from women.
Artistic director Carlo Chatrian discussed the thematic throughline of “human and emotional bonds” across the selection, with the family unit serving as a key focal point in a number of movies. More than half are set in the present time, and two are within the pandemic era.
The festival hosts 12 returning filmmakers, eight of whom are in competition and five of whom already hold a Bear from Berlin.
The festival will go ahead as an in-person event, albeit with seating capacity in movie theaters reduced to 50% and without any parties or receptions.
Berlin’s 2022 selection spans 18 movies, seven directed by women, which will compete for the Golden and Silver Bears. The films originate from 15 countries, with 17 serving as world premieres. Two of the films are first features, both from women.
Artistic director Carlo Chatrian discussed the thematic throughline of “human and emotional bonds” across the selection, with the family unit serving as a key focal point in a number of movies. More than half are set in the present time, and two are within the pandemic era.
The festival hosts 12 returning filmmakers, eight of whom are in competition and five of whom already hold a Bear from Berlin.
The festival will go ahead as an in-person event, albeit with seating capacity in movie theaters reduced to 50% and without any parties or receptions.
- 1/19/2022
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
PoetBerlinale have announced the first 62 titles selected for the 72nd edition of their festival, set to take place physically from February 10 — 20.FORUMAfterwater (Dane Komljen)Poet (Darezhan Omirbayev)The Middle AgesEurope (Philip Scheffner)A Flower in the Mouth (Éric Baudelaire)Memoryland (Kim Quy Bui)My Two Voices (Lina Rodriguez)Nuclear Family (Erin Wilkerson, Travis Wilkerson)Super Natural (Jorge Jácome)The United States of America (James Benning)Forum EXPANDEDDragon Tooth (Rafael Castanheira Parrode)Home When You Return (Carl Elsaesser)Jail Bird in a Peacock Chair (James Gregory Atkinson)Sol in the Dark (Mawena Yehouessi)vs (Lydia Nsiah)PANORAMATalking About the Weather (Annika Pinske)The Apartment with Two Women (Kim Se-in)Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power (Nina Menkes)Swing Ride (Chiara Bellosi)Dreaming WallsKlondike (Maryna Er Gorbach)A Love Song (Max Walker-Silverman)Myanmar Diaries (The Myanmar Film Collective)Into My Name (Nicolò Bassetti)Nelly & Nadine (Magnus Gertten)We, Students! (Rafiki Fariala)Until Tomorrow (Ali Asgari...
- 12/15/2021
- MUBI
The 2022 Berlin International Film Festival has revealed its first titles, including seven films that have been invited to the Berlinale Special program. You can see the full list of confirmed films below.
Those seven include Peter Flinth’s Against The Ice, starring Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Joe Cole, Heida Reed and Charles Dance, and Laurent Larivière’s About Joan, starring Isabelle Huppert, which both play as Berlinale Special Galas.
The Panorama program has unveiled 13 titles, with Generation confirming eight features, and further films set for Forum and Forum Expanded.
The Panorama strand includes Myanmar Diaries, a doc/feature hybrid from the Myanmar Film Collective that highlights violence suffered by Burmese citizens.
“The pandemic has created distances – not only between people but also the way we see the world. Amongst the 2022 selection are films shot during the pandemic, reflecting on how it feels to be disconnected from others. It is with this first...
Those seven include Peter Flinth’s Against The Ice, starring Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Joe Cole, Heida Reed and Charles Dance, and Laurent Larivière’s About Joan, starring Isabelle Huppert, which both play as Berlinale Special Galas.
The Panorama program has unveiled 13 titles, with Generation confirming eight features, and further films set for Forum and Forum Expanded.
The Panorama strand includes Myanmar Diaries, a doc/feature hybrid from the Myanmar Film Collective that highlights violence suffered by Burmese citizens.
“The pandemic has created distances – not only between people but also the way we see the world. Amongst the 2022 selection are films shot during the pandemic, reflecting on how it feels to be disconnected from others. It is with this first...
- 12/15/2021
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
Following the French box office hit “Rolling to You,” Gaumont is re-teaming with the film’s stars, Franck Dubosc and Alexandra Lamy, on “Family Swap,” a comedy about a dysfunctional family whose members swap bodies.
The film will start shooting in September, with Jean-Patrick Benes (“Ugly Melanie”) directing. The story follows the Morels, including two teenagers and a 7-year-old kid who are driving their parents out of their minds. One morning, they all wake up inside each other’s bodies.
Gaumont worked with Dubosc on his directorial debut, “Rolling to You,” which was one of France’s highest-grossing local films in 2018, with about $20 million locally, and $25 million abroad. Karé Prods. is producing “Swap,” and Gaumont is co-producing, distributing in France and handling international sales.
Gaumont, which is in Cannes with Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano’s closing night film “The Specials,” has also boarded “Heart of Oak,” a music-filled, 4K-lensed...
The film will start shooting in September, with Jean-Patrick Benes (“Ugly Melanie”) directing. The story follows the Morels, including two teenagers and a 7-year-old kid who are driving their parents out of their minds. One morning, they all wake up inside each other’s bodies.
Gaumont worked with Dubosc on his directorial debut, “Rolling to You,” which was one of France’s highest-grossing local films in 2018, with about $20 million locally, and $25 million abroad. Karé Prods. is producing “Swap,” and Gaumont is co-producing, distributing in France and handling international sales.
Gaumont, which is in Cannes with Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano’s closing night film “The Specials,” has also boarded “Heart of Oak,” a music-filled, 4K-lensed...
- 5/15/2019
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
The pope of esoteric midnight films returned after 23 years from filmmaking limbo in a poetical semi-autobiopic The Dance of Reality, which saw him also reunited with his former producer Michel Seydoux since their paths parted after Dune´s non-realisation. The 86-year old Alejandro Jodorowsky is etched into the textbooks as versatile artist, philosopher and therapist and as a filmmaker known for El Topo, The Holy Mountain or Santa Sangre rendered in his very own aesthetics of the bizarre and surreal. However, the two decades spanning his filmmaking celibacy does not mean Jodo has been sitting idle in his Paris apartment. He resolved the koan (challenge in Zen Buddhism) of wanting to make more movies, yet lacking the proper funding, by jumping to another medium, graphic novels,...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
- 8/8/2015
- Screen Anarchy
Our resident VOD expert tells you what's new to rent and own this week on the various streaming services such as cable Movies On Demand, Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, and, of course, Netflix. Cable Movies On Demand: Same-day-as-disc releases, older titles and pretheatrical exclusives for rent, priced from $3-$10, in 24- or 48-hour periods Bad Words (Jason Bateman-directed scabrous comedy; Jason Bateman, Kathryn Hahn, Rohan Chand, Allison Janney; rated R) Jodorowsky's Dune (documentary; Alejandro Jodorowsky, Michel Seydoux; rated PG-13) Le Week-End (romance; Lindsay Duncan, Jim Broadbent, Jeff Goldblum; rated R) The Raid 2 (highly stylized action sequel; Iko Uwais, Julie Estelle; rated R) Watermark (documentary about how water shapes humanity; rated PG...
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- 7/8/2014
- by Robert B. DeSalvo
- Movies.com
Long gone is the ‘70s golden age of midnight movies, psychedelic surrealism, and film industries’ deistic attitudes towards auteurs. Perhaps no filmmaker’s career has suffered more from this change in commercial and cultural sensibilities than Alejandro Jodorowsky, who birthed the successive cult staples El Topo and The Holy Mountain in the 1970s but has only seen the realization of sporadic (if no less brilliant) productions since. All of which makes it all the more amazing that Jodorowsky has experienced something of a quiet career renaissance in 2014 as the subject of Frank Pavich’s documentary Jodorowsky’s Dune and as the director of The Dance of Reality, the filmmaker’s first completed feature in nearly a quarter century. Yet for the never-not-great-news of new Jodorowsky, these two films hardly feel like a collective appreciation for an underappreciated artist in the twilight of his career, despite the direct relationship they share (Jodorowsky’s Dune reunited the filmmaker with...
- 5/27/2014
- by Landon Palmer
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
For students of cinema, several films-that-were-never-made have been the subject of articles, books, and documentaries. Historians enjoy imagining just what movie delights almost happened, that were stopped by different circumstances, often budgetary. I recall seeing production art for Willis O’Brien’s teaming of titans in “King Kong Meets Frankenstein”. Before George Pal produced the definitive big screen version, Ray Harryhausen shot test footage for a proposed “War of the Worlds”. And animation buffs have wondered at the pencil test sequences Looney Tunes wildman Bob Clampett whipped up to try to sell MGM on a cartoon short series based on “John Carter of Mars”. And in this “what if” study, there would need to be a sizable sidebar on the unfilmed works of Orson Welles. Years before Coppola, Welles tried to adapt Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness” for the movies along with comics’ “Batman” and “Don Quixote” (Terry Gilliam’s...
- 5/8/2014
- by Jim Batts
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Joining us for the 20th episode of the Hey You Geeks podcast is director Frank Pavich, here to discuss his incredible, hit documentary, Jodorowsky’s Dune. We discuss the film, the enigma of Jodorowsky, alternate timelines and so much more. Pavich shares fascinating stories about first meeting the legendary Jodorowsky, H.R. Giger and Michel Seydoux. From Jodorowsky’s Paris apartment and Giger’s museum to Cannes, Pavich takes us on a journey through the creation of the documentary, and what could have been if Jodorowsky’s visionary epic made it to the big screen. With names like David Carradine, Orson Welles, Dali, Pink Floyd and Mick Jagger attached to Jodorowsky’s adaptation of Dune, the doc is full of fascinating casting stories and a visual tour through a unique vision in film. Give a listen, and don’t forget to share your reviews of Hey You Geeks on iTunes!
Playlist:...
Playlist:...
- 4/12/2014
- by Tony Nunes
- SoundOnSight
You might remember Frank Pavich from his history of the New York hardcore music scene in N.Y.H.C., which found its release over a decade ago, but his follow up dives into the abyss of movie lore with Jodorowsky’s Dune, finally showcasing the immensity and influence of a film that never came to be. Within, Pavich speaks with loving exuberance about how his documentary on the legendary failure came to fruition, the incredible coincidence that his film would reunite Alejandro Jodorowsky with his producer Michel Seydoux and the intrinsic nature of legend and possibility that Jodo’s vision exudes. After showing in the Directors Fortnight at the Cannes Film Fesitval, This interview took place at the Toronto International Film Festival. Sony Pictures Classics releases the film on March 21.
- 3/22/2014
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
It's hard to imagine any producer today watching Alejandro Jodorowsky's bizarre and formally experimental El Topo and The Holy Mountain and thinking he would be the perfect candidate to direct a big budget version of Frank Herbert's sci-fi classic novel Dune. But that's exactly what happened when Jodorowsky's producer Michel Seydoux made a profit off Holy Mountain, which catching the drug-fueled midnight movie craze of the early 1970s. For two years, Jodorowsky courted an eclectic crew of collaborators, including Salvador Dali, Mick Jagger, Orson Welles, and Pink Floyd. He also gathered a collection of lesser-known visual artists
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- 3/21/2014
- by Chris O'Falt
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Jodorowsky’s Dune
Directed by Frank Pavich
USA, 2013
Alejandro Jodorowsky, Michel Seydoux, Frank Herbert, Chris Foss, H.R. Giger, Moebius, Magma, Pink Floyd, Dan O’Bannon, David Carradine, Mick Jagger, Amanda Lear, Orson Welles, and Salvador Dali. Yes, that’s quite an array of figures, isn’t it? Frank Pavich’s historically illuminating and expertly constructed documentary on one of the greatest films never made, Jodorowsky’s Dune, screened at the Toronto International Film Festival today. It’s no mean feat to win over a gaggle of cynical jaded hacks but that’s exactly what was achieved with this post-mortem on the omnipresent lack of originality among Hollywood executives, a impenetrable wall of financiers who crushed the dreams of one the industry’s most idiosyncratically original postwar shamans. After a whistle-stop tour of Jodorowsky’s phantasmagorical curriculum vitae—he’s a Mexican surrealist provocateur par excellence, the twisted psycho-nautical genius behind...
Directed by Frank Pavich
USA, 2013
Alejandro Jodorowsky, Michel Seydoux, Frank Herbert, Chris Foss, H.R. Giger, Moebius, Magma, Pink Floyd, Dan O’Bannon, David Carradine, Mick Jagger, Amanda Lear, Orson Welles, and Salvador Dali. Yes, that’s quite an array of figures, isn’t it? Frank Pavich’s historically illuminating and expertly constructed documentary on one of the greatest films never made, Jodorowsky’s Dune, screened at the Toronto International Film Festival today. It’s no mean feat to win over a gaggle of cynical jaded hacks but that’s exactly what was achieved with this post-mortem on the omnipresent lack of originality among Hollywood executives, a impenetrable wall of financiers who crushed the dreams of one the industry’s most idiosyncratically original postwar shamans. After a whistle-stop tour of Jodorowsky’s phantasmagorical curriculum vitae—he’s a Mexican surrealist provocateur par excellence, the twisted psycho-nautical genius behind...
- 3/19/2014
- by John
- SoundOnSight
In 1974, the Chilean-born filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky was coming off the dual successes of his films El Topo and The Holy Mountain. The former, a violent Spaghetti Western, pioneered the concept of the midnight movie in the U.S.; the latter was a surreal tale full of tarot-card imagery that was a huge box office hit in Europe. (Deacdes later, Kanye West would claim The Holy Mountain was the inspiration for the look of his Yeezus tour.) Sensing that Jodorowsky was not just an artist but a visionary, French producer and...
- 3/19/2014
- Rollingstone.com
The wonderful doc "Jodorowksy's Dune" arrives in theaters March 21. Here's a one-minute clip from the film to whet your appetite. Whether or not you're familiar with the "Dune" mythology, its production history, or the hypnotically bad trainwreck of a film taken away from David Lynch by the studios, there's plenty to enjoy in this tale of Chilean filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowksy's labor of love that wasn't to be. Watch below. In the film, we come to understand that Jodorowsky's version of "Dune" must have been the most intensely planned film never made. Not only does Jodorowsky have a tome of storyboards he created -- as well as mountains of set and costume designs made by a legion of legends in the field -- he also had his pre-adolescent son train for years to take the lead role (eventually played by Kyle MacLachlan), his producer Michel Seydoux (grandfather of Lea) concoct an...
- 3/14/2014
- by Beth Hanna
- Thompson on Hollywood
Whether you’re currently single or in a relationship, I hope you all had a good Valentine’s Day weekend, dear readers. Unfortunately, aside from The Lego Movie, it’s still slim pickings at our movie theaters right now if you’re looking for something good to watch. But as always, there are upcoming films to look forward to, and trailers for those films for me to examine. And this week’s installment of Trailer Trashin’ takes a look at the upcoming documentary Jodorowsky’s Dune.
Premise: The story of cult film director Alejandro Jodorowsky’s ambitious but ultimately doomed film adaptation of Frank Herbert’s seminal science fiction novel Dune.
My take: Speaking as a cinephile, one thing that has always fascinated me are the stories of famous lost projects – film productions that were supposed to happen, and in many cases had notable people attached, but ended up not...
Premise: The story of cult film director Alejandro Jodorowsky’s ambitious but ultimately doomed film adaptation of Frank Herbert’s seminal science fiction novel Dune.
My take: Speaking as a cinephile, one thing that has always fascinated me are the stories of famous lost projects – film productions that were supposed to happen, and in many cases had notable people attached, but ended up not...
- 2/18/2014
- by Timothy Monforton
- CinemaNerdz
After the success of his film’s El Topo and The Holy Mountain, Alejandro Jodorowsky was given the green light to make whatever he wanted. Without hesitation he elected to adapt Frank Herbert’s Dune. He had never read the book, and instead had only heard from a friend that it was good. His decision turned out to be one that he’d never regret, it would go on to haunt and influence the rest of his life and play a pivotal role in the future of science-fiction film. An artist first and filmmaker second, Jodorowsky aimed to assemble a team of warriors who fought for artistic merit over money. Luckily, producer Michel Seydoux was not only one such warrior but also one who could scare up big money to bring the collective to fruition. The talent pool for the project was impressive, especially by today’s standards. It included such notable names as Dan O’Bannon...
- 9/25/2013
- by Michael Treveloni
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Years before David Lynch’s adaptation of Frank Herbert’s seminal sci-fi novel earned its undisputed place as the worst film of his career, another visionary director came close to making a version of it that may well be the greatest film never made. Alejandro Jodorowsky, the psychedelic surrealist and creator of such trippy classics as Holy Mountain, Santa Sangre and the original ‘Midnight Movie’ El Topo, came very close to making a hugely (possibly too) ambitious version of the book, and the story of his film’s rise and fall makes for an intriguing documentary.
Extensive interviews with the vibrant Jodorowsky, now in his mid 80s, form the core of the film, along with animated versions of story board drawings by French artist Moebius and interviews with other key members of the creative team as well as Jodorowsky admirers including Nicholas Winding Refn and Richard Stanley. The storyboard book...
Extensive interviews with the vibrant Jodorowsky, now in his mid 80s, form the core of the film, along with animated versions of story board drawings by French artist Moebius and interviews with other key members of the creative team as well as Jodorowsky admirers including Nicholas Winding Refn and Richard Stanley. The storyboard book...
- 9/7/2013
- by Ian Gilchrist
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Jodorowsky’s Dune
Directed by Frank Pavich
USA, 2013
Alejandro Jodorowsky, Michel Seydoux, Frank Herbert, Chris Foss, H.R. Giger, Moebius, Magma, Pink Floyd, Dan O’Bannon, David Carradine, Mick Jagger, Amanda Lear, Orson Welles, and Salvador Dali. Yes, that’s quite an array of figures, isn’t it? Frank Pavich’s historically illuminating and expertly constructed documentary on one of the greatest films never made, Jodorowsky’s Dune, screened at the Toronto International Film Festival today. It’s no mean feat to win over a gaggle of cynical jaded hacks but that’s exactly what was achieved with this post-mortem on the omnipresent lack of originality among Hollywood executives, a impenetrable wall of financiers who crushed the dreams of one the industry’s most idiosyncratically original postwar shamans. After a whistle-stop tour of Jodorowsky’s phantasmagorical curriculum vitae—he’s a Mexican surrealist provocateur par excellence, the twisted psycho-nautical genius behind...
Directed by Frank Pavich
USA, 2013
Alejandro Jodorowsky, Michel Seydoux, Frank Herbert, Chris Foss, H.R. Giger, Moebius, Magma, Pink Floyd, Dan O’Bannon, David Carradine, Mick Jagger, Amanda Lear, Orson Welles, and Salvador Dali. Yes, that’s quite an array of figures, isn’t it? Frank Pavich’s historically illuminating and expertly constructed documentary on one of the greatest films never made, Jodorowsky’s Dune, screened at the Toronto International Film Festival today. It’s no mean feat to win over a gaggle of cynical jaded hacks but that’s exactly what was achieved with this post-mortem on the omnipresent lack of originality among Hollywood executives, a impenetrable wall of financiers who crushed the dreams of one the industry’s most idiosyncratically original postwar shamans. After a whistle-stop tour of Jodorowsky’s phantasmagorical curriculum vitae—he’s a Mexican surrealist provocateur par excellence, the twisted psycho-nautical genius behind...
- 9/6/2013
- by John
- SoundOnSight
The new poster for director Frank Pavich’s Jodorowsky’S Dune is here.
It is the story of legendary cult film director Alejandro Jodorowsky’s staggeringly ambitious but ultimately doomed film adaptation of the seminal science fiction novel Dune.
Jodorowsky’S Dune is Pavich’s first feature and the documentary had its premiere in Cannes at the 2013 Quinzaine des Realizateurs.
In 1975, Chilean director Alejandro Jodorowsky, whose films El Topo and The Mountain launched and ultimately defined the midnight movie phenomenon, began work on his most ambitious project yet.
Starring his own 12 year old son Brontis alongside Orson Welles, Mick Jagger, David Carradine and Salvador Dali, featuring music by Pink Floyd and art by some of the most provocative talents of the era, including Hr Giger and Jean ‘Moebius’ Giraud, Jodorowsky’s adaptation of Frank Herbert’s classic sci-fi novel Dune was poised to change cinema.
“For me, Dune will be the coming of a god.
It is the story of legendary cult film director Alejandro Jodorowsky’s staggeringly ambitious but ultimately doomed film adaptation of the seminal science fiction novel Dune.
Jodorowsky’S Dune is Pavich’s first feature and the documentary had its premiere in Cannes at the 2013 Quinzaine des Realizateurs.
In 1975, Chilean director Alejandro Jodorowsky, whose films El Topo and The Mountain launched and ultimately defined the midnight movie phenomenon, began work on his most ambitious project yet.
Starring his own 12 year old son Brontis alongside Orson Welles, Mick Jagger, David Carradine and Salvador Dali, featuring music by Pink Floyd and art by some of the most provocative talents of the era, including Hr Giger and Jean ‘Moebius’ Giraud, Jodorowsky’s adaptation of Frank Herbert’s classic sci-fi novel Dune was poised to change cinema.
“For me, Dune will be the coming of a god.
- 9/6/2013
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
The Paris-based Pyramide co-founder, producer and distributor worked closely with Aki Kaurismaki, Nuri Bilge Ceylan and Catherine Corsini, among others.
Veteran distributor and producer Fabienne Vonier, who co-founded Paris-based distribution and production company Pyramide, has died after a long illness. She was 66.
“Fabienne was passionate about film,” said long-term collaborator Eric Lagesse, who took over Pyramide’s distribution and international sales activities in 2008. “She was someone who was constantly on the look-out for interesting productions, directors.”
Lagesse continued: “She had done it all: exhibition, distribution and lastly production. She did everything to the full and was as demanding of herself as she was of everyone else. She was a true professional, working right up until the end.”
In a career spanning more than 40 years, Vonier supported the work of scores of directors from across the world including Finland’s Aki Kaurismaki, Canadian Denys Arcand, Mexico’s Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Palestinian Elia Suleiman, Egyptian [link=nm...
Veteran distributor and producer Fabienne Vonier, who co-founded Paris-based distribution and production company Pyramide, has died after a long illness. She was 66.
“Fabienne was passionate about film,” said long-term collaborator Eric Lagesse, who took over Pyramide’s distribution and international sales activities in 2008. “She was someone who was constantly on the look-out for interesting productions, directors.”
Lagesse continued: “She had done it all: exhibition, distribution and lastly production. She did everything to the full and was as demanding of herself as she was of everyone else. She was a true professional, working right up until the end.”
In a career spanning more than 40 years, Vonier supported the work of scores of directors from across the world including Finland’s Aki Kaurismaki, Canadian Denys Arcand, Mexico’s Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Palestinian Elia Suleiman, Egyptian [link=nm...
- 7/30/2013
- ScreenDaily
The Paris-based Pyramide co-founder, producer and distributor worked closely with AKi Kaurismaki, Nuri Bilge Ceylan and Catherine Corsini, among others.
Veteran distributor and producer Fabienne Vonier, who co-founded Paris-based distribution and production company Pyramide, has died after a long illness. She was 66.
“Fabienne was passionate about film,” said long-term collaborator Eric Lagesse, who took over Pyramide’s distribution and international sales activities in 2008. “She was someone who was constantly on the look-out for interesting productions, directors.”
Lagesse continued: “She had done it all: exhibition, distribution and lastly production. She did everything to the full and was as demanding of herself as she was of everyone else. She was a true professional, working right up until the end.”
In a career spanning more than 40 years, Vonier supported the work of scores of directors from across the world including Finland’s Aki Kaurismaki, Canadian Denys Arcand, Mexico’s Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Palestinian Elia Suleiman, Egyptian [link=nm...
Veteran distributor and producer Fabienne Vonier, who co-founded Paris-based distribution and production company Pyramide, has died after a long illness. She was 66.
“Fabienne was passionate about film,” said long-term collaborator Eric Lagesse, who took over Pyramide’s distribution and international sales activities in 2008. “She was someone who was constantly on the look-out for interesting productions, directors.”
Lagesse continued: “She had done it all: exhibition, distribution and lastly production. She did everything to the full and was as demanding of herself as she was of everyone else. She was a true professional, working right up until the end.”
In a career spanning more than 40 years, Vonier supported the work of scores of directors from across the world including Finland’s Aki Kaurismaki, Canadian Denys Arcand, Mexico’s Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Palestinian Elia Suleiman, Egyptian [link=nm...
- 7/30/2013
- ScreenDaily
In the opening minutes of "The Dance of Reality," cult director Alejandro Jodorowsky's first movie in 23 years, he appears onscreen reciting a poem that compares money to blood, Christ and Buddha, then equates death to consciousness and wealth. It's that combination of evocative prose and bizarre associations that define the director's appeal, which stretches back to the glory days of his midnight movie stardom with "El Topo" and "The Holy Mountain." While lacking their polished lunacy, "The Dance of Reality" maintains the gonzo spirit of its creator, virtually emerging directly from his psyche. The movie finds Jodorowsky reteaming with French producer Michel Seydoux, with whom the director collaborated on a famously ambitious, uncompleted adaptation of "Dune" (a story told in the documentary "Jodorowsky's Dune," premiering at Cannes' Directors Fortnight section alongside the new work). In contrast to that costly endeavor, "The Dance of Reality" is a noticeably small,...
- 5/18/2013
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
Well, here's one name we didn't expect to figure so prominently at Cannes this year -- Alejandro Jodorowksy. The 84-year-old director will not only have his first feature in over twenty years unveiled, but he will also be the subject of a documentary that is sure to get cinephiles very, very excited. The Cannes Directors' Fortnight have unveiled their slate and it should be a rewarding experience for those looking for some adventurous cinema. Like we said, Jodorowsky features twice, with his "La Danza De La Realidad" (aka "The Dance Of Reality") -- based on his own autobiography -- making its debut. Meanwhile Frank Pavich's "Jodorowsky's Dune" -- which has been in the works for a few years now -- is completed, and will explore the filmmaker's aborted version of "Dune" that would have included the artistic talents of Salvador Dali, Douglas Trumbull, Michel Seydoux, Pink Floyd, Moebius, Dan O’Bannon and H.R. Giger.
- 4/23/2013
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
According to Talksport radio and Skysports, Alan Pardew is set to unveil a significant signing today, with Lille’s French international right-back Mathieu Debuchy said to be on the verge of joining the North East club.
Newcastle had seen an initial £4m offer rejected, but quickly returned to the negotiating table with a superior offer – closer to the £6m or so Lille were said to want before Euro 2012 – which was still under consideration at the start of this week. And now it seems Newcastle’s negotiators have managed to thrash out a deal with the club, from which they signed midfielder Yohan Cabaye last season, and Debuchy is now expected to sign for the club.
We initially heard from a source on Tuesday that Debuchy was in Newcastle to sort out personal terms, but as the source had no track record, we held off on reporting, but it seems that...
Newcastle had seen an initial £4m offer rejected, but quickly returned to the negotiating table with a superior offer – closer to the £6m or so Lille were said to want before Euro 2012 – which was still under consideration at the start of this week. And now it seems Newcastle’s negotiators have managed to thrash out a deal with the club, from which they signed midfielder Yohan Cabaye last season, and Debuchy is now expected to sign for the club.
We initially heard from a source on Tuesday that Debuchy was in Newcastle to sort out personal terms, but as the source had no track record, we held off on reporting, but it seems that...
- 7/13/2012
- by Simon Gallagher
- Obsessed with Film
Jodorowsky’s Dune Clip. Frank Pavich‘s Jodorowsky’s Dune (2012) movie clip stars Alejandro Jodorowsky. Jodorowsky’s Dune‘s plot synopsis: “The documentary covers cult film director Alejandro Jodorowsky and his 1974 attempt to create a big-screen adaptation of Frank Herbert’s seminal science fiction novel, Dune. While the ambitious production collapsed after two years, Jodorowsky’s team of then relatively unknown concept artists continued exploring the themes and styles started on the project and ended up changing modern science fiction forever: H.R. Giger went on to Ridley Scott’s masterpiece Alien, Dan O’Bannon wrote Alien and Total Recall, Jean “Moebius” Giraud created artwork and futuristic worlds for The Empire Strikes Back, Tron, and The Fifth Element and Chris Foss would go on to work on Alien and Superman.”
This is pretty intriguing. I had no idea another Dune film had come so far along into production and was then canned.
This is pretty intriguing. I had no idea another Dune film had come so far along into production and was then canned.
- 3/4/2012
- by R.W.
- Film-Book
Jean Dujardin, Missi Pyle, The Artist The Artist Wins, Jean Dujardin Loses: César Awards Best Film La guerre est déclarée / Declaration of War produced by Edouard Weil, directed by Valérie Donzelli Le Havre produced by Fabienne Vonier, directed by Aki Kaurismäki * The Artist produced by Thomas Langmann, directed by Michel Hazanavicius Intouchables / Untouchable produced by Denis Freyd, directed by Eric Toledano, Olivier Nakache L'exercice de l'État / The Minister produced by Nicolas Duval Adassovsky, Yann Zenou, Laurent Zeitoun, directed by Pierre Schöller Pater produced by Michel Seydoux, directed by Alain Cavalier Polisse produced by Alain Attal, directed by Maïwenn Best Foreign Film Drive (United States) directed by Nicolas Winding Refn Black Swan (United States) directed by Darren Aronofsky Incendies (Canada) directed by Denis Villeneuve Melancholia (Denmark / Sweden / France / Germany) directed by Lars von Trier * A Separation (Iran) directed by Asghar Farhadi The King's Speech (United Kingdom) directed by Tom Hooper Le...
- 2/25/2012
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
François Cluzet, Intouchables / Untouchable The 2012 César winners will be announced on February 24. The ceremony will be presided by Guillaume Canet; Antoine de Caunes will act as master of ceremonies. Best Film La guerre est déclarée / Declaration of War produced by Edouard Weil, directed by Valérie Donzelli Le Havre produced by Fabienne Vonier, directed by Aki Kaurismäki The Artist produced by Thomas Langmann, directed by Michel Hazanavicius Intouchables / Untouchable produced by Denis Freyd, directed by Eric Toledano, Olivier Nakache L'exercice de l'État / The Minister produced by Nicolas Duval Adassovsky, Yann Zenou, Laurent Zeitoun, directed by Pierre Schoeller Pater produced by Michel Seydoux, directed by Alain Cavalier Polisse produced by Alain Attal, directed by Maïwenn Best Foreign Film Drive (United States) directed by Nicolas Winding Refn Black Swan (United States) directed by Darren Aronofsky Incendies (Canada) directed by Denis Villeneuve Melancholia (Denmark / Sweden / France / Germany) directed by Lars von Trier A Separation...
- 2/21/2012
- by Steve Montgomery
- Alt Film Guide
Alejandro Jodorowsky’s Dune movie never made it to the screen, but the production’s legend lives on, as a new documentary charts its making...
Director Alejandro Jodorowsky’s doomed attempts to bring Frank Herbert’s novel Dune to the screen are the stuff of movie legend. In seeking to adapt Herbert’s sprawling sci-fi fantasy, Jodorowsky’s proposed adaptation seems, with the benefit of hindsight, unbelievably quixotic.
In 1974, the director decided that he would follow his surrealist western The Holy Mountain with a big-screen retelling of Herbert’s story of rival families and warring empires in a distant galaxy – a decision he made without even having read the book. He was attracted by its themes of messiahs and emotional dislocation, he later said, and readily agreed to producer Michel Seydoux’s proposal to adapt it (“I needed to support my family,” Jodorowsky explained in a later interview).
Dune would feature an eclectic star cast,...
Director Alejandro Jodorowsky’s doomed attempts to bring Frank Herbert’s novel Dune to the screen are the stuff of movie legend. In seeking to adapt Herbert’s sprawling sci-fi fantasy, Jodorowsky’s proposed adaptation seems, with the benefit of hindsight, unbelievably quixotic.
In 1974, the director decided that he would follow his surrealist western The Holy Mountain with a big-screen retelling of Herbert’s story of rival families and warring empires in a distant galaxy – a decision he made without even having read the book. He was attracted by its themes of messiahs and emotional dislocation, he later said, and readily agreed to producer Michel Seydoux’s proposal to adapt it (“I needed to support my family,” Jodorowsky explained in a later interview).
Dune would feature an eclectic star cast,...
- 2/13/2012
- Den of Geek
One of the biggest announcements this week at Cannes was the news of Alejandro Jodorowsky’s Dune, a documentary on the Chilean filmmaker’s attempt to adapt Frank Herbert‘s novel in the mid-’70s. Twitch recently premiered an exclusive video clip from the upcoming production detailing just how insanely ambitious the project was. Fans of the legendary filmmaker would all agree that if he had completed the project, it would strongly stand a chance of being one of the greatest sci-fi films ever made. I guess we’ll never know. Watch the promo vide below.
Also here is the official press release:
It was announced today that L.A. based Snowfort Pictures, Camera One of France and Koch Media of Germany have begun production on Frank Pavich’s sci-fi documentary Jodorowsky’S Dune. Shooting has wrapped in France, Switzerland and the U.K. with filming to continue this summer in the United States.
Also here is the official press release:
It was announced today that L.A. based Snowfort Pictures, Camera One of France and Koch Media of Germany have begun production on Frank Pavich’s sci-fi documentary Jodorowsky’S Dune. Shooting has wrapped in France, Switzerland and the U.K. with filming to continue this summer in the United States.
- 5/15/2011
- by Kyle Reese
- SoundOnSight
A long time ago, Alejandro Jodorowsky tried to make the greatest movie of all time. It was an adaptation of Frank Herbert‘s “Dune,” and he was ready to employ Salvador Dali, Douglas Trumbull, Michel Seydoux and Pink Floyd amongst then-unknown names like Moebius, Dan O’Bannon and H.R. Geiger. For a variety of reasons, some bordering on hearsay (many claim Jodorowsky was wholly dismissive of the source), the film fell apart, leaving movie lovers to imagine “what-if,” even if the picture was eventually made by David Lynch and a significantly less colorful group of collaborators. In “Jodorowsky’s Dune,” director Frank Pavich…...
- 5/14/2011
- The Playlist
Just as the lead character named Tolstoy suffers a little whenever he must own up to not being related to the famous Russian novelist, "The Barber of Siberia" is a sprawling, period epic that suffers in comparison to its rich cinematic and literary heritage. Prospects for a major American distribution deal are dim.
The much-anticipated opening film of the 52nd Cannes International Film Festival, and the first feature from director Nikita Mikhalkov since his Oscar-winning "Burnt by the Sun", "Barber" is ostensibly a love story, but not a very complex or compelling one. At nearly three hours, the mostly English-language film indulges in long sequences of Slavic-style comedy that don't necessarily further the story of an enigmatic American woman's love affair with a charismatic Russian army cadet.
Although she confidently attacks the role, Julia Ormond is allowed to indulge in far too many contemporary nuances in her performance as Jane, a lone woman in Czarist Russia circa 1885 on a mission to help desperate inventor McCracken (Richard Harris) secure funds to finish creating a steam-driven forest-harvesting machine, which he hopes will make him rich. Like most of the cast, she tries to keep the energy level high, but one never feels very connected to her character and rarely laughs with the bemused outsider at her zany hosts.
Oleg Menshikov as Cadet Tolstoy, on the other hand, is terrific as the passionate young man who meets Jane on the train to Moscow. They share some champagne in her compartment and a few laughs as his comrades fumble about. Later, they are both on the street in Moscow when mysterious shooters in black assassinate an official. In one of the film's best scenes, Tolstoy shows he's not the best soldier-in-the-making when he lets one of the assassins go free.
Jane visits McCracken's workshop and watches the old coot almost destroy his invention in one of many comic scenes that fall flat. The plan is for Jane to butter up one Gen. Radkov (Alexey Petrenko) in order to gain access to the grand duke -- a source of completion funds, if you will, for McCracken's tree "barber." Open, aggressive, a smoker and seemingly free to wed, Jane succeeds in charming Radkov, but Tolstoy is thoroughly smitten and obviously a much better match despite his lackluster social status.
From cadets polishing a dance floor to outdoor festivals with vodka-drinking bears to a climactic performance of "The Marriage of Figaro", there are some entertaining moments, but the pacing often slows to a crawl, and the framing device of the story -- Ormond's character revealing to her American Army recruit son his origins -- has weak ongoing gags involving gas masks and crude insults aimed at Mozart.
At one point, Tolstoy risks everything to fight a duel over Jane's honor. But he goes even further down the road to ruin when he becomes convinced she's playing all the angles, which she is. Still, he proposes to her, barely beating Radkov to the punch. She is then forced to reveal that she's not who she seems to be -- certainly not McCracken's daughter, as she claimed -- and relates a horrible fact about her past.
Eventually, as in seemingly all Russian love stories of this size and breadth, the lovers are separated -- he's sent off to prison for attacking Radkov in a jealous fit, and she goes back to the States. Ten years later, she accompanies McCracken to Siberia for a test of his machine and goes searching for Tolstoy, who settled there after serving his sentence.
While visually the film has some nice touches, with Mikhalkov working in widescreen for the first time, the overused narration of Ormond's character doesn't wait for one to absorb the story visually. Time and location titles are also employed needlessly, accentuating the overall stodgy feeling to the storytelling. The director has a splendid cameo as Emperor Alexander III, but Harris is disappointing as the mad inventor -- except for a shot of his character yelling on top of a train steaming through the forests in one of this film's rare transcendent moments, the kind one expects a lot more of from Mikhalkov.
THE BARBER OF SIBERIA
Camera One, ThreeProds.,
France 2 Cinema, Medusa, Barrandov Biografia
Michel Seydoux presents
In association with Intermedia Films
Director: Nikita Mikhalkov
Screenwriters: Rustam Ibragimbekov, Nikita Mikhalkov
Producer: Michel Sedoux
Executive producer: Leonid Vereschagin
Cinematographer: Pavel Lebeshev
Production designer: Vladimir Aronin
Editor: Enzo Meniconi
Costume designers: Natacha Ivanova, Sergey Struchev
Music: Edward Nicolay Artemyev
Color/stereo
Cast:
Jane: Julia Ormond
Tolstoy: Oleg Menshikov
McCracken: Richard Harris
Radkov: Alexey Petrenko
Running time -- 176 minutes
MPAA rating:...
The much-anticipated opening film of the 52nd Cannes International Film Festival, and the first feature from director Nikita Mikhalkov since his Oscar-winning "Burnt by the Sun", "Barber" is ostensibly a love story, but not a very complex or compelling one. At nearly three hours, the mostly English-language film indulges in long sequences of Slavic-style comedy that don't necessarily further the story of an enigmatic American woman's love affair with a charismatic Russian army cadet.
Although she confidently attacks the role, Julia Ormond is allowed to indulge in far too many contemporary nuances in her performance as Jane, a lone woman in Czarist Russia circa 1885 on a mission to help desperate inventor McCracken (Richard Harris) secure funds to finish creating a steam-driven forest-harvesting machine, which he hopes will make him rich. Like most of the cast, she tries to keep the energy level high, but one never feels very connected to her character and rarely laughs with the bemused outsider at her zany hosts.
Oleg Menshikov as Cadet Tolstoy, on the other hand, is terrific as the passionate young man who meets Jane on the train to Moscow. They share some champagne in her compartment and a few laughs as his comrades fumble about. Later, they are both on the street in Moscow when mysterious shooters in black assassinate an official. In one of the film's best scenes, Tolstoy shows he's not the best soldier-in-the-making when he lets one of the assassins go free.
Jane visits McCracken's workshop and watches the old coot almost destroy his invention in one of many comic scenes that fall flat. The plan is for Jane to butter up one Gen. Radkov (Alexey Petrenko) in order to gain access to the grand duke -- a source of completion funds, if you will, for McCracken's tree "barber." Open, aggressive, a smoker and seemingly free to wed, Jane succeeds in charming Radkov, but Tolstoy is thoroughly smitten and obviously a much better match despite his lackluster social status.
From cadets polishing a dance floor to outdoor festivals with vodka-drinking bears to a climactic performance of "The Marriage of Figaro", there are some entertaining moments, but the pacing often slows to a crawl, and the framing device of the story -- Ormond's character revealing to her American Army recruit son his origins -- has weak ongoing gags involving gas masks and crude insults aimed at Mozart.
At one point, Tolstoy risks everything to fight a duel over Jane's honor. But he goes even further down the road to ruin when he becomes convinced she's playing all the angles, which she is. Still, he proposes to her, barely beating Radkov to the punch. She is then forced to reveal that she's not who she seems to be -- certainly not McCracken's daughter, as she claimed -- and relates a horrible fact about her past.
Eventually, as in seemingly all Russian love stories of this size and breadth, the lovers are separated -- he's sent off to prison for attacking Radkov in a jealous fit, and she goes back to the States. Ten years later, she accompanies McCracken to Siberia for a test of his machine and goes searching for Tolstoy, who settled there after serving his sentence.
While visually the film has some nice touches, with Mikhalkov working in widescreen for the first time, the overused narration of Ormond's character doesn't wait for one to absorb the story visually. Time and location titles are also employed needlessly, accentuating the overall stodgy feeling to the storytelling. The director has a splendid cameo as Emperor Alexander III, but Harris is disappointing as the mad inventor -- except for a shot of his character yelling on top of a train steaming through the forests in one of this film's rare transcendent moments, the kind one expects a lot more of from Mikhalkov.
THE BARBER OF SIBERIA
Camera One, ThreeProds.,
France 2 Cinema, Medusa, Barrandov Biografia
Michel Seydoux presents
In association with Intermedia Films
Director: Nikita Mikhalkov
Screenwriters: Rustam Ibragimbekov, Nikita Mikhalkov
Producer: Michel Sedoux
Executive producer: Leonid Vereschagin
Cinematographer: Pavel Lebeshev
Production designer: Vladimir Aronin
Editor: Enzo Meniconi
Costume designers: Natacha Ivanova, Sergey Struchev
Music: Edward Nicolay Artemyev
Color/stereo
Cast:
Jane: Julia Ormond
Tolstoy: Oleg Menshikov
McCracken: Richard Harris
Radkov: Alexey Petrenko
Running time -- 176 minutes
MPAA rating:...
- 5/13/1999
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
An odd but entrancing tale of civilizations in conflict, "Close to Eden, '' the story of a traditional family in Chinese-held inner Mongolia, may require some patient handling. However, the combination of unusual setting and warm, accessible tone may turn it into a profitable select-site performer.
Set in the very recent past, the film centers around the family of Gombo (Bayaertu), his wife Pagma (Badema), their two children and his mother. They live the centuries-old life of Mongolian nomads, tending their small herds of sheep, cattle and horses and living in a large tent.
The outside world has impinged only slightly on their lives, largely through the accordion that daughter Bourma (Bao Yongyan) has been given by a city-dwelling uncle. However, one day a Russian contract worker, Sergei (Vladimir Gostukhin), falls asleep at the wheel of his truck, becomes stranded and ends up the guest of Gombo and Pagma.
Because Gombo and Pagma have reached the government-imposed limit of three children, Pagma has been urging her husband to go to town and buy condoms and, while he's at it, a television. So Gombo and two horses hitch a ride with Sergei and travel off to a nearby city, a vast jury-rigged collection of apartment blocks, huge industrial plants, and stores crammed with the latest in consumer goods.
For the opening sequences, director Nikita Mikhalkov uses relaxed and patient rhythms to great effect. Typically, he spends as much time watching Gombo catch a dragonfly in flight and showing it to his son Bouin (Wurinile, a tremendously appealing natural talent) or on how the family slaughters a sheep as on more plot-oriented material.
Once Gombo and Sergei get to the city, the pace quickens as the two -- singly and together -- engage in a series of seriocomic escapades. When Gombo leaves for home, the film segues into an elaborate dream sequence in which a drunken uncle (Baoyinhexige) appears as Genghis Khan at the head of a column of soldiers and chastises Gombo for straying from Mongol ways.
The lament for a passing culture is a familiar one, but Mikhalkov has appeared to capture the whole nature of Mongolian life so successfully, the film is unusually persuasive.
Also, by keeping the love between Gombo and Pagma the central focus, Mikhalkov ensures that the prevailing tone will be warm and the issues intensely personalized rather than abstract. Even the vast rolling landscape of the Steppes becomes intimate.
CLOSE TO EDEN
MIRAMAX
Director-Original idea Nikita Mikhalkov
Supervising producer Michel Seydoux
Executive producer Jean-Louis Piel
Story Nikita Mikhalkov, Roustam Ibraguimbekov
Screenplay Roustam Ibraguimbekov
Director of photography Villenn Kaluta
Production designer Aleksei Levtchenko
Editor Joelle Hache
Music Eduard Artemiev
Color
Cast:
Gombo Bayaertu
Pagma Badema
Sergei Valdimir Gostukhin
Running time -- 106 minutes
No MPAA rating
(c) The Hollywood Reporter...
Set in the very recent past, the film centers around the family of Gombo (Bayaertu), his wife Pagma (Badema), their two children and his mother. They live the centuries-old life of Mongolian nomads, tending their small herds of sheep, cattle and horses and living in a large tent.
The outside world has impinged only slightly on their lives, largely through the accordion that daughter Bourma (Bao Yongyan) has been given by a city-dwelling uncle. However, one day a Russian contract worker, Sergei (Vladimir Gostukhin), falls asleep at the wheel of his truck, becomes stranded and ends up the guest of Gombo and Pagma.
Because Gombo and Pagma have reached the government-imposed limit of three children, Pagma has been urging her husband to go to town and buy condoms and, while he's at it, a television. So Gombo and two horses hitch a ride with Sergei and travel off to a nearby city, a vast jury-rigged collection of apartment blocks, huge industrial plants, and stores crammed with the latest in consumer goods.
For the opening sequences, director Nikita Mikhalkov uses relaxed and patient rhythms to great effect. Typically, he spends as much time watching Gombo catch a dragonfly in flight and showing it to his son Bouin (Wurinile, a tremendously appealing natural talent) or on how the family slaughters a sheep as on more plot-oriented material.
Once Gombo and Sergei get to the city, the pace quickens as the two -- singly and together -- engage in a series of seriocomic escapades. When Gombo leaves for home, the film segues into an elaborate dream sequence in which a drunken uncle (Baoyinhexige) appears as Genghis Khan at the head of a column of soldiers and chastises Gombo for straying from Mongol ways.
The lament for a passing culture is a familiar one, but Mikhalkov has appeared to capture the whole nature of Mongolian life so successfully, the film is unusually persuasive.
Also, by keeping the love between Gombo and Pagma the central focus, Mikhalkov ensures that the prevailing tone will be warm and the issues intensely personalized rather than abstract. Even the vast rolling landscape of the Steppes becomes intimate.
CLOSE TO EDEN
MIRAMAX
Director-Original idea Nikita Mikhalkov
Supervising producer Michel Seydoux
Executive producer Jean-Louis Piel
Story Nikita Mikhalkov, Roustam Ibraguimbekov
Screenplay Roustam Ibraguimbekov
Director of photography Villenn Kaluta
Production designer Aleksei Levtchenko
Editor Joelle Hache
Music Eduard Artemiev
Color
Cast:
Gombo Bayaertu
Pagma Badema
Sergei Valdimir Gostukhin
Running time -- 106 minutes
No MPAA rating
(c) The Hollywood Reporter...
- 10/19/1992
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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