Micheline Presle, the French actress whose controversial Devil in the Flesh role was the start of a career that included starring opposite John Garfield, Tyrone Power, Errol Flynn and Paul Newman, has died at 101.
Presle died Wednesday in the Paris suburb of Nogent-sur-Marne, her son-in-law, Olivier Bomsel, told Le Figaro.
Presle portrayed a nurse having an affair with a student (Gérard Philipe) in the World War I drama Devil in the Flesh (1947), which the National Board of Review voted as one of the 10 best films of the year.
She was soon signed by 20th Century Fox, which changed her surname to Prelle and cast her as a café owner who falls in love with a crooked jockey (Garfield) in Jean Negulesco’s Under My Skin (1950). She also starred with Power in the Technicolor war film American Guerilla in the Philippines (1950), and in The Adventures of Captain Fabian (1951).
She would appear...
Presle died Wednesday in the Paris suburb of Nogent-sur-Marne, her son-in-law, Olivier Bomsel, told Le Figaro.
Presle portrayed a nurse having an affair with a student (Gérard Philipe) in the World War I drama Devil in the Flesh (1947), which the National Board of Review voted as one of the 10 best films of the year.
She was soon signed by 20th Century Fox, which changed her surname to Prelle and cast her as a café owner who falls in love with a crooked jockey (Garfield) in Jean Negulesco’s Under My Skin (1950). She also starred with Power in the Technicolor war film American Guerilla in the Philippines (1950), and in The Adventures of Captain Fabian (1951).
She would appear...
- 2/22/2024
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
Micheline Presle, the standout French actress who starred in the controversial Devil in the Flesh before making a foray into Hollywood that included roles opposite John Garfield, Tyrone Power, Errol Flynn and Paul Newman, has died. She was 101.
Presle died Wedneday in the Paris suburb of Nogent-sur-Marne, her son-in-law Olivier Bomsel told Le Figaro.
Presle came to international attention when she portrayed a nurse having an affair with a student (Gérard Philipe) in the World War I drama Devil in the Flesh (1947), which the National Board of Review voted as one of the 10 best films of the year.
Because it featured a woman who took a lover while her husband was away at war, it generated a great deal of discussion.
In 1949, Presle met American actor William Marshall, who had been married to another French star, Michèle Morgan, and followed him to America. They would wed that year in Santa Barbara.
Presle died Wedneday in the Paris suburb of Nogent-sur-Marne, her son-in-law Olivier Bomsel told Le Figaro.
Presle came to international attention when she portrayed a nurse having an affair with a student (Gérard Philipe) in the World War I drama Devil in the Flesh (1947), which the National Board of Review voted as one of the 10 best films of the year.
Because it featured a woman who took a lover while her husband was away at war, it generated a great deal of discussion.
In 1949, Presle met American actor William Marshall, who had been married to another French star, Michèle Morgan, and followed him to America. They would wed that year in Santa Barbara.
- 2/22/2024
- by Rhett Bartlett and Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Director Tonie Marshall, left, on the set of her last film Woman Up! with actress Emmanuelle Devos Photo: Unifrance Filmmaker Tonie Marshall has died in Paris at the age of 68 after a long illness. The daughter of French star Micheline Presle and of the American actor, director and producer William Marshall, Tonie was the only woman to win a best director César in the French “Oscars".
She was a significant feminist spirit in the industry, whose most recent film - released in the UK and the United States as Woman Up! (Numéro Une) - pitched Emmanuelle Devos as an ambitious corporate manager who aspires to be the first woman managing director of a major French company in a male dominated environment.
In an interview during the Unifrance Rendezvous with French Cinema in Paris three years ago, she explained the genesis the film: “I had this idea back in 2009 for a...
She was a significant feminist spirit in the industry, whose most recent film - released in the UK and the United States as Woman Up! (Numéro Une) - pitched Emmanuelle Devos as an ambitious corporate manager who aspires to be the first woman managing director of a major French company in a male dominated environment.
In an interview during the Unifrance Rendezvous with French Cinema in Paris three years ago, she explained the genesis the film: “I had this idea back in 2009 for a...
- 3/12/2020
- by Richard Mowe
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
French-American actress and director was the only woman to have won the César for best director for Venus Beauty.
French-American actress and director Tonie Marshall died on Thursday at the age of 68 after a long illness, according to her Paris-based agent Elisabeth Tanner.
Born and raised in France, Marshall grew up in the cinema world as the daughter of French actress Micheline Presle and Us actor and director William Marshall.
Following in her mother’s footsteps, she embarked on a career as an actress in the early 1970s, clocking up more than 40 film and TV credits in her lifetime.
She...
French-American actress and director Tonie Marshall died on Thursday at the age of 68 after a long illness, according to her Paris-based agent Elisabeth Tanner.
Born and raised in France, Marshall grew up in the cinema world as the daughter of French actress Micheline Presle and Us actor and director William Marshall.
Following in her mother’s footsteps, she embarked on a career as an actress in the early 1970s, clocking up more than 40 film and TV credits in her lifetime.
She...
- 3/12/2020
- by 1100388¦Melanie Goodfellow¦0¦
- ScreenDaily
Tonie Marshall, the French-born actress and filmmaker who wrote, directed and produced the 1999 romantic dramedy Venus Beauty, died Thursday after a long illness, her agent said. She was 68.
Her parents were French actress Micheline Presle (Devil in the Flesh) and American actor-director William Marshall (Knute Rockne All American, The Phantom Planet).
Born on Nov. 29, 1951, Marshall began her career in front of the camera with roles in such films as A Slightly Pregnant Man (1973), directed by Jacques Demy. She acted in more than 40 movies and TV shows during her career but made her biggest mark as a filmmaker....
Her parents were French actress Micheline Presle (Devil in the Flesh) and American actor-director William Marshall (Knute Rockne All American, The Phantom Planet).
Born on Nov. 29, 1951, Marshall began her career in front of the camera with roles in such films as A Slightly Pregnant Man (1973), directed by Jacques Demy. She acted in more than 40 movies and TV shows during her career but made her biggest mark as a filmmaker....
- 3/12/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Tonie Marshall, the French-born actress and filmmaker who wrote, directed and produced the 1999 romantic dramedy Venus Beauty, died Thursday after a long illness, her agent said. She was 68.
Her parents were French actress Micheline Presle (Devil in the Flesh) and American actor-director William Marshall (Knute Rockne All American, The Phantom Planet).
Born on Nov. 29, 1951, Marshall began her career in front of the camera with roles in such films as A Slightly Pregnant Man (1973), directed by Jacques Demy. She acted in more than 40 movies and TV shows during her career but made her biggest mark as a filmmaker....
Her parents were French actress Micheline Presle (Devil in the Flesh) and American actor-director William Marshall (Knute Rockne All American, The Phantom Planet).
Born on Nov. 29, 1951, Marshall began her career in front of the camera with roles in such films as A Slightly Pregnant Man (1973), directed by Jacques Demy. She acted in more than 40 movies and TV shows during her career but made her biggest mark as a filmmaker....
- 3/12/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Already eclipsed by James Bond and sexier European films, Paul Newman does his best to energize this derivative but lively spy-chase thriller set during Nobel season, in a Stockholm populated by the glamorous Elke Sommer, Diane Baker, Micheline Presle and Jacqueline Beer. Toss several Hitchcock pictures into a blender, and what comes out is reasonably engaging… and more than a little dated.
The Prize
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1963 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 134 min. / Street Date January 15, 2019 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Paul Newman, Edward G. Robinson, Elke Sommer, Diane Baker, Micheline Presle, Gérard Oury, Sergio Fantoni, Kevin McCarthy, Leo G. Carroll, Sacha Pitoëff, Jacqueline Beer, John Wengraf, Don Dubbin, Virginia Christine, Rudolph Anders, Martine Bartlett, Karl Swenson, John Qualen, John Banner, Teru Shimada, Albert Carrier, Jerry Dunphy, Britt Ekland, Gergory Gaye, Anna Lee, Gregg Palmer, Gene Roth, Ivan Triesault.
Cinematography: William H. Daniels
Film Editor: Adrienne Fazan
Original Music: Jerry Goldsmith...
The Prize
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1963 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 134 min. / Street Date January 15, 2019 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Paul Newman, Edward G. Robinson, Elke Sommer, Diane Baker, Micheline Presle, Gérard Oury, Sergio Fantoni, Kevin McCarthy, Leo G. Carroll, Sacha Pitoëff, Jacqueline Beer, John Wengraf, Don Dubbin, Virginia Christine, Rudolph Anders, Martine Bartlett, Karl Swenson, John Qualen, John Banner, Teru Shimada, Albert Carrier, Jerry Dunphy, Britt Ekland, Gergory Gaye, Anna Lee, Gregg Palmer, Gene Roth, Ivan Triesault.
Cinematography: William H. Daniels
Film Editor: Adrienne Fazan
Original Music: Jerry Goldsmith...
- 1/12/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
The writing team of Boileau and Narcejac penned the source novels for Les Diaboliques and Vertigo, and also collaborated with Franju on Eyes without a Face and Spotlight on a Murderer. Les Louves, a.k.a. Demoniac, is their second film, from 1957, an adaptation of their own novel. Unlike the Clouzot and Hitchcock films, it doesn't so much hinge upon a fantastic imposture unmasked towards the end, but it instead piles on secrets and intrigues until the viewer is both giddy and despondent.The setting is France during the Occupation, and the movie begins with Joseph Kosma's ominous score imitating the scream of a Pow camp siren. François Périer (from Cocteau's Orpheus) plays an escaped French soldier who takes his slain buddy's ID and finds himself impersonating the dead man in the house of his "war godmother" (Micheline Presle), a woman he had become engaged to by mail without the two ever meeting.
- 10/12/2018
- MUBI
"Do you feel any stirrings?" Studiocanal UK has debuted a new trailer for the upcoming UK re-release of the French drama The Nun, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 1966. Not to be confused with the horror movie also known as The Nun opening in theaters this summer. Jacques Rivette's third feature didn't win any awards at the time it was released, but did end up with rave reviews and is now considered a French classic. The Nun is getting 4K restoration and re-release, along with an obvious Blu-ray release as well. Set in the 18th century, the film is about a young girl who is sent to a convent against her will. When she asks to renounce her vows, she finds herself caught in a fatal trap. Anna Karina stars as Suzanne, "The Nun", and the cast includes Liselotte Pulver, Micheline Presle, Francine Bergé, Francisco Rabal, and Christiane Lénier.
- 7/9/2018
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Following its initial premiere at the Cannes Film Festival 52 years ago, Jacques Rivette’s breathtaking French drama The Nun – also known by its French title La religieuse – is getting a 4K restoration and a theatrical run. Overseen by Ms. Veronique Manniez-Rivette at L’Immagine Ritrovata, StudioCanal has now released a new remastered trailer for the film.
The new trailer is both riveting and tense, showcasing cinematographer Alain Levent’s striking imagery and teasing Rivette’s complex ideas. Often regarded as one of the most poignant works of French cinema, The Nun centers on Suzanne Simonin, a young woman who is forced to dedicate herself to a convent of nuns. Suzanne faces difficulty as she begins to challenge her newly instated vows – the institutional pressure weighing on her in the form of three superior mothers and their radical behavior.
The Nun–not to be confused with another film of the same...
The new trailer is both riveting and tense, showcasing cinematographer Alain Levent’s striking imagery and teasing Rivette’s complex ideas. Often regarded as one of the most poignant works of French cinema, The Nun centers on Suzanne Simonin, a young woman who is forced to dedicate herself to a convent of nuns. Suzanne faces difficulty as she begins to challenge her newly instated vows – the institutional pressure weighing on her in the form of three superior mothers and their radical behavior.
The Nun–not to be confused with another film of the same...
- 7/7/2018
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
Welcome to the world of Jean Grémillon, where adult characters work through adult problems without benefit of melodramatic excess. The impressively directed experiences of Micheline Presle’s lady doctor on a storm-swept island opts for a progressive point of view, not sentimentality.
The Love of a Woman
Blu-ray + DVD
Arrow Video USA
1953 / B&W / 1:37 flat full frame / 104 min. / Street Date August 22, 2017 / L’amour d’une femme / Available from Arrow Video 39.95
Starring: Micheline Presle, Massimo Girotti, Gaby Morlay, Paolo Stoppa, Marc Cassot, Marius David, Yvette Etiévant, Roland Lesaffre, Robert Naly, Madeleine Geoffroy.
Cinematography: Louis Page
Film Editor: Louisette Hautecoeur, Marguerite Renoir
Production Design: Robert Clavel
Original Music: Elsa Barraine, Henrie Dutilleux
Written by René Fallet, Jean Grémillon, René Wheeler
Produced by Mario Gabrielli, Pierre Géin
Directed by Jean Grémillon
Film critics that pride themselves on rediscovering older directors haven’t done very well by France’s Jean Grémillon, at least not in this country.
The Love of a Woman
Blu-ray + DVD
Arrow Video USA
1953 / B&W / 1:37 flat full frame / 104 min. / Street Date August 22, 2017 / L’amour d’une femme / Available from Arrow Video 39.95
Starring: Micheline Presle, Massimo Girotti, Gaby Morlay, Paolo Stoppa, Marc Cassot, Marius David, Yvette Etiévant, Roland Lesaffre, Robert Naly, Madeleine Geoffroy.
Cinematography: Louis Page
Film Editor: Louisette Hautecoeur, Marguerite Renoir
Production Design: Robert Clavel
Original Music: Elsa Barraine, Henrie Dutilleux
Written by René Fallet, Jean Grémillon, René Wheeler
Produced by Mario Gabrielli, Pierre Géin
Directed by Jean Grémillon
Film critics that pride themselves on rediscovering older directors haven’t done very well by France’s Jean Grémillon, at least not in this country.
- 9/9/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
The Love Of A Woman (1953 – L’amour d’une femme) 2-Disc Special Edition DVD + Blu-ray will be available August 22nd from Arrow Academy. Pre-order Here</strong
The Love Of A Woman (L’amour d’une femme) was the final feature of the great French filmmaker Jean Grémillon, concluding a string of classics that included such greats as Remorques, Lumière d’été and Pattes blanches.
Marie, a young doctor, arrives on the island of Ushant to replace its retiring physician. She experiences prejudice from the mostly male population, but also love in the form of engineer André.
Starring Micheline Presle, whose impressive career has encompassed French, Italian and Hollywood cinema, and Massimo Girotti, best-known for his performance in Luchino Visconti’s Ossessione, The Love of a Woman is a sad, beautiful, romantic masterpiece.
Special Edition Contents
• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition presentations of the feature, from materials supplied by...
The Love Of A Woman (L’amour d’une femme) was the final feature of the great French filmmaker Jean Grémillon, concluding a string of classics that included such greats as Remorques, Lumière d’été and Pattes blanches.
Marie, a young doctor, arrives on the island of Ushant to replace its retiring physician. She experiences prejudice from the mostly male population, but also love in the form of engineer André.
Starring Micheline Presle, whose impressive career has encompassed French, Italian and Hollywood cinema, and Massimo Girotti, best-known for his performance in Luchino Visconti’s Ossessione, The Love of a Woman is a sad, beautiful, romantic masterpiece.
Special Edition Contents
• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition presentations of the feature, from materials supplied by...
- 8/8/2017
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Writer-director Elio Petri scores big in his first feature, the story of a heel suspected of murder. Is he a killer, or just an average guy trying to get ahead, who uses women to his advantage? Marcello Mastroianni impresses as well in a serious role, with Salvo Randone shining as the police inspector trying to pry a confession from him. Beautifully restored in HD; the show is from a time when Italian film was at its zenith.
The Assassin
Blu-ray + DVD
Arrow Video USA
1961 / B&W / 1:85 widescreen / 97 min. / Street Date April 18, 2017 / L’Assassino / Available from Arrow Video
Starring: Marcello Mastroianni, Micheline Presle, Cristina Gaioni, Salvo Randone, Andrea Checchi, Francesco Grandjacquet, Marco Mariani, Franco Ressel.
Cinematography: Carlo Di Palma
Film Editor: Ruggero Mastroianni
Original Music: Piero Piccione
Written by Tonino (Antonio) Guerra, Elio Petri, Pasquale Fest Campanile, Massimo Franciosa
Produced by Franco Cristaldi
Directed by Elio Petri
Fans of Elio Petri...
The Assassin
Blu-ray + DVD
Arrow Video USA
1961 / B&W / 1:85 widescreen / 97 min. / Street Date April 18, 2017 / L’Assassino / Available from Arrow Video
Starring: Marcello Mastroianni, Micheline Presle, Cristina Gaioni, Salvo Randone, Andrea Checchi, Francesco Grandjacquet, Marco Mariani, Franco Ressel.
Cinematography: Carlo Di Palma
Film Editor: Ruggero Mastroianni
Original Music: Piero Piccione
Written by Tonino (Antonio) Guerra, Elio Petri, Pasquale Fest Campanile, Massimo Franciosa
Produced by Franco Cristaldi
Directed by Elio Petri
Fans of Elio Petri...
- 5/8/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
2016 movies Things to Come (pictured) and Elle have earned French cinema icon Isabelle Huppert her – surprisingly – first National Society of Film Critics Best Actress Award. 2016 Movies: Isabelle Huppert & 'Moonlight' among National Society of Film Critics' top picks Earlier today (Jan. 7), the National Society of Film Critics announced their top 2016 movies and performances. Somewhat surprisingly, this year's Nsfc list – which generally contains more offbeat entries than those of other U.S.-based critics groups – is quite similar to their counterparts', most of which came out last December. No, that doesn't mean the National Society of Film Critics has opted for the crowd-pleasing route. Instead, this awards season U.S. critics have not infrequently gone for even less mainstream entries than usual. Examples, among either the Nsfc winners or runners-up, include Isabelle Huppert in Elle, Moonlight, Toni Erdmann, Casey Affleck in Manchester by the Sea, and Lily Gladstone in Certain Women. French...
- 1/8/2017
- by Mont. Steve
- Alt Film Guide
Danièle Delorme: 'Gigi' 1949 actress and pioneering female film producer. Danièle Delorme: 'Gigi' 1949 actress was pioneering woman producer, politically minded 'femme engagée' Danièle Delorme, who died on Oct. 17, '15, at the age of 89 in Paris, is best remembered as the first actress to incarnate Colette's teenage courtesan-to-be Gigi and for playing Jean Rochefort's about-to-be-cuckolded wife in the international box office hit Pardon Mon Affaire. Yet few are aware that Delorme was featured in nearly 60 films – three of which, including Gigi, directed by France's sole major woman filmmaker of the '40s and '50s – in addition to more than 20 stage plays and a dozen television productions in a show business career spanning seven decades. Even fewer realize that Delorme was also a pioneering woman film producer, working in that capacity for more than half a century. Or that she was what in French is called a femme engagée...
- 12/5/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Marc Allégret: From André Gide lover to Simone Simon mentor (photo: Marc Allégret) (See previous post: "Simone Simon Remembered: Sex Kitten and Femme Fatale.") Simone Simon became a film star following the international critical and financial success of the 1934 romantic drama Lac aux Dames, directed by her self-appointed mentor – and alleged lover – Marc Allégret.[1] The son of an evangelical missionary, Marc Allégret (born on December 22, 1900, in Basel, Switzerland) was to have become a lawyer. At age 16, his life took a different path as a result of his romantic involvement – and elopement to London – with his mentor and later "adoptive uncle" André Gide (1947 Nobel Prize winner in Literature), more than 30 years his senior and married to Madeleine Rondeaux for more than two decades. In various forms – including a threesome with painter Théo Van Rysselberghe's daughter Elisabeth – the Allégret-Gide relationship remained steady until the late '20s and their trip to...
- 2/28/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
From April 20 to April 28, 2015, filmgoers will celebrate the 19th edition of Colcoa French Film Festival, "9 Days of Film Premieres in Hollywood." The festival has recently unveiled the Focus on a Filmmaker program as well as an exclusive line up of French Classics of predominantly digitally restored films, presented as World, International or North American Premieres. All screenings will take place at the Directors Guild of America. For the first time, the Colcoa Classics Series from Tuesday to Saturday will be free with no reservation, on a first come, first served, basis.
Focus on a Filmmaker: Academy Award-Winner Michel Hazanavicius
Colcoa will honor Academy Award-winning writer-director Michel Hazanavicius on Thursday, April 23 with a special encore presentation of "Oss 117 Cairo Nest of Spies" (2006) (Colcoa Classics), as well as the Los Angeles Premiere of his new film , three years after the triumph of multi-Academy Award- winner, "The Artist." The cast of "The Search" includes Academy Award Nominee Bérénice Bejo and Academy Award nominee AAnnette Bening . "The Search" had its World Premiere at the Cannes Film Festival last year. Hazanavicius joins writer-directors Cedric Klapisch, Bertrand Blier, Costa Gavras, Florent Siri, Julie Delpy and Alain Resnais, whose key body of work has been cited in past festivals. This will be his third film presented at the festival, following "Oss 117 Cairo Nest of Spies" and the International Premiere of "Oss 117, Lost in Rio." Michel Hazanavicius will meet the audience for a Happy Hour Talk panel dedicated to his work. (Colcoa Classics + Panel + Premiere of "The Search.")
30th Anniversary of Palme D'Or Winner "Paris,Texas"
The digitally restored version of French production "Paris,Texas" (1984) will have its West Coast Premiere at Colcoa. The Cannes Palme d'Or winner, co-written by Sam Shepard and L.M. Kit Carson, and directed by Academy Award Nominee Wim Wenders, will be presented in association with Argos Films and Janus Films. The cast includes Nastassja Kinski who will present the film, Harry Dean Stanton and Dean Stockwell. (Colcoa Classics)
North American Premiere of Digitally Restored "La Chienne"
Colcoa will present the digitally restored version of "La Chienne" (1931), the second talking movie co-written and directed by Jean Renoir. It stars Michel Simon, Janie Marèse and Georges Flamant. This exclusive new presentation in the U.S. is made possible thanks to the Franco-American Cultural Fund (Facf), Janus Films La Cinémathèque Française and Les Films du Jeudi. (Colcoa Classics)
World Premiere of Digitally Restored "Will It Snow for Christmas?"
A special 20th anniversary screening of digitally restored "Will It Snow for Christmas?" (1996) will be offered to the Colcoa audience. The film, written and directed by Sandrine Veysset, starring Dominique Reymond, Daniel Duval and Jessica Martinez, will be presented for the first time in advance of a U.S. release by Carlotta Films. (Colcoa Classics)
First American Presentation Since 1961 "Five Day Lover"
This romantic comedy by the late writer-director Philippe de Broca, starring Jean-Pierre Cassel François Périer, Jean Seberg and Micheline Presle, will be presented in an American theatre for the first time since its opening in 1961. Colcoa will present the digitally restored version of "Five Day Lover" as a World Premiere. The Cohen Media Group will release the film later this year in the U.S.. (Colcoa Classics) World Premiere of Digitally Restored "Two Men in Town"
A classic film noir written and directed by José Giovanni, starring Alain Delon and Jean Gabin, "Two Men in Town"(1973) will be presented for the first time on the big screen in a digitally restored version. The Cohen Media group will release the film later this year (Colcoa Classics). North American Premiere of Digitally Restored "The Last Metro"
Following last year's homage to the universally renowned François Truffaut, Colcoa is proud to offer the North American Premiere of the digitally restored "The Last Metro" (1980), presented in association with the Franco-American Cultural Fund, La Cinématheque Française, MK2 and Janus Films. This masterpiece was also Truffaut's most successful box office success. It stars Catherine Deneuve and Gerard Depardieu. (Colcoa Classics...
Focus on a Filmmaker: Academy Award-Winner Michel Hazanavicius
Colcoa will honor Academy Award-winning writer-director Michel Hazanavicius on Thursday, April 23 with a special encore presentation of "Oss 117 Cairo Nest of Spies" (2006) (Colcoa Classics), as well as the Los Angeles Premiere of his new film , three years after the triumph of multi-Academy Award- winner, "The Artist." The cast of "The Search" includes Academy Award Nominee Bérénice Bejo and Academy Award nominee AAnnette Bening . "The Search" had its World Premiere at the Cannes Film Festival last year. Hazanavicius joins writer-directors Cedric Klapisch, Bertrand Blier, Costa Gavras, Florent Siri, Julie Delpy and Alain Resnais, whose key body of work has been cited in past festivals. This will be his third film presented at the festival, following "Oss 117 Cairo Nest of Spies" and the International Premiere of "Oss 117, Lost in Rio." Michel Hazanavicius will meet the audience for a Happy Hour Talk panel dedicated to his work. (Colcoa Classics + Panel + Premiere of "The Search.")
30th Anniversary of Palme D'Or Winner "Paris,Texas"
The digitally restored version of French production "Paris,Texas" (1984) will have its West Coast Premiere at Colcoa. The Cannes Palme d'Or winner, co-written by Sam Shepard and L.M. Kit Carson, and directed by Academy Award Nominee Wim Wenders, will be presented in association with Argos Films and Janus Films. The cast includes Nastassja Kinski who will present the film, Harry Dean Stanton and Dean Stockwell. (Colcoa Classics)
North American Premiere of Digitally Restored "La Chienne"
Colcoa will present the digitally restored version of "La Chienne" (1931), the second talking movie co-written and directed by Jean Renoir. It stars Michel Simon, Janie Marèse and Georges Flamant. This exclusive new presentation in the U.S. is made possible thanks to the Franco-American Cultural Fund (Facf), Janus Films La Cinémathèque Française and Les Films du Jeudi. (Colcoa Classics)
World Premiere of Digitally Restored "Will It Snow for Christmas?"
A special 20th anniversary screening of digitally restored "Will It Snow for Christmas?" (1996) will be offered to the Colcoa audience. The film, written and directed by Sandrine Veysset, starring Dominique Reymond, Daniel Duval and Jessica Martinez, will be presented for the first time in advance of a U.S. release by Carlotta Films. (Colcoa Classics)
First American Presentation Since 1961 "Five Day Lover"
This romantic comedy by the late writer-director Philippe de Broca, starring Jean-Pierre Cassel François Périer, Jean Seberg and Micheline Presle, will be presented in an American theatre for the first time since its opening in 1961. Colcoa will present the digitally restored version of "Five Day Lover" as a World Premiere. The Cohen Media Group will release the film later this year in the U.S.. (Colcoa Classics) World Premiere of Digitally Restored "Two Men in Town"
A classic film noir written and directed by José Giovanni, starring Alain Delon and Jean Gabin, "Two Men in Town"(1973) will be presented for the first time on the big screen in a digitally restored version. The Cohen Media group will release the film later this year (Colcoa Classics). North American Premiere of Digitally Restored "The Last Metro"
Following last year's homage to the universally renowned François Truffaut, Colcoa is proud to offer the North American Premiere of the digitally restored "The Last Metro" (1980), presented in association with the Franco-American Cultural Fund, La Cinématheque Française, MK2 and Janus Films. This masterpiece was also Truffaut's most successful box office success. It stars Catherine Deneuve and Gerard Depardieu. (Colcoa Classics...
- 2/25/2015
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Simone Simon in 'La Bête Humaine' 1938: Jean Renoir's film noir (photo: Jean Gabin and Simone Simon in 'La Bête Humaine') (See previous post: "'Cat People' 1942 Actress Simone Simon Remembered.") In the late 1930s, with her Hollywood career stalled while facing competition at 20th Century-Fox from another French import, Annabella (later Tyrone Power's wife), Simone Simon returned to France. Once there, she reestablished herself as an actress to be reckoned with in Jean Renoir's La Bête Humaine. An updated version of Émile Zola's 1890 novel, La Bête Humaine is enveloped in a dark, brooding atmosphere not uncommon in pre-World War II French films. Known for their "poetic realism," examples from that era include Renoir's own The Lower Depths (1936), Julien Duvivier's La Belle Équipe (1936) and Pépé le Moko (1937), and particularly Marcel Carné's Port of Shadows (1938) and Daybreak (1939).[11] This thematic and...
- 2/6/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Sean Penn: Honorary César goes Hollywood – again (photo: Sean Penn in '21 Grams') Sean Penn, 54, will receive the 2015 Honorary César (César d'Honneur), the French Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Crafts has announced. That means the French Academy's powers-that-be are once again trying to make the Prix César ceremony relevant to the American media. Their tactic is to hand out the career award to a widely known and relatively young – i.e., media friendly – Hollywood celebrity. (Scroll down for more such examples.) In the words of the French Academy, Honorary César 2015 recipient Sean Penn is a "living legend" and "a stand-alone icon in American cinema." It has also hailed the two-time Best Actor Oscar winner as a "mythical actor, a politically active personality and an exceptional director." Penn will be honored at the César Awards ceremony on Feb. 20, 2015. Sean Penn movies Sean Penn movies range from the teen comedy...
- 1/28/2015
- by Steve Montgomery
- Alt Film Guide
Translators introduction: This article by Mireille Latil Le Dantec, the second of two parts, was originally published in issue 40 of Cinématographe, September 1978. The previous issue of the magazine had included a dossier on "La qualité française" and a book of a never-shot script by Jean Grémillon (Le Printemps de la Liberté or The Spring of Freedom) had recently been published. The time was ripe for a re-evaluation of Grémillon's films and a resuscitation of his undervalued career. As this re-evaluation appears to still be happening nearly 40 years later—Grémillon's films have only recently seen DVD releases and a 35mm retrospective begins this week at Museum of the Moving Image in Queens—this article and its follow-up gives us an important view of a French perspective on Grémillon's work by a very perceptive critic doing the initial heavy-lifting in bringing the proper attention to the filmmaker's work.
Passion...
Passion...
- 12/11/2014
- by Ted Fendt
- MUBI
To mark the release of L’Assassino on 21st July, we’ve been given 3 copies to give away on Blu-ray and DVD combo.
Released within months of Fellini’s La Dolce Vita and Antonioni’s La Notte, Elio Petri’s dazzling first feature L’Assassino also stars Marcello Mastroianni, this time as dandyish thirty-something antiques dealer Alfredo Martelli, arrested on suspicion of murdering his older, far wealthier lover Adalgisa (Micheline Presle). But as the increasingly Kafkaesque police investigation proceeds, it becomes less and less important whether Martelli actually committed the crime as his entire lifestyle is effectively put on trial.
Best known for Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion and The Tenth Victim, Petri was one of the finest and yet most underrated Italian directors of the 1960s and 70s. Highly acclaimed on its original UK release but unjustly neglected since, L’Assassino is a remarkably assured debut from one...
Released within months of Fellini’s La Dolce Vita and Antonioni’s La Notte, Elio Petri’s dazzling first feature L’Assassino also stars Marcello Mastroianni, this time as dandyish thirty-something antiques dealer Alfredo Martelli, arrested on suspicion of murdering his older, far wealthier lover Adalgisa (Micheline Presle). But as the increasingly Kafkaesque police investigation proceeds, it becomes less and less important whether Martelli actually committed the crime as his entire lifestyle is effectively put on trial.
Best known for Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion and The Tenth Victim, Petri was one of the finest and yet most underrated Italian directors of the 1960s and 70s. Highly acclaimed on its original UK release but unjustly neglected since, L’Assassino is a remarkably assured debut from one...
- 7/22/2014
- by Competitions
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Danielle Darrieux turns 97: Darrieux has probably enjoyed the longest film star career in history (photo: Danielle Darrieux in ‘La Ronde’) Screen legend Danielle Darrieux is turning 97 today, May 1, 2014. In all likelihood, the Bordeaux-born (1917) Darrieux has enjoyed the longest "movie star" career ever: eight decades, from Wilhelm Thiele’s Le Bal (1931) to Denys Granier-Deferre’s The Wedding Cake / Pièce montée (2010). (Mickey Rooney has had a longer film career — nearly nine decades — but mostly as a supporting player in minor roles.) Absurdly, despite a prestigious career consisting of more than 100 movie roles, Danielle Darrieux — delightful in Club de femmes, superb in The Earrings of Madame De…, alternately hilarious and heartbreaking in 8 Women — has never won an Honorary Oscar. But then again, very few women have. At least, the French Academy did award her an Honorary César back in 1985; additionally, in 2002 Darrieux and her fellow 8 Women / 8 femmes co-stars shared Best Actress honors...
- 5/1/2014
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
‘La Cage aux Folles’ director Edouard Molinaro, who collaborated with Catherine Deneuve, Jeanne Moreau, Orson Welles, dead at 85 Edouard Molinaro, best known internationally for the late ’70s box office comedy hit La Cage aux Folles, which earned him a Best Director Academy Award nomination, died of lung failure on December 7, 2013, at a Paris hospital. Molinaro was 85. Born on May 31, 1928, in Bordeaux, in southwestern France, to a middle-class family, Molinaro began his six-decade-long film and television career in the mid-’40s, directing narrative and industrial shorts such as Evasion (1946), the Death parable Un monsieur très chic ("A Very Elegant Gentleman," 1948), and Le verbe en chair / The Word in the Flesh (1950), in which a poet realizes that greed is everywhere — including his own heart. At the time, Molinaro also worked as an assistant director, collaborating with, among others, Robert Vernay (the 1954 version of The Count of Monte Cristo, starring Jean Marais) and...
- 12/8/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
European Film Academy’s Lifetime Achievement Award: Catherine Deneuve, Jeanne Moreau, Judi Dench are the only three female recipients to date (photo: European movies’ Lifetime Achievement Award-less actress Danielle Darrieux) (See previous post: "Catherine Deneuve: Only the Third Woman to Receive European Film Academy’s Lifetime Achievement Award.") As mentioned in the previous post, French film icon Catherine Deneuve is only the third woman to receive the European Film Academy’s Lifetime Achievement Award since the organization’s first awards ceremony in 1988. Deneuve’s predecessors are The Lovers‘ Jeanne Moreau (1997) and Notes on a Scandal‘s Judi Dench (2008). In that regard, the European Film Academy is as male-oriented as the Beverly Hills-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. More on that below. Male recipients of the European Film Academy’s Lifetime Achievement Award are the following: Ingmar Bergman, Marcello Mastroianni, Federico Fellini, Andrzej Wajda, Alexandre Trauner, Billy Wilder,...
- 9/25/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Ramon Novarro: Mexican-born actor was first Latin American Hollywood superstar Mexican-born actor Ramon Novarro, the original Ben-Hur and one of MGM’s biggest stars of the late ’20s and early ’30s, has his Turner Classic Movies’ "Summer Under the Stars" day on Thursday, August 8, 2013. First, The Bad News: TCM will not be presenting any Ramon Novarro movie premieres. And that’s quite disappointing. (Photo: Ramon Novarro ca. 1925.) There’ll be no The Midshipman (1925), the first time Novarro was billed above the title (back then the official recognition of True Stardom) and featuring one of Joan Crawford’s earliest film appearances, or Forbidden Hours (1928), a vapid but great-looking The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg redux, with the always charming Renée Adorée as the commoner loved by His Majesty, Michael IV — that’s Novarro. Excellent prints of The Midshipman and Forbidden Hours can be found in the Warner Bros. film...
- 8/8/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Above: L'amour d'une femme.
Edinburgh International Film Festival, under the direction of Chris Fujiwara, has ended for the year, and with it the Jean Grémillon retrospective, Symphonies of Life. Gathering most of the features (saving a few for-hire assignments) and all the surviving shorts, the season afforded an overview rarely possible with this neglected filmmaker.
Though the shorts were not my favorite Grémillons, they do illuminate the rest of his body of work. Documentaries on alchemy and astrology expose the filmmaker's fascination with the esoteric sciences, a major part of his life, which informs the tarot scenes in Lumière d'été and Maldone, where the cards indeed know all. Grémillon's sonorous, dreamy tones probably make him the greatest director-narrator outside of Orson Welles, and his self-penned music may be the finest outside of Chaplin's. The festival also played, at a fascinating symposium, the player piano score Grémillon wrote for a lost silent short,...
Edinburgh International Film Festival, under the direction of Chris Fujiwara, has ended for the year, and with it the Jean Grémillon retrospective, Symphonies of Life. Gathering most of the features (saving a few for-hire assignments) and all the surviving shorts, the season afforded an overview rarely possible with this neglected filmmaker.
Though the shorts were not my favorite Grémillons, they do illuminate the rest of his body of work. Documentaries on alchemy and astrology expose the filmmaker's fascination with the esoteric sciences, a major part of his life, which informs the tarot scenes in Lumière d'été and Maldone, where the cards indeed know all. Grémillon's sonorous, dreamy tones probably make him the greatest director-narrator outside of Orson Welles, and his self-penned music may be the finest outside of Chaplin's. The festival also played, at a fascinating symposium, the player piano score Grémillon wrote for a lost silent short,...
- 7/8/2013
- by Notebook
- MUBI
Oscar winners Olivia de Havilland and Luise Rainer among movie stars of the 1930s still alive With the passing of Deanna Durbin this past April, only a handful of movie stars of the 1930s remain on Planet Earth. Below is a (I believe) full list of surviving Hollywood "movie stars of the 1930s," in addition to a handful of secondary players, chiefly those who achieved stardom in the ensuing decade. Note: There’s only one male performer on the list — and curiously, four of the five child actresses listed below were born in April. (Please scroll down to check out the list of Oscar winners at the 75th Academy Awards, held on March 23, 2003, as seen in the picture above. Click on the photo to enlarge it. © A.M.P.A.S.) Two-time Oscar winner and London resident Luise Rainer (The Great Ziegfeld, The Good Earth, The Great Waltz), 103 last January...
- 5/7/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Producer Ross Hunter’s 1962 film If A Man Answers (directed by Henry Levin) is a sweet, silly and lighthearted romantic comedy featuring Sandra Dee and Bobby Darin. Sandra is Chantal Stacy, daughter of Boston businessman John Stacy (John Lund) and former Folies Bergere burlesque dancer and professional Frenchwoman Germaine Stacy (Micheline Presle). The film focuses on Chantal’s negotiation between the Boston practicality and the French passionate nature that runs through her genetic line. Bobby Darin, as fashion photographer Eugene Wright (“Mr. Wright”), finds himself in the middle of this mess as Chantal’s willing romantic victim.
Chantal’s first scene in the Stacy master bedroom after returning from a date features Dee in an ice-blue coat and white cowl-neck sweater (gowns are credited to Jean Louis), perfectly matching the walls of John and Germaine’s bedroom, illustrating via costume that she considers her place to be in her parents’ home,...
Chantal’s first scene in the Stacy master bedroom after returning from a date features Dee in an ice-blue coat and white cowl-neck sweater (gowns are credited to Jean Louis), perfectly matching the walls of John and Germaine’s bedroom, illustrating via costume that she considers her place to be in her parents’ home,...
- 11/9/2012
- by Contributor
- Clothes on Film
Faces (1968) Direction and screenplay: John Cassavetes Cast: John Marley, Gena Rowlands, Lynn Carlin, Fred Draper, Seymour Cassel, Val Avery Oscar Movies Gena Rowlands, John Marley, Faces After playing Mia Farrow's husband in Roman Polanski's Rosemary's Baby (1968), John Cassavetes reportedly threw the money he made as an actor into the finishing touches on Faces, a personal project he had begun filming in 1966. Cassavetes spent months (some sources say a couple of years) editing the film into a "manageable" six hours, and eventually into its final 130 minutes. Silent-film maverick Erich von Stroheim would have been proud of him — at least in regard to Faces' (initial) length and to Cassavetes' committed auteurship. Now, would the irascible Stroheim have approved of the frequently inaudible dialogue, sloppy editing, poor lighting, careless camera placement, and faux-naturalistic acting? Probably not. Shot in 16mm — that looks like poorly developed Super 8 — black and white, Faces...
- 1/27/2012
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
The Cannes Film Festival's unveiled its Classics program today: "Fourteen films, five documentaries, surprises, a Masterclass (Malcolm McDowell), new or restored prints: The program is based on proposals from national archives, cinematheques, studios, producers and distributors. Rare classics to discover or re-discover, they will be presented in 35mm or high definition digital prints."
The Films
The first round of descriptions comes straight from the Festival.
A Trip to the Moon (Le Voyage dans la lune) by Georges Méliès (France, 1902, 16'). "The color version of Georges Méliès most famous film, A Trip to the Moon (1902) is visible again 109 years after its release: having been long considered lost, this version was found in 1993 in Barcelona. In 2010, a full restoration is initiated by Lobster Films, Gan Foundation for Cinema and Technicolor Foundation for Heritage Cinema. The digital tools of today allows them to re-assemble the fragments of 13 375 images from the film and restore them one by one.
The Films
The first round of descriptions comes straight from the Festival.
A Trip to the Moon (Le Voyage dans la lune) by Georges Méliès (France, 1902, 16'). "The color version of Georges Méliès most famous film, A Trip to the Moon (1902) is visible again 109 years after its release: having been long considered lost, this version was found in 1993 in Barcelona. In 2010, a full restoration is initiated by Lobster Films, Gan Foundation for Cinema and Technicolor Foundation for Heritage Cinema. The digital tools of today allows them to re-assemble the fragments of 13 375 images from the film and restore them one by one.
- 4/26/2011
- MUBI
Cannes Classics is a recent addition to the festival, and will enjoy its 8th instalment this year. Part of the line-up of this section of the fest is screened at Ceinema de la Plage, that’s right, on the beach. You’ve got to admit that it’s pretty cool – an open-aired screening of a classic film on the French Riviera, away from the exclusivity of the Palais, and able to be enjoyed by Panini-eating passers-by on the Croisette. There should be more of this at the festival, it’s good for the soul.
This year’s line-up of films includes work by Stanley Kubrick, Bernardo Bertolucci, Euzhan Palcy (currently being honored by MoMA in New York) and Jerry Schatzberg, whose photograph of Faye Dunaway is embedded into this year’s festival poster above.
Robert DeNiro and Jane Rosenthal will present a screening of “A Bronx Tale” to celebrate ten...
This year’s line-up of films includes work by Stanley Kubrick, Bernardo Bertolucci, Euzhan Palcy (currently being honored by MoMA in New York) and Jerry Schatzberg, whose photograph of Faye Dunaway is embedded into this year’s festival poster above.
Robert DeNiro and Jane Rosenthal will present a screening of “A Bronx Tale” to celebrate ten...
- 4/26/2011
- by admin
- Moving Pictures Network
Cannes Classics is a recent addition to the festival, and will enjoy its 8th instalment this year. Part of the line-up of this section of the fest is screened at Ceinema de la Plage, that’s right, on the beach. You’ve got to admit that it’s pretty cool – an open-aired screening of a classic film on the French Riviera, away from the exclusivity of the Palais, and able to be enjoyed by Panini-eating passers-by on the Croisette. There should be more of this at the festival, it’s good for the soul.
This year’s line-up of films includes work by Stanley Kubrick, Bernardo Bertolucci, Euzhan Palcy (currently being honored by MoMA in New York) and Jerry Schatzberg, whose photograph of Faye Dunaway is embedded into this year’s festival poster above.
Robert DeNiro and Jane Rosenthal will present a screening of “A Bronx Tale” to celebrate ten...
This year’s line-up of films includes work by Stanley Kubrick, Bernardo Bertolucci, Euzhan Palcy (currently being honored by MoMA in New York) and Jerry Schatzberg, whose photograph of Faye Dunaway is embedded into this year’s festival poster above.
Robert DeNiro and Jane Rosenthal will present a screening of “A Bronx Tale” to celebrate ten...
- 4/26/2011
- by admin
- Moving Pictures Magazine
Danielle Darrieux in Max Ophüls' La Ronde (top); Darrieux, Isabelle Huppert in François Ozon's 8 Women (bottom) Honorary Oscars Bypass Women: Part I Among the female film veterans with more than three decades of screen work and who have yet to receive an Honorary Oscar for career achievement are actresses Danielle Darrieux (nearly eight decades in films, and still active), Doris Day, Michèle Morgan, Julie Andrews, Julie Christie, Joan Fontaine, Eleanor Parker, Eva Marie Saint, Joanne Woodward, Catherine Deneuve, Claire Bloom, Jeanne Moreau, Marsha Hunt, and Liv Ullmann. Also: Micheline Presle, Shirley MacLaine, Isabelle Huppert, Goldie Hawn, Shirley Temple, Deanna Durbin, Monica Vitti, Isabelle Adjani, Debbie Reynolds, Maureen O'Hara, Leslie Caron, Julie Harris, Susan Sarandon, Gena Rowlands, Claudia Cardinale, Bibi Andersson, Faye Dunaway, and Angela Lansbury. In addition to Mia Farrow, Vanessa Redgrave, Gina Lollobrigida, Anouk Aimée, Ellen Burstyn, Sissy Spacek, Jane Alexander, Diane Keaton, Marsha Mason, Piper Laurie,...
- 3/7/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Just as it seems like festival season is winding down, it winds back up, proving there really is no festival season, it's a year-round whirlwind that none of us can escape.
As of late we've been pimping the New York Asian Film Festival like a class-a whore, but there'll be none of that trashy talk when discussing the veteran Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, now in its 45th year, and taking place in well, the spa city of Karlovy Vary, in good ol' Czech Republic. The fest runs from July 2nd -10th with the Oscar winning Crazy Heart opening and Pascal Chaumeil's Heartbreakers (L´arnacoeur) closing. This year's recipient of that lil' guy up in the pic, the Crystal Award, is Burnt by the Sun director, Nikita Mikhalkov. The real heart of the fest lies in an eclectic lineup, which features a hefty order of new Eastern European offerings.
As of late we've been pimping the New York Asian Film Festival like a class-a whore, but there'll be none of that trashy talk when discussing the veteran Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, now in its 45th year, and taking place in well, the spa city of Karlovy Vary, in good ol' Czech Republic. The fest runs from July 2nd -10th with the Oscar winning Crazy Heart opening and Pascal Chaumeil's Heartbreakers (L´arnacoeur) closing. This year's recipient of that lil' guy up in the pic, the Crystal Award, is Burnt by the Sun director, Nikita Mikhalkov. The real heart of the fest lies in an eclectic lineup, which features a hefty order of new Eastern European offerings.
- 6/23/2010
- Screen Anarchy
PARIS -- French actress Fanny Ardant will preside over the 29th Cesar Awards, France's top film honors, the organizers said Monday. Ardant, who won the best actress Cesar in 1997 for her role as the owner of a gay bar in the comedy Pedale Douce, has been nominated four times for the awards. Her latest film, Nathalie, in which she plays a jealous wife who befriends a prostitute (Emmanuelle Beart) to understand her husband (Gerard Depardieu) better, is currently playing in Paris. Veteran actress Micheline Presle will be honored at the ceremony Feb. 21 at Paris' Theatre du Chatelet. The awards will be transmitted live on French TV channel Canal Plus. Jean-Paul Rappeneau's Bon Voyage and Alain Resnais' Pas sur la Bouche (Not on the Mouth) received 11 and nine nominations, respectively (HR 1/26). The 3,300-plus members of the Academie des Arts et Techniques du Cinema will vote for the best of French cinema, as well as for the best European and international films of 2003.
The fourth "City of Lights, City of Angels: A Week of New French Films" opened Tuesday at the Directors Guild of America with a screening of "Venus Beauty Institute", the big winner at this year's Cesar Awards, including best director for Tonie Marshall -- the second time a woman has won.
"Venus" also won best film, screenplay and young actress (for supporting player Audrey Tautou).
While it's no "The Hairdresser's Husband", "Venus" is a likable enough tale of female bonding and the never-ending quest for happiness and fulfillment when "mutual love doesn't exist." Set mainly within the confines of a neighborhood beauty parlor -- where women and a few men come for massages, facials and, in the case of one exhibitionist woman who likes to parade around in the buff, tanning -- the story is a rambling affair with no burning agenda.
A longtime employee with many loyal clients, Angele (Nathalie Baye) is unlucky in relationships and spends much of the movie coming to terms with an artistic young man Samuel Le Bihan) who falls in love with her and is not easily discouraged. Angele's co-worker Marie (Tautou) counts among her regulars a sad man (Robert Hossein) who had skin from his dead wife's buttocks grafted on him after a tragic accident, and the two drift together. Samantha (Mathilde Seigner) is the third staffer at the Paris salon and the one with the most serious problems.
Bulle Ogier as the shop owner, Emmanuelle Riva and Micheline Presle as Angele's aunts, Jacques Bonnaffe as her ex-boyfriend and Claire Nebout as the tanning woman round out the major players. Gently contrasting the warm, nourishing environment of the salon with the hard world outside, Marshall's direction is fine and the performances touching and realistic, even as the story lurches about with no urgent payoff or new insights into the lives of lonely hearts both seeking and scared silly by love.
VENUS BEAUTY INSTITUTE
Arte France Cinema
and Tabo Tabo Films
Screenwriter-director: Tonie Marshall
Producer: Gilles Sandoz
Director of photography: Gerard de Battista
Editor: Jacques Comets
Color/stereo
Cast:
Angele: Nathalie Baye
Nadine: Bulle Ogier
Antoine: Samuel Le Bihan
Jacques: Jacques Bonnaffe
Samantha: Mathilde Seigner
Marie: Audrey Tautou
L'aviateur: Robert Hossein
Running time -- 105 minutes
No MPAA rating...
"Venus" also won best film, screenplay and young actress (for supporting player Audrey Tautou).
While it's no "The Hairdresser's Husband", "Venus" is a likable enough tale of female bonding and the never-ending quest for happiness and fulfillment when "mutual love doesn't exist." Set mainly within the confines of a neighborhood beauty parlor -- where women and a few men come for massages, facials and, in the case of one exhibitionist woman who likes to parade around in the buff, tanning -- the story is a rambling affair with no burning agenda.
A longtime employee with many loyal clients, Angele (Nathalie Baye) is unlucky in relationships and spends much of the movie coming to terms with an artistic young man Samuel Le Bihan) who falls in love with her and is not easily discouraged. Angele's co-worker Marie (Tautou) counts among her regulars a sad man (Robert Hossein) who had skin from his dead wife's buttocks grafted on him after a tragic accident, and the two drift together. Samantha (Mathilde Seigner) is the third staffer at the Paris salon and the one with the most serious problems.
Bulle Ogier as the shop owner, Emmanuelle Riva and Micheline Presle as Angele's aunts, Jacques Bonnaffe as her ex-boyfriend and Claire Nebout as the tanning woman round out the major players. Gently contrasting the warm, nourishing environment of the salon with the hard world outside, Marshall's direction is fine and the performances touching and realistic, even as the story lurches about with no urgent payoff or new insights into the lives of lonely hearts both seeking and scared silly by love.
VENUS BEAUTY INSTITUTE
Arte France Cinema
and Tabo Tabo Films
Screenwriter-director: Tonie Marshall
Producer: Gilles Sandoz
Director of photography: Gerard de Battista
Editor: Jacques Comets
Color/stereo
Cast:
Angele: Nathalie Baye
Nadine: Bulle Ogier
Antoine: Samuel Le Bihan
Jacques: Jacques Bonnaffe
Samantha: Mathilde Seigner
Marie: Audrey Tautou
L'aviateur: Robert Hossein
Running time -- 105 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 4/28/2000
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
It's like Deja Vu, this old-fashioned Parisian romance about sex and existentialism.
If you're in the mood for an old-style, art house film with plenty of angst, dark clothing, dirty hair, misdirected passion and the au lait ambience of the Left Bank, and are sorely tired of pretentious alien films, this is a Sunday afternoon diversion for you.
Unfortunately, this picture is often tres dopey and is mottled with generic conventions beyond its philosophical girth. Nonetheless, Leisure Time Films should derive a respectable art house number from the types who view the Village Voice as hip.
In this petite film, artsy student Gregoire (Melvil Poupaud) lugs around a copy of Soren Kierkegaard's to coffee shops and similar settings with which to prey upon disjointed females, in this case fellow student Claire (Chiara Mastroianni). Claire studies psychoanalysis at a U near Paris, but she doesn't go to class much -- her time is consumed with her own medical appointments, and, here's the depth, glowering at her mother (Daniele Dubroux), a night shift doctor (by choice) at a Parisian hospital.
Then there's Sebastien (Mathis Amalric), a burgeoning type who inveigles his way into staying a while with Claire and her mom. Basically, he's a shallow dip who's confused about his sexuality, which, naturally, catapults Claire and La Mom into a huge catfight.
Predictable, tedious and drenched with a shallow psychological predictability, "Diary of a Seducer" is, on the whole, pap for the cultural elite.
There are some delectations, nonetheless. There's no denying the pleasures of seeing Paris and the challenges of viewing conflicted love. Best, Truffaut all-star Jean-Pierre Leaud appears; unfortunately, his role is so trite that one is suspicious of the motive for including him in the cast -- to add marquee luster, we suspect.
On the plus side, writer, director and actress Dubroux has created a film that feels scrumptiously black-and-white. That's owing to the details and the feel for place and time that Dubroux exudes. Technically, the chief congratulations belong to cinematographer Laurent Machuel for his musty, clever lensing, as well as to costume designer Anne Schotte for the subtleties of garb, reflecting overall the pedestrian outlooks of these avant-garde pretendeurs.
DIARY OF A SEDUCER
Leisure Time Features
A production of Gemini Films
With the participation of the National Center of Cinematography and Canal+
Producer Philippe Saal
Screenwriter-director Daniele Dubroux
Executive producer Paulo Branco
Director of photography Laurent Machuel
Editor Jean-Francois Naudon
Sound designer Henri Maikoff
Sound mixer Gerard Rousseau
Art director Patrick Durand
Costume designer Anne Schotte
Music Jean-Marie Senia
Color/stereo
Cast:
Claire Conti Chiara Mastroianni
Gregoire Moreau Melvil Poupaud
Sebastien Mathieu Amalric
Anne Daniele Dubroux
Hubert Markus Hubert Saint Macary
Hugo Jean-Pierre Leaud
Diane Micheline Presle
Robert Serge Merlin
Charlotte Karen Viard
Running time - 95 minutes
No MPAA rating...
If you're in the mood for an old-style, art house film with plenty of angst, dark clothing, dirty hair, misdirected passion and the au lait ambience of the Left Bank, and are sorely tired of pretentious alien films, this is a Sunday afternoon diversion for you.
Unfortunately, this picture is often tres dopey and is mottled with generic conventions beyond its philosophical girth. Nonetheless, Leisure Time Films should derive a respectable art house number from the types who view the Village Voice as hip.
In this petite film, artsy student Gregoire (Melvil Poupaud) lugs around a copy of Soren Kierkegaard's to coffee shops and similar settings with which to prey upon disjointed females, in this case fellow student Claire (Chiara Mastroianni). Claire studies psychoanalysis at a U near Paris, but she doesn't go to class much -- her time is consumed with her own medical appointments, and, here's the depth, glowering at her mother (Daniele Dubroux), a night shift doctor (by choice) at a Parisian hospital.
Then there's Sebastien (Mathis Amalric), a burgeoning type who inveigles his way into staying a while with Claire and her mom. Basically, he's a shallow dip who's confused about his sexuality, which, naturally, catapults Claire and La Mom into a huge catfight.
Predictable, tedious and drenched with a shallow psychological predictability, "Diary of a Seducer" is, on the whole, pap for the cultural elite.
There are some delectations, nonetheless. There's no denying the pleasures of seeing Paris and the challenges of viewing conflicted love. Best, Truffaut all-star Jean-Pierre Leaud appears; unfortunately, his role is so trite that one is suspicious of the motive for including him in the cast -- to add marquee luster, we suspect.
On the plus side, writer, director and actress Dubroux has created a film that feels scrumptiously black-and-white. That's owing to the details and the feel for place and time that Dubroux exudes. Technically, the chief congratulations belong to cinematographer Laurent Machuel for his musty, clever lensing, as well as to costume designer Anne Schotte for the subtleties of garb, reflecting overall the pedestrian outlooks of these avant-garde pretendeurs.
DIARY OF A SEDUCER
Leisure Time Features
A production of Gemini Films
With the participation of the National Center of Cinematography and Canal+
Producer Philippe Saal
Screenwriter-director Daniele Dubroux
Executive producer Paulo Branco
Director of photography Laurent Machuel
Editor Jean-Francois Naudon
Sound designer Henri Maikoff
Sound mixer Gerard Rousseau
Art director Patrick Durand
Costume designer Anne Schotte
Music Jean-Marie Senia
Color/stereo
Cast:
Claire Conti Chiara Mastroianni
Gregoire Moreau Melvil Poupaud
Sebastien Mathieu Amalric
Anne Daniele Dubroux
Hubert Markus Hubert Saint Macary
Hugo Jean-Pierre Leaud
Diane Micheline Presle
Robert Serge Merlin
Charlotte Karen Viard
Running time - 95 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 7/24/1997
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Following the example set by the likes of "Babette's Feast" and "Big Night", Nana Djordjadze's "A Chef in Love" deftly mixes food and storytelling with tasty results.
While not as entirely effective as its models, this Oscar-nominated, France-Georgia co-production is nevertheless an interesting and intricate hybrid -- part history lesson, part culinary showcase, part love story, part mystery, part satire.
The art house set should find it pleasing to the appetite, although not particularly filling.
Jean-Yves Gautier stars as Anton Gogoladze, a Republic of Georgia-born, Paris art curator who meets up with a cigar-smoking, older woman (Micheline Presle) who happens to hold the key, in the form of a yellowed manuscript, that unlocks his family's colorful past.
It turns out the woman is the niece of the late globe-trotting chef and bon vivant Pascal Ichac, a former gigolo and tenor whose life and book, "1001 Recipes of a Chef in Love", were highly regarded by Anton's mother.
As he begins to translate his way through the brittle pages, the setting pingpongs between modern-day Paris and 1920s Georgia, where his young mother, Princess Cecilia Abachidze (Nino Kirtadze) meets up with the gregarious Ichac (Pierre Richard) and discovers his passion for extravagance extends beyond the kitchen and into the boudoir.
But their idyllic existence is soon trampled upon by the advancing Red Army, and in particular a young, headstrong officer (Teimour Kahmhadze) who has had his eyes on the princess for a while.
Djordjadze's lively cast delivers, especially a full-of-verve Richard and the intriguing Kirtadze, a Georgian journalist with minimal screen experience. But the film's constant "two-timing" ultimately serves to distance the viewer from the rich, almost surreal back story.
On the plus side, the filmmaker, along with director of photography Guiorgui Beridze, certainly get the most out of the exotic Georgian backdrop, not to mention the culinary aspect. They present a world where even an innocent bunch of grapes can be transformed into a portrait of lusty abandon.
A CHEF IN LOVE
Sony Pictures Classics
Director Nana Djordjadze
Screenwriter Irakli Kvirikadze
Adaptation Andre Grall
Producer Marc Ruscart
Director of photography Guiorgui Beridze
Production designers
Vakhtang Rouroua, Teimour Chmaladze
Editors Vessela Martschewski,
Guili Grigoriani
Music Goran Bregovic
Color
Cast:
Pascal Ichac Pierre Richard
Marcelle Ichach Micheline Presle
Cecilia Abachidze Nino Kirtadze
Zigmund Gogoladze Teimour Kahmhadze
Anton Gogoladze Jean-Yves Gautier
Running time -- 95 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
While not as entirely effective as its models, this Oscar-nominated, France-Georgia co-production is nevertheless an interesting and intricate hybrid -- part history lesson, part culinary showcase, part love story, part mystery, part satire.
The art house set should find it pleasing to the appetite, although not particularly filling.
Jean-Yves Gautier stars as Anton Gogoladze, a Republic of Georgia-born, Paris art curator who meets up with a cigar-smoking, older woman (Micheline Presle) who happens to hold the key, in the form of a yellowed manuscript, that unlocks his family's colorful past.
It turns out the woman is the niece of the late globe-trotting chef and bon vivant Pascal Ichac, a former gigolo and tenor whose life and book, "1001 Recipes of a Chef in Love", were highly regarded by Anton's mother.
As he begins to translate his way through the brittle pages, the setting pingpongs between modern-day Paris and 1920s Georgia, where his young mother, Princess Cecilia Abachidze (Nino Kirtadze) meets up with the gregarious Ichac (Pierre Richard) and discovers his passion for extravagance extends beyond the kitchen and into the boudoir.
But their idyllic existence is soon trampled upon by the advancing Red Army, and in particular a young, headstrong officer (Teimour Kahmhadze) who has had his eyes on the princess for a while.
Djordjadze's lively cast delivers, especially a full-of-verve Richard and the intriguing Kirtadze, a Georgian journalist with minimal screen experience. But the film's constant "two-timing" ultimately serves to distance the viewer from the rich, almost surreal back story.
On the plus side, the filmmaker, along with director of photography Guiorgui Beridze, certainly get the most out of the exotic Georgian backdrop, not to mention the culinary aspect. They present a world where even an innocent bunch of grapes can be transformed into a portrait of lusty abandon.
A CHEF IN LOVE
Sony Pictures Classics
Director Nana Djordjadze
Screenwriter Irakli Kvirikadze
Adaptation Andre Grall
Producer Marc Ruscart
Director of photography Guiorgui Beridze
Production designers
Vakhtang Rouroua, Teimour Chmaladze
Editors Vessela Martschewski,
Guili Grigoriani
Music Goran Bregovic
Color
Cast:
Pascal Ichac Pierre Richard
Marcelle Ichach Micheline Presle
Cecilia Abachidze Nino Kirtadze
Zigmund Gogoladze Teimour Kahmhadze
Anton Gogoladze Jean-Yves Gautier
Running time -- 95 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
- 4/23/1997
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
WHISPERING PAGES
(Russia/Germany)
This is cold, dark, depressing cinema as only a few Russian directors can create. It's ''Whispering Pages'' by Alexander Sokurov, recognized as the only legitimate heir to the late Andrei Tarkovsky. This tedious film will appeal only to a few brave festgoers and committed cineastes.
''Whispering Pages'' chronicles a midnight visit to the brooding streets, caverns and apartments of St. Petersburg of the past century, principally as sketched in Dostoyevsky's ''Notes from the Underground'' and ''Crime and Punishment.''
As is common in Sokurov's cinema, camera movements are almost painfully slow, protagonists appear to be rooted to the ground and only dim rays of light illuminate the characters much of the time. Raskolnikov's well-known confession scene from ''Crime and Punishment, '' which occurs toward the end of the film, brings to ''Whispering Pages'' a bit of needed meaning and depth. It's one of the few literary segments worth waiting for.
''TICHIE STRANICY'' (WHISPERING PAGES) (Russia/Germany). Eskomfilm, Syktyvkar, North Foundation (St. Petersburg), Zero-Film (Berlin)
Producers: Vladimir Fotiev, Martin Hagemann, Thomas Kufus. Director/Screenwriter: Alexander Sokurov. Photography: Alexander Burov. Cast: Alexander Cherednik (Hero), Elisaveta Koroleva (Girl), Sergei Barkovsky (Civil Servant).
77 mins, black-and-white, color
LAW OF COURAGE
(Italy)
Alessandro di Robilant's ''Law of Courage'' is another in an ongoing series of Italian anti-Mafia films based on fact. As a detailed tele-feature, its purpose is to inform. And although the message is wrapped in the guise of a fast-paced political thriller, the market is still television with a possible spinoff at international festivals.
This is the story of Sicilian district attorney Rosario Livatino, the ''boy judge'' (''Il Giudice Richter''), who was assassinated in 1991 for investigating killings ordered by warring Mafia families in the provinces.
The screenplay in turn is based on a book by Nando Della Chiesa, the son of the general murdered by the Mafia in 1982. And it opens with an actual speech given by Livatino in 1984 titled ''The Role of the Judge in a Changing Society, '' the apparent reason why he was murdered.
Giulio Scarpati portrays without sentimentality the determined district attorney who lived by a moral code, one who also knew he was marked for death by the Mafia. Unfortunately, the musical score doesn't let us forget this either.
''IL GIUDICE RAGAZZINO'' (LAW OF COURAGE) (Italy). RCS Films & TV, RAI 2
(Rome)
Director: Alessandro Di Robilant. Screenwriters: Andrea Purgatori, Ugo Pirro, based on a book by Nando Dalla Ciesa. Photography: David Scott. Cast: Giulio Scarpati (Rosario Livatino), Sabrina Ferilli (Angela Guarnera).
92 mins, color
SOMETHING FISHY
(France)
The bright side of this quirky hard-boiled detective story by Tonie Marshall is anti-heroine Anemone, who carries the story effortlessly despite dips and turns in the narrative.
''Something Fishy'' is a Gallic cross between Peter Falk's seedy Columbo and Raymond Chandler's stubborn travel-by-night private eyes.
The weak side of the ledger is three stories in one. First, we're introduced to Maxime's (Anemone) AC/DC male/female relations, then her renewed acquaintance with a long-neglected 17-year-old son and finally to a portrait of a tired and vulnerable detective caught in the middle of a murder case that leads right to the door of Maxime's ex-husband, a crooked real estate dealer. The meat of the film is found in the third segment.
This second feature of Marshall -- the daughter of American director William Marshall and French actress Micheline Presle -- confirms she's a promising directorial talent. Presle herself makes a commanding cameo appearance as the distraught widow of the murdered man.
''PAS TRES CATHOLIQUE'' (SOMETHING FISHY) (France). Les Productions du 3eme Etage (Paris), AB Films, M6 Films, Planetes et Compagnie.
Producer: Michel Propper, Frederic Bourboulon. Director/Screenwriter: Tonie Marshall. Photography: Dominique Chapius. Cast: Anenome (Maxime), Gregoire Colin (Baptiste).
100 mins, color
(c) The Hollywood Reporter...
(Russia/Germany)
This is cold, dark, depressing cinema as only a few Russian directors can create. It's ''Whispering Pages'' by Alexander Sokurov, recognized as the only legitimate heir to the late Andrei Tarkovsky. This tedious film will appeal only to a few brave festgoers and committed cineastes.
''Whispering Pages'' chronicles a midnight visit to the brooding streets, caverns and apartments of St. Petersburg of the past century, principally as sketched in Dostoyevsky's ''Notes from the Underground'' and ''Crime and Punishment.''
As is common in Sokurov's cinema, camera movements are almost painfully slow, protagonists appear to be rooted to the ground and only dim rays of light illuminate the characters much of the time. Raskolnikov's well-known confession scene from ''Crime and Punishment, '' which occurs toward the end of the film, brings to ''Whispering Pages'' a bit of needed meaning and depth. It's one of the few literary segments worth waiting for.
''TICHIE STRANICY'' (WHISPERING PAGES) (Russia/Germany). Eskomfilm, Syktyvkar, North Foundation (St. Petersburg), Zero-Film (Berlin)
Producers: Vladimir Fotiev, Martin Hagemann, Thomas Kufus. Director/Screenwriter: Alexander Sokurov. Photography: Alexander Burov. Cast: Alexander Cherednik (Hero), Elisaveta Koroleva (Girl), Sergei Barkovsky (Civil Servant).
77 mins, black-and-white, color
LAW OF COURAGE
(Italy)
Alessandro di Robilant's ''Law of Courage'' is another in an ongoing series of Italian anti-Mafia films based on fact. As a detailed tele-feature, its purpose is to inform. And although the message is wrapped in the guise of a fast-paced political thriller, the market is still television with a possible spinoff at international festivals.
This is the story of Sicilian district attorney Rosario Livatino, the ''boy judge'' (''Il Giudice Richter''), who was assassinated in 1991 for investigating killings ordered by warring Mafia families in the provinces.
The screenplay in turn is based on a book by Nando Della Chiesa, the son of the general murdered by the Mafia in 1982. And it opens with an actual speech given by Livatino in 1984 titled ''The Role of the Judge in a Changing Society, '' the apparent reason why he was murdered.
Giulio Scarpati portrays without sentimentality the determined district attorney who lived by a moral code, one who also knew he was marked for death by the Mafia. Unfortunately, the musical score doesn't let us forget this either.
''IL GIUDICE RAGAZZINO'' (LAW OF COURAGE) (Italy). RCS Films & TV, RAI 2
(Rome)
Director: Alessandro Di Robilant. Screenwriters: Andrea Purgatori, Ugo Pirro, based on a book by Nando Dalla Ciesa. Photography: David Scott. Cast: Giulio Scarpati (Rosario Livatino), Sabrina Ferilli (Angela Guarnera).
92 mins, color
SOMETHING FISHY
(France)
The bright side of this quirky hard-boiled detective story by Tonie Marshall is anti-heroine Anemone, who carries the story effortlessly despite dips and turns in the narrative.
''Something Fishy'' is a Gallic cross between Peter Falk's seedy Columbo and Raymond Chandler's stubborn travel-by-night private eyes.
The weak side of the ledger is three stories in one. First, we're introduced to Maxime's (Anemone) AC/DC male/female relations, then her renewed acquaintance with a long-neglected 17-year-old son and finally to a portrait of a tired and vulnerable detective caught in the middle of a murder case that leads right to the door of Maxime's ex-husband, a crooked real estate dealer. The meat of the film is found in the third segment.
This second feature of Marshall -- the daughter of American director William Marshall and French actress Micheline Presle -- confirms she's a promising directorial talent. Presle herself makes a commanding cameo appearance as the distraught widow of the murdered man.
''PAS TRES CATHOLIQUE'' (SOMETHING FISHY) (France). Les Productions du 3eme Etage (Paris), AB Films, M6 Films, Planetes et Compagnie.
Producer: Michel Propper, Frederic Bourboulon. Director/Screenwriter: Tonie Marshall. Photography: Dominique Chapius. Cast: Anenome (Maxime), Gregoire Colin (Baptiste).
100 mins, color
(c) The Hollywood Reporter...
- 2/14/1994
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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