The film tells the tragic story of Lola Montès, a great adventurer who becomes the main attraction of a circus after being the lover of various important European men.
This would be the last film directed by Ophüls before his death of a heart attack in March 1957. As originally shown in France in 1955, the audience sees the events of Lola Montès' life through the use of flashbacks. Use of the technique was criticized upon its release and the movie did poorly at the box office. In response, the producers re-cut the film and shortened it in favor of a more chronological storyline, against the director's wishes.
I cannot imagine this film in chronological order. What does that mean -- putting the circus at the end? What a terrible idea. Thank you, Criterion, for fixing this mess... it is so much better seeing her as the center of fascination and then having her life -- the source of the fascination -- revealed.
This would be the last film directed by Ophüls before his death of a heart attack in March 1957. As originally shown in France in 1955, the audience sees the events of Lola Montès' life through the use of flashbacks. Use of the technique was criticized upon its release and the movie did poorly at the box office. In response, the producers re-cut the film and shortened it in favor of a more chronological storyline, against the director's wishes.
I cannot imagine this film in chronological order. What does that mean -- putting the circus at the end? What a terrible idea. Thank you, Criterion, for fixing this mess... it is so much better seeing her as the center of fascination and then having her life -- the source of the fascination -- revealed.