Author: Competitions
To mark the release of the 4K resotrations of Le Corbeau, La Prisonni?Re and Quai Des Orfevres on 5th March, we’ve been given 3 bundles to give away on Blu-ray.
Le Corbeau (1942)
A veritable masterpiece of French cinema, Le Corbeau is a dark and subversive study of human nature starring Pierre Fresnay and Ginette Leclerc. A wave of hysteria sweeps the small provincial town of St. Robin when a series of poison-pen letters signed ‘Le Corbeau’ (The Raven) begin to appear, denouncing several prominent members of society. The slow trickle of sinister letters soon becomes a flood and no one is safe from their mysterious accusations. Upon its release in 1943, Le Corbeau was condemned by the political left and right and the church, and Clouzot was banned from filmmaking for two years.
La Prisonni?Re (1968)
Josée (Elizabeth Wiener) is the wife of an artist whose work is...
To mark the release of the 4K resotrations of Le Corbeau, La Prisonni?Re and Quai Des Orfevres on 5th March, we’ve been given 3 bundles to give away on Blu-ray.
Le Corbeau (1942)
A veritable masterpiece of French cinema, Le Corbeau is a dark and subversive study of human nature starring Pierre Fresnay and Ginette Leclerc. A wave of hysteria sweeps the small provincial town of St. Robin when a series of poison-pen letters signed ‘Le Corbeau’ (The Raven) begin to appear, denouncing several prominent members of society. The slow trickle of sinister letters soon becomes a flood and no one is safe from their mysterious accusations. Upon its release in 1943, Le Corbeau was condemned by the political left and right and the church, and Clouzot was banned from filmmaking for two years.
La Prisonni?Re (1968)
Josée (Elizabeth Wiener) is the wife of an artist whose work is...
- 2/26/2018
- by Competitions
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Mubi's retrospective For Ever Godard is showing from November 12, 2017 - January 16, 2018 in the United States.Jean-Luc Godard is a difficult filmmaker to pin down because while his thematic concerns as an artist have remained more or less consistent over the last seven decades, his form is ever-shifting. His filmography is impossible to view in a vacuum, as his work strives to reflect on the constantly evolving cinema culture that surrounds it: Godard always works with the newest filmmaking technologies available, and his films have become increasingly abstracted and opaque as the wider culture of moving images has become increasingly fragmented. Rather than working to maintain an illusion of diegetic truth, Godard’s work as always foreground its status as a manufactured product—of technology, of an industry, of on-set conditions and of an individual’s imagination. Mubi’S Godard retrospective exemplifies the depth and range of Godard’s career as...
- 11/19/2017
- MUBI
Jean Seberg in Les hautes solitudes. Courtesy of The Film Desk.It is a raw experience. No title, no credits of any sort. No soundtrack—although I defy anyone to watch it in absolute silence and not “hear” something, at some point, in their head. Just a series of “moving images” (for once the currently fashionable artworld term is correct), portraits in black-and-white, mostly trained on faces, or the upper parts of several bodies. There is no make-up, only minimal lighting and staging, and no post-production effects or clean-up whatsoever. The on-screen participants include Nico, Tina Aumont, Laurent Terzieff. And, most extensively, Jean Seberg—which may come as a shock to viewers not entirely au fait with the biography of the film’s director, Philippe Garrel. “Garrel’s camera sees Seberg honestly,” wrote David Ehrenstein in his book Film: The Front Line 1984, “as if discovering her for the first time,...
- 2/22/2017
- MUBI
Jean Van Hamme and Philippe Francq's graphic novels return to the big screen with the follow on from Largo Winch – Deadly Revenge. The Director of the first installment and The Tourist reunites with the original writer to bring us The Burma Conspiracy.
For anyone unfamiliar with the Belgium comic books, there's a helpful recap of the discovery of Largo's existence three years earlier. A TV news bulletin tells us Largo promises to be the most powerful man on the planet if he steps up to the job as CEO of the W Group to successfully run his inherited business empire. Now that his powerful billionaire father, Nerio, is deceased and Largo's identity as his adopted son has been legitimatised, Largo must protect the honour of his family name and his business interests when accused of being involved in a Burmese massacre 20 miles from the Thai border that his father...
For anyone unfamiliar with the Belgium comic books, there's a helpful recap of the discovery of Largo's existence three years earlier. A TV news bulletin tells us Largo promises to be the most powerful man on the planet if he steps up to the job as CEO of the W Group to successfully run his inherited business empire. Now that his powerful billionaire father, Nerio, is deceased and Largo's identity as his adopted son has been legitimatised, Largo must protect the honour of his family name and his business interests when accused of being involved in a Burmese massacre 20 miles from the Thai border that his father...
- 1/20/2012
- Shadowlocked
'Dostoevskian' French actor with an aura of tormented youth
With his emaciated but hypnotically handsome face and lithe body, the French actor Laurent Terzieff, who has died of respiratory infection aged 75, graced the stage and films for more than half a century. There was always an aura of tormented youth about Terzieff which he carried into the classic roles of his maturity such as Luigi Pirandello's Henry IV (1989) and Shakespeare's Richard II (1991). His perfect diction and rhythmic precision made his rendering of Jean Cocteau's narration of Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex in Bob Wilson's production at the Théâtre du Châtelet in 1996 particularly exciting.
Terzieff's special talents were used by many of the great theatre producers of the day: Jean-Louis Barrault, Peter Brook, Roger Planchon, Maurice Garrel, Roger Blin and André Barsacq. He also directed dozens of plays, many at the Théâtre du Lucernaire in Montparnasse. Paradoxically, given his tormented persona as an actor,...
With his emaciated but hypnotically handsome face and lithe body, the French actor Laurent Terzieff, who has died of respiratory infection aged 75, graced the stage and films for more than half a century. There was always an aura of tormented youth about Terzieff which he carried into the classic roles of his maturity such as Luigi Pirandello's Henry IV (1989) and Shakespeare's Richard II (1991). His perfect diction and rhythmic precision made his rendering of Jean Cocteau's narration of Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex in Bob Wilson's production at the Théâtre du Châtelet in 1996 particularly exciting.
Terzieff's special talents were used by many of the great theatre producers of the day: Jean-Louis Barrault, Peter Brook, Roger Planchon, Maurice Garrel, Roger Blin and André Barsacq. He also directed dozens of plays, many at the Théâtre du Lucernaire in Montparnasse. Paradoxically, given his tormented persona as an actor,...
- 7/21/2010
- by Ronald Bergan
- The Guardian - Film News
French president Nicolas Sarkozy has led the tributes to iconic actor Laurent Terzieff, following his death on Friday at the age of 75.
The legendary French star passed away in Paris. Details about his cause of death were unavailable as WENN went press.
Terzieff enjoyed a career spanning more than five decades and established himself as a stage and film actor.
He worked with noted directors including Jean-Luc Godard, Luis Bunuel and Pier Paolo Pasolini, but dedicated the majority of his time and effort to the theatre, with performances in Rouge Baiser, Germinal in 1993 and The Raft of the Medusa in 1998.
Terzieff was a triple winner of the Moliere Award, which honours the best in French theatre, taking home the Best Director title in 1988 for Fall, and again in 1993 for Another Time. Earlier this year, he was named Best Actor for his role in The Dresser and Philoctetes.
Tributes for Terzieff poured in over the weekend (02-04Jul10), with French leader Sarkozy honouring the star as "an exceptional actor and man" who avoided "posturing or masquerades".
French Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand also credited Terzieff with leaving "an unforgettable mark" on the stage and film industries, while the president of the Cannes Film Festival, Gilles Jacob, added that Terzieff was an "immense" talent.
The legendary French star passed away in Paris. Details about his cause of death were unavailable as WENN went press.
Terzieff enjoyed a career spanning more than five decades and established himself as a stage and film actor.
He worked with noted directors including Jean-Luc Godard, Luis Bunuel and Pier Paolo Pasolini, but dedicated the majority of his time and effort to the theatre, with performances in Rouge Baiser, Germinal in 1993 and The Raft of the Medusa in 1998.
Terzieff was a triple winner of the Moliere Award, which honours the best in French theatre, taking home the Best Director title in 1988 for Fall, and again in 1993 for Another Time. Earlier this year, he was named Best Actor for his role in The Dresser and Philoctetes.
Tributes for Terzieff poured in over the weekend (02-04Jul10), with French leader Sarkozy honouring the star as "an exceptional actor and man" who avoided "posturing or masquerades".
French Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand also credited Terzieff with leaving "an unforgettable mark" on the stage and film industries, while the president of the Cannes Film Festival, Gilles Jacob, added that Terzieff was an "immense" talent.
- 7/5/2010
- WENN
Italian model and film actor, she left the cinema and joined the jet set
Rosanna Schiaffino, who has died aged 69, was one of those Italian beauty queens who began a promising acting career in the post-neorealist cinema of the 1950s. She gave up the cinema in the 1970s and married the handsome playboy and steel industry heir Giorgio Falck. Their marriage and, a decade later, their break-up and divorce, had overtones of melodrama more piquant than the content of any of the 45 films in which Schiaffino had starred.
She was born in Genoa, in north Italy, into a well-off family and, although her father wanted her to pursue studies as a surveyor, her mother encouraged her showbusiness ambitions, helping her to study privately at a drama school and then to take part in beauty contests, which she usually won. These led to modelling jobs, with photographs in important magazines, including Life.
Rosanna Schiaffino, who has died aged 69, was one of those Italian beauty queens who began a promising acting career in the post-neorealist cinema of the 1950s. She gave up the cinema in the 1970s and married the handsome playboy and steel industry heir Giorgio Falck. Their marriage and, a decade later, their break-up and divorce, had overtones of melodrama more piquant than the content of any of the 45 films in which Schiaffino had starred.
She was born in Genoa, in north Italy, into a well-off family and, although her father wanted her to pursue studies as a surveyor, her mother encouraged her showbusiness ambitions, helping her to study privately at a drama school and then to take part in beauty contests, which she usually won. These led to modelling jobs, with photographs in important magazines, including Life.
- 11/18/2009
- by John Francis Lane
- The Guardian - Film News
Locarno International Film Festival
LOCARNO, Switzerland -- Wry, nostalgic and wonderfully nutty, Samuel Benchetrit's comedy I Always Wanted to be a Gangster is a warm if cockeyed homage to old-time crime movies.
Masterfully shot in the Academy aspect ratio and vivid black-and-white of Bogie and Cagney pictures, it relates the earnest but ham-fisted attempts by a group of unrelated characters to turn their hands to crime. It might be a hard sell, but lovers of old movies and those who relish screen comedy that is written, staged and performed smartly Will Love this.
The only link between each of the stories is a functional cafeteria on the outskirts of Paris, where conurbation is cementing over both greenery and the illusory recollection of better times. But Benchetrit weaves his yarns together so cleverly that the film does not feel episodic. He succeeds in switching from goofball slapstick to screwball banter to the driest observational wit -- and back again -- without missing a beat.
The film begins and ends with two would-be villains who seem made for each other. Franck (Edouard Baer) is a witless hoodlum whose stab at robbing the cafeteria at gunpoint is hampered by the absence of a gun and the fact that he's locked his keys inside his getaway car. Susie (Anna Mouglalis) is the sassy waitress who laughs at his feeble hold-up technique largely because she has his gun. The backstory to this, and to the other chapters, is told in silent-movie style complete with title cards.
Meanwhile, a pair of bumbling and essentially decent kidnappers, played by Bouli Lanners and Serge Lariviere, have broken into a rich man's home and grabbed his daughter Selma El Mouissi) for ransom. They couldn't know that, though she is spoiled and nubile, she is also suicidal, and her father is happy to be rid of her.
Still, they leave a message on dad's phone to arrange an exchange meeting at the cafeteria, where, by chance, two groups of touring musicians arrive with vocalists Alain Bashung and the single-named Arno playing versions of themselves. One is successful, the other not so much, and when temptation is offered, it's too hard to resist.
Then there's the gang of retired criminals who have come together at what used to be their hideout because one of them is mortally ill and they want to fulfill youthful pledges to one another. These old reprobates are played by a wonderful array of character actors: Jean Rochefort, Laurent Terzieff, Jean-Pierre Kalfon, Venantino Venantini and Roger Dumas. Being together again makes them long for one more heist, but the bank they robbed in their last job 25 years ago isn't what it used to be.
The finest compliment to the filmmakers and splendid cast is that you wish the movie wouldn't end. These are marvelously rendered characters, and it would be great to spend more time in their misguided but endearing company.
LOCARNO, Switzerland -- Wry, nostalgic and wonderfully nutty, Samuel Benchetrit's comedy I Always Wanted to be a Gangster is a warm if cockeyed homage to old-time crime movies.
Masterfully shot in the Academy aspect ratio and vivid black-and-white of Bogie and Cagney pictures, it relates the earnest but ham-fisted attempts by a group of unrelated characters to turn their hands to crime. It might be a hard sell, but lovers of old movies and those who relish screen comedy that is written, staged and performed smartly Will Love this.
The only link between each of the stories is a functional cafeteria on the outskirts of Paris, where conurbation is cementing over both greenery and the illusory recollection of better times. But Benchetrit weaves his yarns together so cleverly that the film does not feel episodic. He succeeds in switching from goofball slapstick to screwball banter to the driest observational wit -- and back again -- without missing a beat.
The film begins and ends with two would-be villains who seem made for each other. Franck (Edouard Baer) is a witless hoodlum whose stab at robbing the cafeteria at gunpoint is hampered by the absence of a gun and the fact that he's locked his keys inside his getaway car. Susie (Anna Mouglalis) is the sassy waitress who laughs at his feeble hold-up technique largely because she has his gun. The backstory to this, and to the other chapters, is told in silent-movie style complete with title cards.
Meanwhile, a pair of bumbling and essentially decent kidnappers, played by Bouli Lanners and Serge Lariviere, have broken into a rich man's home and grabbed his daughter Selma El Mouissi) for ransom. They couldn't know that, though she is spoiled and nubile, she is also suicidal, and her father is happy to be rid of her.
Still, they leave a message on dad's phone to arrange an exchange meeting at the cafeteria, where, by chance, two groups of touring musicians arrive with vocalists Alain Bashung and the single-named Arno playing versions of themselves. One is successful, the other not so much, and when temptation is offered, it's too hard to resist.
Then there's the gang of retired criminals who have come together at what used to be their hideout because one of them is mortally ill and they want to fulfill youthful pledges to one another. These old reprobates are played by a wonderful array of character actors: Jean Rochefort, Laurent Terzieff, Jean-Pierre Kalfon, Venantino Venantini and Roger Dumas. Being together again makes them long for one more heist, but the bank they robbed in their last job 25 years ago isn't what it used to be.
The finest compliment to the filmmakers and splendid cast is that you wish the movie wouldn't end. These are marvelously rendered characters, and it would be great to spend more time in their misguided but endearing company.
Well-directed at the outset and well-cast with leads Morgane More and Guillaume Depardieu as serendipitous lovers who spend one fateful night together, actor Vincent Perez's feature directorial debut is one of those Gallic love stories that features messed-up guys and soulfully innocent gals. Alas, all its charm is in the setup and the follow-through is joyless, even downright irritating.
A world premiere in the official competition, "Peau d'ange" (Angel Skin) has not enough to recommend it to more than French-speaking audiences, though Perez's filmmaking skills and Depardieu's performance make it an above-average candidate for festivals.
With her family in financial trouble, teenage Angele (More) is sent off to work as a house servant and befriends similarly cast-off Josiane (Magalie Woch). Both are verbally abused by the boss lady (Helene de Saint Pere) and made to feel socially and intellectually inferior. But the girls have their own fun and games.
When nervous, brooding, angry Gregoire (Depardieu) comes to town because of his mother's death, Josiane flirts with him, and he tells her he's a manager in the music business. Convinced that Angele is a singer waiting to be discovered, Josiane brings them together on a rainy night that results in a desperate tryst that has unforeseen consequences.
What doesn't happen is Gregoire wanting to keep it going. He's gone and off pursuing a pharmaceutical job, where his brash confidence earns the admiration of his boss (Laurent Terzieff) and the inside track on wooing his daughter (screenwriter Karine Sylla). Angele tries to be near Gregoire and takes a job with another couple working at the same company. But her new boss (Olivier Gourmet) is coming apart over his wife's infidelities, and a tragic murder takes place.
The film starts to fall apart with the incarceration of Angele as an accomplice to murder, with the poor thing unable to help herself. In prison, she learns to adapt and takes an interest in gardening with the help of nearby nuns. When fortune shifts in her favor, it's just a matter of time before she truly runs out of luck.
Shifting between the resurrection of Gregoire's character and rising career and Angele's misfortunes, Perez makes a big mistake in the finale by snuffing out a character with minimal emotion. One wonders what the point of the film is, beyond showing how people can be attached on a deeper level than physical proximity. But when the result is so miserable, one can't escape the feeling that Angele and Gregoire should not have met. Unless one is attracted to tragedy for tragedy's sake.
PEAU D'ANGE
Europa Prods.
Credits:
Director: Vincent Perez
Screenwriters: Karine Sylla, Vincent Perez, Jerome Tonnerre
Producer: Virginie Silla
Director of photography: Philippe Pavans de Ceccatty
Production designer: Frederic Benard
Editor: Laurence Briaud
Music: Replicant
Costume designer: Claudine Lachaud
Cast:
Angele: Morgane More
Gregoire: Guillaume Depardieu
Josiane: Magalie Woch
Laure: Karine Sylla
Mme Artaud: Helene de Saint Pere
Mr Grenier: Laurent Terzieff
Mr Faivre: Olivier Gourmet
Running time -- 85 minutes
No MPAA rating...
A world premiere in the official competition, "Peau d'ange" (Angel Skin) has not enough to recommend it to more than French-speaking audiences, though Perez's filmmaking skills and Depardieu's performance make it an above-average candidate for festivals.
With her family in financial trouble, teenage Angele (More) is sent off to work as a house servant and befriends similarly cast-off Josiane (Magalie Woch). Both are verbally abused by the boss lady (Helene de Saint Pere) and made to feel socially and intellectually inferior. But the girls have their own fun and games.
When nervous, brooding, angry Gregoire (Depardieu) comes to town because of his mother's death, Josiane flirts with him, and he tells her he's a manager in the music business. Convinced that Angele is a singer waiting to be discovered, Josiane brings them together on a rainy night that results in a desperate tryst that has unforeseen consequences.
What doesn't happen is Gregoire wanting to keep it going. He's gone and off pursuing a pharmaceutical job, where his brash confidence earns the admiration of his boss (Laurent Terzieff) and the inside track on wooing his daughter (screenwriter Karine Sylla). Angele tries to be near Gregoire and takes a job with another couple working at the same company. But her new boss (Olivier Gourmet) is coming apart over his wife's infidelities, and a tragic murder takes place.
The film starts to fall apart with the incarceration of Angele as an accomplice to murder, with the poor thing unable to help herself. In prison, she learns to adapt and takes an interest in gardening with the help of nearby nuns. When fortune shifts in her favor, it's just a matter of time before she truly runs out of luck.
Shifting between the resurrection of Gregoire's character and rising career and Angele's misfortunes, Perez makes a big mistake in the finale by snuffing out a character with minimal emotion. One wonders what the point of the film is, beyond showing how people can be attached on a deeper level than physical proximity. But when the result is so miserable, one can't escape the feeling that Angele and Gregoire should not have met. Unless one is attracted to tragedy for tragedy's sake.
PEAU D'ANGE
Europa Prods.
Credits:
Director: Vincent Perez
Screenwriters: Karine Sylla, Vincent Perez, Jerome Tonnerre
Producer: Virginie Silla
Director of photography: Philippe Pavans de Ceccatty
Production designer: Frederic Benard
Editor: Laurence Briaud
Music: Replicant
Costume designer: Claudine Lachaud
Cast:
Angele: Morgane More
Gregoire: Guillaume Depardieu
Josiane: Magalie Woch
Laure: Karine Sylla
Mme Artaud: Helene de Saint Pere
Mr Grenier: Laurent Terzieff
Mr Faivre: Olivier Gourmet
Running time -- 85 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 8/27/2002
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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