Finding the 2012 version of Bel Ami to be an interesting film,I took a look for other adaptations,and found one starring George Sanders. With my dad being a fan of Sanders,and Father's Day coming up,I decided to make Bel Ami's private affairs public.
The plot-
Paris 1880:
Working at a low-paying job, Georges Duroy is thrilled to run into his old wartime friend Charles Forestier. Going for a meal,Duroy catches the eye of a lady called Rachel. Aware of his pal wanting to climb up the social ladder,Forestier advising Duroy that the best way to do that is to use his charm on women. Finding it easy to wrap the ladies round his little finger,Duroy begins only letting people know him at a skin-deep level.
View on the film:
Scrolling into the heart of every woman, George Sanders gives a delicious performance as Duroy,with Sanders laying out his devilish cad charms that embrace any woman who takes Duroy's fancy. Whilst he does pour out the charisma,Sanders subtly shows Duroy use it as a method to stay detached,as Duroy freezes any attempted made by others to form an emotional relationship with him. Joined by auteur film maker Hugo Hass as Monsieur Walter and Albert Bassermann giving the title some real upper crust class as Jacques Rival, Angela Lansbury gives a wonderful performance as Marelle,who views the lack of commitment from Duroy into the relationship in a widowed state.
Reuniting with Sanders for the third and final time,auteur writer/director Albert Lewin & cinematographer Russell "Touch of Evil" Metty turn the streets of Paris into a ultra-stylised Art Deco paradise,where the luxury shops and mansions of Duroy are surrounded in Art Deco shade. Bringing Max Ernst and Salvador Dalí (whose work was sadly cut from the film) in to give a startling splash of colour,Lewin rains down deep focus shadows for a Melodrama final which eyes the affairs of Duroy.
Needing to change the end for the Hays Code,the screenplay by Lewin (who made the film independent of the studios) fires a double sided ending where the Code get their morals,and the viewer gets a bullet of Film Noir pessimism. Loosely adapting Guy de Maupassant's book,Lewin brilliantly continues exploring his major theme of self- centred individuals whose self-imposed isolation causes their own destruction.Never allowing the viewer to get too close to Duroy,Lewin expresses in intelligently written dialogue the façade mask that Duroy makes,as the private affairs of Bel Ami are opened.
The plot-
Paris 1880:
Working at a low-paying job, Georges Duroy is thrilled to run into his old wartime friend Charles Forestier. Going for a meal,Duroy catches the eye of a lady called Rachel. Aware of his pal wanting to climb up the social ladder,Forestier advising Duroy that the best way to do that is to use his charm on women. Finding it easy to wrap the ladies round his little finger,Duroy begins only letting people know him at a skin-deep level.
View on the film:
Scrolling into the heart of every woman, George Sanders gives a delicious performance as Duroy,with Sanders laying out his devilish cad charms that embrace any woman who takes Duroy's fancy. Whilst he does pour out the charisma,Sanders subtly shows Duroy use it as a method to stay detached,as Duroy freezes any attempted made by others to form an emotional relationship with him. Joined by auteur film maker Hugo Hass as Monsieur Walter and Albert Bassermann giving the title some real upper crust class as Jacques Rival, Angela Lansbury gives a wonderful performance as Marelle,who views the lack of commitment from Duroy into the relationship in a widowed state.
Reuniting with Sanders for the third and final time,auteur writer/director Albert Lewin & cinematographer Russell "Touch of Evil" Metty turn the streets of Paris into a ultra-stylised Art Deco paradise,where the luxury shops and mansions of Duroy are surrounded in Art Deco shade. Bringing Max Ernst and Salvador Dalí (whose work was sadly cut from the film) in to give a startling splash of colour,Lewin rains down deep focus shadows for a Melodrama final which eyes the affairs of Duroy.
Needing to change the end for the Hays Code,the screenplay by Lewin (who made the film independent of the studios) fires a double sided ending where the Code get their morals,and the viewer gets a bullet of Film Noir pessimism. Loosely adapting Guy de Maupassant's book,Lewin brilliantly continues exploring his major theme of self- centred individuals whose self-imposed isolation causes their own destruction.Never allowing the viewer to get too close to Duroy,Lewin expresses in intelligently written dialogue the façade mask that Duroy makes,as the private affairs of Bel Ami are opened.