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| The Earrings of Madame De... |
LA RONDE, LE PLAISIR, THE EARRINGS OF MADAME DE... (Ophuls, 1950, 1952, 1953)
Criterion Collection, DVD, Release Date Sep 16, 2008
Review by Christopher S. Long
The following is a combined review of
the three Max Ophuls films released by Criterion on September 16,
2008: “La ronde” (1950), “Le plaisir” (1952), and “The
Earrings of Madame de…” (1953). Beneath the main body of the
review you will find Video, Audio, Extras, and Final Thoughts for
each of the three films. Please note that Criterion re-released “The
Earrings of Madame De...” on Blu-ray in 2013 with identical extras;
the high-grade transfer was so-so by Criterion standards but not as
poor as some review sites claimed at the time.
Kubrick seldom discussed other
filmmakers but eagerly expressed his admiration for Ophuls’ mastery
of the tracking shot, an obvious influence on Kubrick’s career from
at least as early as “Paths of Glory” which was shot in 1957, the
same year that Max Ophuls suffered a fatal heart attack. According to
actor Richard Anderson, Kubrick wrapped shooting on “Paths” one
day and proclaimed “This shot is in memory of Max Ophuls, who died
today.” Anderson said, “(Ophuls) was Stanley’s god.”
Ophuls’ insistently roving camera was
not unprecedented in the '40s and '50s, but no commercial filmmaker
of the time so elegantly integrated the mobile camera into his work.
Time and again, characters are introduced with long, graceful
tracking shots that guide them from the edge of the frame into the
heart of the scene. Ophuls was fond of elaborately choreographed
shots such as the much-celebrated dance sequences in “The Earrings
of Madame de…”, and “La Ronde.” The camera just barely keeps
up with the whirling characters as they cover some serious ground and
then circle back to do it all again. He didn't make it look
effortless; he simply made it look flawless. Ophuls achieved the kind
of perfection that produces a sense of awe and the (accurate)
impression that nobody else could possibly have shot it.
But the roving camera was hardly the
only trick in Max Ophuls’ movie bag. In one scene from “Le
plaisir,” a traveling salesman shares a train car with several of
the ladies of the Maison Tellier. Burdened with the tools of his
trade, he places a large bag on the shelf above the women. It falls
and he catches it just before it hits one of them. He tucks it back
in rather carelessly, then places a much heavier suitcase on the
shelf to his left. Once again, he deftly snags it as it falls and
returns it to the luggage rack where it leans precariously over the
edge. In what becomes a 2 minute, 27 second static shot (with one
slight zoom in to reframe the characters) in a cramped space, Ophuls
creates multiple focal points in the frame. The teetering bags are
very much “alive” in this scene: we wait for them to fall at any
point as the train car shakes and rattles. Add a coupe of quacking
ducks in a basket held by one of the women and a long shot with
almost no camera movement becomes very dynamic. It’s a remarkable
feat of craftsmanship, made even more remarkable by the fact that it
can so easily drift by unnoticed.
In another Kubrick connection, “La
ronde” is adapted from a work by Arthur Schnitzler author of
“Traumnovelle” which Kubrick and Frederic Raphael adapted for
“Eyes Wide Shut” (1999). Here, Ophuls and screenwriting partner
Jacques Natanson adapt the saucy, scandalous, and oft-censored
Schnitzler play described as “a story of love” which is to say “a
story of sex.” A merry-go-round features prominently in the film
and serves as the guiding conceit for the entire movie. The film
begins with a prostitute seducing a soldier: in the next scene, the
soldier seduces a chambermaid who next proceeds to seduce (and be
seduced by) her employer and so on. Every character in the film
except for one has two romantic assignations in the film.
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| Walbrook in La ronde |
The exception is the “meneur de jeu,”
a master of ceremonies (played by veteran actor Anton Walbrook) who
serves multiple and mysterious functions in the film. Dressed in coat
and top hat, he narrates the film and operates the merry-go-round,
but he also appears in most of the scenes nominally as a character
integrated into the narrative but also with an omniscient
perspective, offering cleverly worded advice to people not quite
clever enough to figure out what the hell he’s talking about.
The film shows no graphic sex, of
course (this was 1950 after all) but it is shockingly frank about its
intentions. These characters are not spending romantic days in the
countryside together. They are, quite simply, trying to hook up and
succeeding quite admirably in their efforts. As the merry-go-round
spins on, so does the wheel of life and love and lust with room for
everyone but waiting for nobody. The film is studded with an all-star
cast including Walbrook, Simone Signoret, Gerard Philipe, Isa
Miranda, Simone Simon, and frequent Ophuls’ actress Danielle
Darrieux who appears in all three of the Ophuls films released by
Criterion this month.
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| Le plaisir |
“Le plaisir” (1952) is a more
restrained affair, but still quite bold by the standards of the time.
It would have been much bolder if Ophuls had his way. The story is
designed as a triptych, adapting three stories by Guy de Maupassant:
“The Mask,” “The Tellier House,” and “The Model.” Ophuls
originally planned to adapt “Paul’s Mistress” a story in which
the title character has a lesbian affair. Alas, after the sequence
was initially approved, a new production company that took over after
the first went bankrupt nixed the idea.
“The Tellier House” is the second
story and takes up the bulk of the film. The title house is a brothel
that forms the nexus of all night-life in a small Normandy town. One
day the male clients discover the lights in the house are
mysteriously turned off and the doors shuttered. This is the
equivalent of showing up at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas and
finding it closed. A riot breaks out at the brothel while the
“gentleman” of town gradually congregate (oddly, they all happen
to be heading to the same place at the same time...) to figure out
how to deal with this existential crisis. Their polite debates
devolve into heated arguments and occasional fisticuffs, once again
proving one of the immutable laws of nature: horny men don’t think
clearly and shouldn’t gather in large groups.
It turns out the ladies have gone to
the countryside to attend the first communion of Madame Tellier’s
niece. When they arrive in this presumably more god-fearing pastoral
town, they are still treated as royalty by all the men… well, see
above for a discussion of the immutable laws of nature.
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| Darrieux as Madame de... |
Both “La ronde” and “Le plaisir”
are superb examples of Ophuls at the top of his game, but “The
Earrings of Madame de…,” based on a story by Louise de Vilmorin,
is the masterpiece of the collection and perhaps the greatest
achievement of his career (1948’s brilliant “Letter from an
Unknown Woman” being the most likely challenger to the title.)
Danielle Darrieux delivers the performance of a lifetime as the
serial fainter and pathological liar Louise who is never given a last
time.
Married to the wealthy General André
(played by superstar Charles Boyer), Louise has a tendency to
outspend the ample allowance given to her by her husband. She pawns
the title earrings then concocts a story about losing them at the
opera, the first of many lies that Louise tells and the one that sets
the narrative into motion. Just as “La Ronde” followed a series
of connected sexual liaisons, this movie follows the earrings en
route to Constantinople by way of André’s mistress and back into
Louise’s possession via the Italian Baron Donati who becomes
Louise’s most earnest suitor (there are many). Donati is played
with panache by Vittorio de Sica and his compelling performance here
provides a reminder to modern audiences that the man identified as
one of the great Italian neo-realist directors was much better known
to audiences of the time as a dashing screen icon.
André is used to Louise’s admirers
and he plays the gentleman’s game of love with verve, but the
shifting ownership of the earrings (and the lies and scandal
associated with them) humiliates him. He cannot let Louise
Who-Has-No-Last-Name-But-If-She-Did-It-Would-Be-His labor under the
false assumption that she is not his to control. Love isn't an
emotion, it's a set of rules.
The film’s incredible dancing
sequences have been oft-discussed but virtually every shot in this
film possesses a luminous quality that is unique to Max Ophuls. I
simply don’t have room to discuss them, but you can get some sense
of the mastery on display in the “Visual Analysis” provided by
Tag Gallagher on the DVD.
These three films marked the final
stage of Ophuls’ illustrious career. With “La ronde” he
returned home, or more accurately the German-born Jew who fled Nazi
Germany returned from Hollywood to France where he directed these
three films plus his final work “Lola Montès” in 1957 before
dying of a heart attack at the age of 55.
LA RONDE
"La ronde" is presented in its original 1.33:1 full-screen aspect ratio. Like most recent Criterion full-screen releases, the image is pictureboxed which means some viewers will see thin black bars on the left and right of the image. The digitally restored transfer isn’t quite up to the usual Criterion standards, nor is it as good as the other two Ophuls DVDs released this month. There are more imperfections visible than usual with Criterion transfer, perhaps this was a more partial restoration than most. Still, the image quality is very good, and probably the best available right now.
Audio:
The DVD is presented in Dolby Digital
Mono. The mix is clear if not dynamic. Not much to say here. Optional English subtitles support the French audio.
The feature-length commentary track by scholar Susan White, author of “The Cinema of Max Ophuls” is jam-packed with strong analysis and information. White often sounds like she is reading from her book or from pre-scripted passages, but this minor bit of awkwardness doesn’t detract from the quality of her contribution to Ophuls’ scholarship.
“Circles of Desire: Alan Williams on
‘La ronde.’” Williams is the author of “Ophuls and the Cinema
of Desire: A Critical Study of Six Films, 1948-1955.” I haven’t
had a chance to listen to this 35 minute critical analysis yet.
Marcel Ophuls, the director’s son,
discusses his father’s work in an interview from Cannes in 2008 (7
min.) Marcel is also an accomplished director best known for “The
Sorrow and the Pity” (1969) and “Hotel Terminus” (1988).
An interview with actor Daniel Gélin
(12 min.), conducted by Martina Müller in 1989, provides some
insight into what it was like to work for Ophuls, but I can’t say I
found this particularly riveting.
“Schnitzler Correspondence.” An
odd feature which shows letters written between Sir Laurence Olivier
and Heinrich Schnitzler, Arthur’s son. The correspondence concerns
an adaptation of the play being directed by Olivier.
The slim insert booklet features an
essay by Terrence Rafferty.
I am not quite as enthusiastic about “La ronde” as many critics. I find Walbrook’s winking “meneur de jeu” overbearingly clever, and the story of serial sexual encounters gets a little tiresome by the end. However, “La ronde” is still a film which showcases Ophuls at the peak of his creative powers, and also features an extraordinary cast.
LE PLAISIR
The film is presented in its original 1.33:1 full-screen aspect ratio. Like most recent Criterion full-screen releases, the image is pictureboxed which means some viewers will see thin black bars on the left and right of the image. The digitally restored transfer is remarkably clean, though the image looks a bit dark overall. However, the contrast is still sharp overall. A very strong transfer.
The DVD is presented in Dolby Digital Mono. Optional English subtitles support the French audio.
Ophuls recorded English and German
versions of “La Ronde” in addition to the French. In the English
version, only the narration is in English with the dialogue still in
French. The German version also includes dubbed German dialogue. The
disc presents the opening of the film in each of the two alternate
language tracks. You cannot, however, choose to listen to the entire
film in either version.
“Le plaisir” is the only one of these three Criterion releases that does not offer a commentary track.
A video introduction by Todd Haynes (18
min.) was recorded in Hollywood in April 2005. This feature comes
with a warning that the intro gives away significant plot elements.
“From Script to Screen” (20 min.)
is one of the best extra on all three discs. Film Scholar Jean-Pierre
Berthomé works from the original shooting scripts of the film to
discuss the numerous changes the project underwent from the page to
the final product.
The disc also includes another excerpt
from the interview with actor Daniel Gélin, conducted by Martina
Müller in 1989 (12 min.)
Two other 1989 interviews by Müller
are offered as well: with assistant director Tony Aboyantz (13 min.)
and with set decorator Robert Christidès (15 min.)
The slim insert booklet features an
essay by the great Robin Wood.
“Le plaisir” is usually considered the least of these three films, but I liked it more than “La ronde.” I didn’t get a chance to mention the two shorter de Maupassant stories that flank “Tellier House” but both are quite entertaining, especially the final section “The Model” although it does include a point-of-view shot that may have seemed innovative at the time but comes across as clunky today. Each of the stories occupies its own distinct space, but all are woven together thematically into an engaging and often moving whole.
THE EARRINGS OF MADAME DE…
"Madame de..." is presented in its original 1.33:1 full-screen aspect ratio. Like most recent Criterion full-screen releases the image is pictureboxed which means some viewers will see thin black bars on the left and right of the image. The restored transfer is up to the very best Criterion standards. This is clean, bright, sharp and simply beautiful. Not a single complaint.
The DVD is presented in Dolby Digital Mono. Optional English subtitles support the French audio.
Susan White returns (from the “La ronde” DVD) for this feature-length commentary, this time sharing the bill with Gaylyn Studlar. The commentary is as strong here as it was for “La ronde.”
Paul Thomas Anderson puts down his
milkshake long enough to provide an articulate and engaging
introduction (14 min) to the film. Be warned, the introduction gives
away plot elements.
A “Visual Essay” (17 min.) by Tag
Gallagher shows off the advantages of criticism in the digital
format. Gallagher plays and replays specific shots from the film in
order to analyze Ophuls’ unique mise-en-scene in great detail. I
just wish this feature was much longer. An hour’s worth of this
critical approach would be thoroughly compelling.
The disc includes three interview with
Ophuls collaborators: assistant director Alan Jessua (25 min.),
co-writer Annette Wademant (7 min.) and assistant decorator Marc
Frédérix (8 min.)
The final feature is a brief excerpt (5
min.) from an interview with novelist Louise de Vilmorin whose story
was adapted for the film. The excerpt is from the French TV series
“Démons et merveilles du cinéma” and originally aired on Nov
20, 1965.
A thick insert booklet is nestled next
to the DVD n the cardboard case. It includes an essay by critic
Molly Haskell, an excerpt from a 1962 book “Max Ophuls” by
costume designer Georges Annenkov, and the original story by Louise
de Vilmorin that served as the source material for the movie.
“The Earrings of Madame de…” is a masterpiece by any standard with every element working in unison: dynamic camerawork, an economical script (by Ophuls, Marcel Achard, and Annette Wademant), and brilliant performances, particularly by Darrieux. As Molly Haskell writes in the insert booklet, it’s quite shocking that the film doesn’t appear more often on lists of the greatest films. It certainly deserves a place high in the canon.
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