Claude Autant-Lara

[Anonymous]

The films of Claude Autant-Lara seem terribly under-represented on DVD right now. Does anyone know where one can at least get a copy of DOUCE aka LOVE STORY, even if it's a bootleg?

[Knappen]

I agree that Autant-Lara is terribly under-represented, even in France. This is surely due to his flirting with LePen and the Front National on his older days. But since people started to question the often unfair criticism of the new wave, people like Autant-Lara have been revalued and there is surely a need for films like Douce and Le diable au corps.

I happen to own copies of a good part of his films but am desperately searching Tu ne tueras point (1960). Monday I am getting a shipment from France with Lettres d'amour starring Odette Joyeux. Can't wait to see that one!

[Knappen]

Le Diable au corps was shown on French TV in the Patrick Brion Cinéma de minuit series:







I learned from a link that David posted the other day that the slightly less interesting Le Rouge et le Noir will be given a Blu release this spring.

[Knappen]

Incredibly enough, Autant-Lara's banned pacifist masterpiece Tu ne tueras point seems to have been out on DVD in Italy for four years. Sadly it seems to be an Italian dub, but with Italian subs "per non udenti" it should be possible to follow for a lot of people.




dbdumonteil on IMDb writes the following:

France,early sixties: the Algerian war is coming to an end but not before 1962; pacifist Louis Lecoin is on a hunger strike in order to get the status of conscientious objector for all men who refuse to make war. The general de Gaulle will finally agree, but only when the war is over.

A voice rises; it does not come from the ranks of the nouvelle vague,no,it's an "old" director,Claude Autant-Lara,whose mother had been an active pacifist during WW1 (an actress,she was thrown out from the comédie française for her ideas). Laurent Terzieff plays the part of a young man who refuses to be drafted, because of his religious beliefs. He is abetted by his mother(a wonderful Suzanne Flon).

This might be the most difficult French movie to find and see. Never broadcast on TV, it seems to scare everybody .

"These academic old hat directors gotta get away", the new wave was ceaselessly yelling. Not one among them had the guts to tackle such a responsible hard subject.

[Knappen]

Le Diable au corps is now out on DVD in France. With English subs!!!

And Occupe-toi d'Amélie is coming next month!!!!! http://video.fnac.com/a3046497/Occupe-t ... DVD-Zone-2" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[lubitsch]

Le Diable au corps is now out on DVD in France. With English subs!!!

You mean this DVD http://www.amazon.fr/gp/product/B003VKT ... d_i=405320" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; has in fact English subtitles? 100% sure? Then what about the other new classic french Paramount releases, there are La Beaute du Diable http://www.amazon.fr/beaut%C3%A9-du-dia ... pd_sim_d_1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; or Le Rouge et le Noir http://www.amazon.fr/rouge-noir-G%C3%A9 ... pd_sim_d_2" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; released in August and June?

[Saimo]

Incredibly enough, Autant-Lara's banned pacifist masterpiece Tu ne tueras point seems to have been out on DVD in Italy for four years. Sadly it seems to be an Italian dub, but with Italian subs "per non udenti" it should be possible to follow for a lot of people.

If you are interested, there is an Italian release for I sette peccati capitali (Les sept péchés capitaux), but Italian language only (with subs). It is a film made up of seven episodes about seven sins, with Autant-Lara directing the "Pride" segment.
http://www.ibs.it/dvd/8032134041378/edu ... itali.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Knappen]

@Saimo: I have a DVD version of the French VHS. Autant-Lara's contribution is brilliant.

@Lubitsch: 99% sure about the English (and French HoH) subs for the Le Diable au corps DVD. The other ones you mention only have French HoH. EDIT: Now 100% sure.

[Saimo]

@Saimo: I have a DVD version of the French VHS. Autant-Lara's contribution is brilliant.

His episode is pretty good, I agree.
The film was a French-Italian co-production, and Italian version is supposed to be 23 min. shorter than French one. My Italian PAL DVD runs 124' (and 33"), with an additional episode shot by George Lacombe (5' 43") as bonus track (French audio with Italian subs, since it was never dubbed or shown for Italian audience). How long does the French VHS run?

[Knappen]

The French VHS ticks in at 138 and a half minute.

[Knappen]

Out tomorrow:

[Knappen]

And here are the caps. No subs on the DVD.

[Jonathan S]

I've wanted to see Occupe-toi d'Amélie for many years. Middlebrow British film critic Leslie Halliwell (whose I books I grew up with) named it in the 1970s as one of his hundred favourite films - one of only three he selected which were not made in the US or UK! My first viewings of the other 99 titles were decades ago but this one has always eluded me. Alas, it will continue to do so until someone, officially or otherwise, makes it available with English subs - "an almost impossible task," according to Halliwell, due to the film's breakneck speed. He concluded his review: "No other film I know has ever kept up style and pace with such magnificent self-assurance".

[Knappen]

Just find a detailed synopsis or even an English translation of Georges Feydeau's play and consult it while watching the film (which has a short, but clever narrative frame, btw). People shouldn't just give up all hope of seeing a film because of the lack of subtitles - the friction can be viewed as fun rather than as a challenge.

[Jonathan S]

Thanks for the suggestion, though every time I've tried that with a talkie - and especially a talky talkie - I've ended up feeling I still hadn't really seen the film at all. My grasp of spoken French is almost non-existent, despite in the 1970s winning the French prize at school for seven years running - in the final years, there were only two of us in the class... But in recent years I've acquired so many European films with subs added by other enthusiasts I remain optimistic someone will come to the rescue. (If that sounds lazy, I have spent hundreds of hours adding scores to silents for sharing with others, so I like to think of it as karma...)

[Fred Holywell]

For those interested in the "Le Rouge et le Noir" Gaumont disc, I've posted a few BR caps in the 'Screen Captures' thread.



Apparently some restoration has been done and, considering it's an Eastmancolor film, the transfer isn't bad. Looks like the same master that ran recently on TV5-USA and, based on having seen that, the caps appear to accurately reflect the film image. Color is generally strong, but some sequences are in noticeably better shape than others, and dissolves are pretty much shot. Supplements seem worthwhile (two film specific docs), though no Eng subs on either BR or DVD.

The film itself is a bit odd -- long (185 min) and in two parts, well written and played, but with a strange, artificial, look (very high-key lighting, stage-bound settings) that left me curious about Autant-Lara's overall intent. Perhaps the included doc "The Art of Stylization in Autant-Lara" helps to explain that aspect of the film.