A Merry Christmas to everybody on SSO. All my best wishes to all of you.

After some reading, as I thought, Max Ophüls (born Oppenheimer) was the son of Jewish shopkeepers born in Sarrebruck. He was attracted by the theatre early on. His family was against it, hence the use of a new name: Ophüls. Funnily, there was an illustrious German family called Ophüls and they conta...

Does anyone know Ophuls history? Did he come from the upper classes? He seems so familiar with that milieu, and the malaise that overcomes some of his characters. We were discussing him at the other site - he is able to critique that swirling lifestyle while thoroughly immersing you in it. His view...

The second segment takes place in Normandy at La Maison Tellier... it's not the best segment in terms of storyline but it's pleasant but with actors who are able to do a lot with a pleasant little story. Really! You know, I always considered la Maison Tellier to be the best segment of Le Plaisir . ...

http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/aa123/cleteux/SilverScreen/CF14Oct11.jpg The French Cinematheque has made available online the lecture given by Kevin Brownlow on Octobre 14th, 2011 during an International Symposium about 'The Digital Revolution'. The lecture is entitled : What Does It Mean to Re...

Really funny how experiences can vary. I first saw Thief of Bagdad on a late night TV show in the 80s. It was the beautiful Photoplay tinted print with Carl Davis' ravishing score. I fell head over heels in love with Fairbanks. I have never varied. But, I guess, according to the print & music yo...

I agree with you Kingrat. The New Wave crushed mercilessly a great number of older French directors and their criticisms were in general extremely prejudiced. Delannoy could do some good work. (And Renoir made a few turkeys...) Yesterday I saw a delightful Italian comedy Padri e figli (Fathers and S...

I am glad you meant Quai des Orfèvres. This Clouzot film is a masterpiece with sparkling dialogue and acting. It's available from Criterion. The recent 36 Quai des Orfèvres looks like a terrible crime drama devoided of any humour...

This excellent feature was screened at the Cinémathèque Française yesterday. http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/aa123/cleteux/SilverScreen/Raquel1.jpg (Lia: Raquel Meller) La Terre Promise (The Promised Land, 1924) by Henry Roussel with Raquel Meller, Max Maxudian, Tina de Izarduy, Pierre Blanchar, ...

Recently Arte TV showed a new restoration of Nachts auf den Strassen (At Night On the Roads, 1952) directed by Rudolf Jugert with Hans Albers, Hildegard Knef, Marius Goring and Lucie Mannheim. This German feature resembles a film noir. The director was Helmut Käutner's assistant. Here he directs a s...

charliechaplinfan wrote:I'm dying to see it, I hope it gets a good release here. I might have to wait until it comes out on DVD but see it I will.

According to the website Silent London, The Artist should get a UK release on December 30th.

Let us know when you see it, Kingme! :wink: Here is an interesting article from the UK daily The Independent about The Artist with a few questions asked to a famous film historian. Michel Hazanavicius: Silence is golden for the big noise from France Michel Hazanavicius's The Artist wowed Cannes and ...

The film was released on October 12th in France. It came out first of the BO charts after one week with 443,000 spectators. So it looks as if it's going to be a success. http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/aa123/cleteux/SilverScreen/706851_the-artist.jpg http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/aa123/clete...

I hope Michael wins. He is my favourite. Move over Howard!

During the week, I saw a rare Paul Czinner picture, Mélo (1932) shot in France with Gaby Morlay, Pierre Blanchar and Victor Francen. Czinner directed two other versions of that same film, one in German, Der träumende Mund (1932) and one in English, Dreaming Lips (1937), both with Elisabeth Bergner. ...