So, it's pretty obvious why this film suddenly has currency. It's a fascinatingly different take on the historical events dealt with in Christopher Nolan's current war epic (and also in Leslie Norman's more low-key 50s production). While it's possible to imagine people liking all three films, it seems likely everyone will greatly prefer one or other of them.Henri Verneuil enjoyed a long collaboration with Jean-Paul Belmondo, his star here, some of which exploited the star's fearless enthusiasm for daredevil stunts. Though the actor runs about among huge explosions here, so does everybody else, so that doesn't seem so special, though he does perform a spectacular crash down a flight of stairs. But on the whole, the film's talk seems to be to strip away Belmondo's superhero charisma and make him just one of the guys, hundreds of thousands of them, stranded on a beach and prey to bombs,...
- 8/1/2017
- MUBI
Unifrance has released the results of a study on image of French cinema across the world.
French film export agency Unifrance, which fetes its 65th anniversary this year, has released the results of a study on image of French cinema across the globe and the findings are surprising.
“French cinema is the second most exported cinema in the world after that of the Us,” said Unifrance president Jean-Paul Salomé.
According to the study the nations most fond of French cinema were Russia, Germany, the Us and Britain.
The most cited French films were Amélie, Untouchables, Taxi, Léon, Amour, The Artist, The Pianist and Welcome to the Sticks.
Interestingly, the French stars with the biggest international reputations belonged to an older generation.
In order, Gerard Depardieu came on top, followed by Jean Reno, Alain Delon, Catherine Deneuve, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Brigitte Bardot and Audrey Tautou as the best known French acting names internationally.
The best-known...
French film export agency Unifrance, which fetes its 65th anniversary this year, has released the results of a study on image of French cinema across the globe and the findings are surprising.
“French cinema is the second most exported cinema in the world after that of the Us,” said Unifrance president Jean-Paul Salomé.
According to the study the nations most fond of French cinema were Russia, Germany, the Us and Britain.
The most cited French films were Amélie, Untouchables, Taxi, Léon, Amour, The Artist, The Pianist and Welcome to the Sticks.
Interestingly, the French stars with the biggest international reputations belonged to an older generation.
In order, Gerard Depardieu came on top, followed by Jean Reno, Alain Delon, Catherine Deneuve, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Brigitte Bardot and Audrey Tautou as the best known French acting names internationally.
The best-known...
- 5/16/2014
- ScreenDaily
Claude Sautet's hard-boiled and absorbing 1960 thriller features a breathtakingly stylish Jean-Paul Belmondo
Here is a neglected gem: a superb French crime movie from 1960, now re-released as part of a season dedicated to its director, Claude Sautet, with a terrific role for the then-unknown Jean-Paul Belmondo. This Franco-Italian production feels like a classic – with all the traditional punchings, slappings, shootings and coshings – and yet it's utterly unformulaic. There's something more human and observant going on. It reaches back to neorealism, while anticipating the freewheeling Nouvelle Vague, that explosive cinema movement that sadly eclipsed this film. Lino Ventura is Abel Ventos, a Parisian gangster sentenced to death while on the run in Italy, and now pulling off robberies to feed his wife and two children. When things go horribly wrong for him, he discovers his old buddies are unwilling to help him. Insultingly, they entrust a rescue mission to a stranger,...
Here is a neglected gem: a superb French crime movie from 1960, now re-released as part of a season dedicated to its director, Claude Sautet, with a terrific role for the then-unknown Jean-Paul Belmondo. This Franco-Italian production feels like a classic – with all the traditional punchings, slappings, shootings and coshings – and yet it's utterly unformulaic. There's something more human and observant going on. It reaches back to neorealism, while anticipating the freewheeling Nouvelle Vague, that explosive cinema movement that sadly eclipsed this film. Lino Ventura is Abel Ventos, a Parisian gangster sentenced to death while on the run in Italy, and now pulling off robberies to feed his wife and two children. When things go horribly wrong for him, he discovers his old buddies are unwilling to help him. Insultingly, they entrust a rescue mission to a stranger,...
- 9/12/2013
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
W Magazine Editor Lynn Hirschberg sat down with several of the big awards contenders this year and asked them a very straightforward question: "What movie made you cry?"
What she got was a lot of surprising answers, including from Mr. Cool, George Clooney, who cried at perennial tearjerkers "It's a Wonderful Life" and "Old Yeller." The latter is ironic since they also interviewed Uggie, the Jack Russell terrier from "The Artist" whose 2 weird spasms seemed to indicate he liked "Around the World in 80 Days."
Albert Brooks also chose a scene from "Wonderful Life," while Javier Bardem, who killed dozens of people with a cattle gun in "No Country For Old Men," balls his eyes out at "Bambi." He's not alone in Disney-induced sadness, as Colin Firth picked "Dumbo," Shailene Woodley "Wall-e," and Melissa McCarthy teared-up at "Up." James Franco is a sucker for "Steel Magnolias," and Natalie Portman sheds...
What she got was a lot of surprising answers, including from Mr. Cool, George Clooney, who cried at perennial tearjerkers "It's a Wonderful Life" and "Old Yeller." The latter is ironic since they also interviewed Uggie, the Jack Russell terrier from "The Artist" whose 2 weird spasms seemed to indicate he liked "Around the World in 80 Days."
Albert Brooks also chose a scene from "Wonderful Life," while Javier Bardem, who killed dozens of people with a cattle gun in "No Country For Old Men," balls his eyes out at "Bambi." He's not alone in Disney-induced sadness, as Colin Firth picked "Dumbo," Shailene Woodley "Wall-e," and Melissa McCarthy teared-up at "Up." James Franco is a sucker for "Steel Magnolias," and Natalie Portman sheds...
- 1/20/2012
- by Max Evry
- NextMovie
DVD Playhouse—August 2011
By Allen Gardner
High And Low (Criterion) Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 adaptation of Ed McBain’s novel King’s Ransom is a multi-layered masterpiece of suspense and one of the best portraits ever of class warfare in post-ww II Japan. Toshiro Mifune stars as a wealthy businessman who finds himself in a moral quandary when his chauffer’s son is kidnapped by ruthless thugs who think the boy is Mifune’s. Beautifully realized on every level. Also available on Blu-ray disc. Bonuses: Commentary by Kurosawa scholar Stephen Prince; Documentary on film’s production; Interview with Mifune from 1984; Trailers and teaser. Widescreen. Dolby and DTS-hd 4.0 surround.
Leon Morin, Priest (Criterion) One of French maestro Jean-Pierre Melville’s rare non-crime-oriented films, starring Jean-Paul Belmondo as a devoted cleric who is lusted after by the women of a small village in Nazi-occupied France. When Fr. Morin finds himself drawn to a...
By Allen Gardner
High And Low (Criterion) Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 adaptation of Ed McBain’s novel King’s Ransom is a multi-layered masterpiece of suspense and one of the best portraits ever of class warfare in post-ww II Japan. Toshiro Mifune stars as a wealthy businessman who finds himself in a moral quandary when his chauffer’s son is kidnapped by ruthless thugs who think the boy is Mifune’s. Beautifully realized on every level. Also available on Blu-ray disc. Bonuses: Commentary by Kurosawa scholar Stephen Prince; Documentary on film’s production; Interview with Mifune from 1984; Trailers and teaser. Widescreen. Dolby and DTS-hd 4.0 surround.
Leon Morin, Priest (Criterion) One of French maestro Jean-Pierre Melville’s rare non-crime-oriented films, starring Jean-Paul Belmondo as a devoted cleric who is lusted after by the women of a small village in Nazi-occupied France. When Fr. Morin finds himself drawn to a...
- 8/8/2011
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
Jean-Paul Belmondo has been given a Palme d'Or by the Cannes Film Festival. The French New Wave star was presented with the award last night during a special evening dedicated to him, which also included the screening of documentary Belmondo: The Career by Vincent Perrot and Jeff Domenech. Belmondo said: "I am very moved by this Palme d'or which has touched my heart. "I'd like to thank all those here today, people I know or don't know. A big thank-you from the bottom of my heart." Festival director Thierry Frémaux said: "The (more)...
- 5/18/2011
- by By Mayer Nissim
- Digital Spy
The 2011 Cannes Classics program was unveiled, and five new documentaries centered around film history are to be screened as part of the bill, which includes newly restored 35 mm or HD prints of A Clockwork Orange by Stanley Kubrick, The Conformist (Il Conformista) by Bernardo Bertolucci, and Despair by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, among eleven other classics. The documentaries scheduled to run are as follows: The Look by Angelica Maccarone (Germany / France, 2011, 95') The film chronicles the life of long time actress Charlotte Rampling, who looks to have collaborated on the project with Maccarone. She's been working in the industry since the mid-60s, and is still going strong today with notable roles in last year's Never Let Me Go, and Lars Von Trier's latest, Melancholia.Corman's World: Exploits Of A Hollywood Rebel by Alex Stapleton (USA, 2011, 125') Stapleton's doc looks back at the life of the legendary producer-director Roger Corman,...
- 4/27/2011
- IONCINEMA.com
Note: I’ll be updating this page as Criterion makes the release dates and final art available. – Ryan 4/15/2011
Well here we are, another mid-month Criterion new release announcement. This time last year, we were treated to the incredible one-two punch announcement of Black Narcissus and the Red Shoes as upgraded DVD/Blu-ray editions. This time around we have even more to be excited about.
First up, a couple of films that we’ve actually already covered on the podcast will finally be getting Blu-ray upgrades. One of our very first episodes was on Mike Leigh’s Naked (a film that I wasn’t too hot on, but I loved Leigh’s Topsy Turvy). Now you’ll finally be able to see this incredibly daring and raw look at England in the early 90s, with David Thewlis as the immortal Johnny. I found the dialogue to be a little too rapid and not very naturalistic,...
Well here we are, another mid-month Criterion new release announcement. This time last year, we were treated to the incredible one-two punch announcement of Black Narcissus and the Red Shoes as upgraded DVD/Blu-ray editions. This time around we have even more to be excited about.
First up, a couple of films that we’ve actually already covered on the podcast will finally be getting Blu-ray upgrades. One of our very first episodes was on Mike Leigh’s Naked (a film that I wasn’t too hot on, but I loved Leigh’s Topsy Turvy). Now you’ll finally be able to see this incredibly daring and raw look at England in the early 90s, with David Thewlis as the immortal Johnny. I found the dialogue to be a little too rapid and not very naturalistic,...
- 4/15/2011
- by Ryan Gallagher
- CriterionCast
French star Jean-Paul Belmondo is to receive a special tribute at the 64th annual Cannes Film Festival. A special day-long celebration of the 77-year-old actor's life and work will be held on May 17, culminating with the premiere of the documentary Belmondo: The Career. The festival's chairman Gilles Jacob and General Delegate Thierry Frémaux praised Belmondo in an official statement, citing him as one of the most acclaimed legends in the history of French cinema. "We are delighted that he has agreed to attend this gala evening in celebration of his talent and career," Jacob and Frémaux wrote. "His range and personal charisma, the precision of his acting, his cocky wit, the ease with which he carries himself have made him, along with Jean Gabin and Michel Simon, one of the greatest French actors (more)...
- 4/4/2011
- by By Justin Harp
- Digital Spy
Michael Cera deconstructed.
Michael Cera in "Youth in Revolt"
Photo: Weinstein Co.
As every nice guy knows, girls have an inexplicable thing for bad boys. Which is bad news for Nick Twisp (Michael Cera), who unfortunately couldn't be nicer. Nick is 16 years old and a budding sophisticate whose tastes — shared by no one in his circle of pathetic acquaintances — run to Frank Sinatra records and old Fellini movies. He's also a virgin whose knowledge of sex consists entirely of rumor. He longs to score, ideally with a girl whose tastes run to Frank Sinatra records and old Fellini movies ... or something, you know, similar.
But there's no one like that in sight, or maybe even in existence. And meanwhile, everyone around Nick seems to be scoring like mad, even his divorced parents. His mom (Jean Smart), with whom he lives, is currently filling the vacancy in her love life with...
Michael Cera in "Youth in Revolt"
Photo: Weinstein Co.
As every nice guy knows, girls have an inexplicable thing for bad boys. Which is bad news for Nick Twisp (Michael Cera), who unfortunately couldn't be nicer. Nick is 16 years old and a budding sophisticate whose tastes — shared by no one in his circle of pathetic acquaintances — run to Frank Sinatra records and old Fellini movies. He's also a virgin whose knowledge of sex consists entirely of rumor. He longs to score, ideally with a girl whose tastes run to Frank Sinatra records and old Fellini movies ... or something, you know, similar.
But there's no one like that in sight, or maybe even in existence. And meanwhile, everyone around Nick seems to be scoring like mad, even his divorced parents. His mom (Jean Smart), with whom he lives, is currently filling the vacancy in her love life with...
- 1/8/2010
- MTV Movie News
Ralph Meeker, Dan Duryea, Vince Edwards, Steve Cochran. There's just something about the asshole.
Scratch that. That's too strong and vulgar and dismissive of a word. More like... the shit bird, the hinky hombre, the gashouse palooka, whichever old-timey slang you choose to apply. These fellas are smarmy, slimy, ready with the pimp hand, and they sport that proverbial cat-that-ate-the-canary grin whenever a comely broad crosses their path. If you're upset, you're just, as Duryea spits in "The Little Foxes," "showing off your grief" (though he dares utters this to a man, which, in the rare case of the actor's screen career, causes Mr. Duryea to become the recipient of the bitch slap, rather than his usual backhand). And should you ever flag down a car in hysterical distress; the good looking stinker might not give you the comfort you require. He might just ask, à la Ralph Meeker as Mike Hammer,...
Scratch that. That's too strong and vulgar and dismissive of a word. More like... the shit bird, the hinky hombre, the gashouse palooka, whichever old-timey slang you choose to apply. These fellas are smarmy, slimy, ready with the pimp hand, and they sport that proverbial cat-that-ate-the-canary grin whenever a comely broad crosses their path. If you're upset, you're just, as Duryea spits in "The Little Foxes," "showing off your grief" (though he dares utters this to a man, which, in the rare case of the actor's screen career, causes Mr. Duryea to become the recipient of the bitch slap, rather than his usual backhand). And should you ever flag down a car in hysterical distress; the good looking stinker might not give you the comfort you require. He might just ask, à la Ralph Meeker as Mike Hammer,...
- 1/6/2010
- by Kim Morgan
- ifc.com
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