Reviews (2)

We Will Serve No Mystery Before its Time
Orson Welles plays the grey bearded and portly God-like father, Anthony Perkins the rebellious son, and Marlene Jobert the young & sexy stepmother in this metaphysical Oedipal mystery which is based(only very loosely)on an Ellery Queen novel. Chabrol only uses the Ellery Queen novel as a kind of foundation, what he actually builds from that foundation has little to do with Ellery Queen. Be warned: If you're looking for a straightforward mystery this is not for you. However if you are looking for a film that plays with the mystery genre in creative and unexpected ways then this may just well be your kind of cinema as Claude Chabrol's is a subversive cinema and in his early to mid 1970's films he boldly re-invents each genre of filmmaking to accomodate his own ironic world view. Chabrol always has fun with the bourgeoisie in his films but here he expands that ridicule to include every kind of authority figure(and every kind of truth). Each authority figure tries to exert their influence, and force upon others their way of perceiving things but the truth slips through their grasp. In this film made in the very riotous year of our lord 1971, authority figures have lost their grip on "truth" and "reality". Claude Chabrol wrote a book about Hitchcock and is often compared to that master filmmaker but his films only resemble Hitchcock films on the surface, below the surface the two have nothing in common. Chabrol casting Anthony Perkins as the central conscience around which this mystery revolves is just another bit of Chabrol irony. In Hitchcocks Psycho Perkins was the psycho son of a dead mother. Here he is the confused son of a domineering father. As filmgoers who have all seen Psycho we expect Perkins to once again play the psycho but in Chabrols world expectations must be cast aside. This story takes some getting used to as there are so many things going on but if you stick with it you will be rewarded with a singular kind of film experience. Chabrol gives you lots of irony(lots of cinema in-jokes, including references to Welles films) but his ultimate vision is a unique & compelling one which will especially appeal to those restless minds out there who will find a real compatriot in Chabrol. His filmic re-formulations are highly literate & sophisticated and yet unlike Godard his interest in form never becomes merely formal exercises. He is one of those rare experimenters whose films are fun. I would recommend many of Chabrols films including La Rupture which was made in the same year as this one but also: La Femme Infidele, Le Boucher, Que la Bete Muere, Wedding in Blood, La Ceremonie.

Fantastic Cinema Work
Not for nothing Claude Chabrol is one of the best film makers. He goes unraveling the movie slowly to an impossible-to-grasp ending. An absolut black thriller, full of excitement. The cast is also brilliant, from the troubled Charles Van Horn (played by Anthony Perkins in a superb role), to his doctor and friend Paul (Michel Piccoli), to his father (Orson Welles, always good! ). Don't miss this movie! ... Read more

Reviews (5)

A nation without shame
Admittedly this film is propaganda produced during an occupation by fascist Germany, but it is very educational in explaining why more Americans were probably killed by the French during WWII than were saved by them. Including the Northern Africa campaign of serious battles where Allied forces were attacked by French military loyal to Petain's Vichy government, as well as the millions of Frenchmen who assisted the Nazi war machine in their munitions factories, there is no question that the French were more the enemy of the Allies than they would ever be willing to admit today. For anyone who thinks that French diplomatic treachery is a new phenomenon in the war against Islamofascism, they should see this film. No wonder Chabrol was widely condemned in France for shining the light on this ugly chapter in French history. It is something any nation should be ashamed of. But unfortunately they have learned nothing from their ignominy as well documented by their own propagandists.

Disappointing, tendentious hash of newsreel clips
I can't imagine what Claude Chabrol's involvement with this project amounted to. Did he stand around and chat while others edited at the movieola? Did he look at an assortment of newsreels and pick out a few to give the compilation a narrative structure? Whatever, it wasn't much of a contribution. I suspect his name is on the package to give it credibility.

This is a predictably anti-Petainist, anti-collabo montage of newsreel clips from the early 1940s. The original footage was produced by the German occupiers and French collaborationists, so it would seem that both sides get to have their say. Actually we are given only one point of view--the Gaullist one.

Great film for French class
This is a great video to show in advanced or AP French classes. It helps students better understand what life was like under Nazi occupation in France, and it affords a glimpse into everyday French life as it was in the 1940's.
The only problem I encountered with this video was that the audio track was malfunctionning - there was such an echo at times that it was impossible to understand what was being said - I had to return my copy of the video because of that. But I was so impressed with the film that I'll reorder another copy, and hope that it was just a problem with that particular videocassette that I had.

I would recommend this film to anyone interested in French life, in WWII historical data or in Nazi occupation of France.

I was there
I was only 7 years old when the Germans occupied my city in 1940, but I remember many of the events depicted in this documentary. This film is great, especially for those interested in the history of France during the war years, and a reminder of what it was like for those who were there.

German and its French ally's propaganda against the Allies
I saw this film for extra credit for a college French class. It was wonderful to see so much old news footage and speeches from the 1940s in Europe. It was interesting to see how successfully the Nazis and their French collaborators (some of the French) manipulated their own peoples into thinking a unified Europe under Germany was the only answer. That is all this film is: a collection of newsreels and speeches given by both French and Germans with an English subtitle. Yet it is a wonderfully put together 'documentary'. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

"I'm waiting for a special occasion."
French director, Claude Chabrol is often compared to Alfred Hitchcock--and that comparison seems justified in the 1960, early Chabrol film, "Les Bonnes Femmes." This is the story of four Parisian shop girls who spend their days avoiding their grabby boss, staring at the clock, and dreaming of love and romance.

Jane is the boldest of the four girls. She tends to lead the vulnerable, gentle, and more docile Jacqueline. Rita is the envy of the other girls as she is engaged to the stuffy, pretentious Henri. Ginette is secretive about how she spends her evenings. During the day, the girls loll over the counters at the shop, harass any salesmen who come in, and bother the cashier, Madame Louise, with questions about the fetish object she hordes in her handbag.

At night, the girls roam the streets looking for love. The streets of Paris are the happy hunting ground for aggressive and predatory males. Jane's boldness leads Jacqueline to spend the evening with two men who are clearly up to no good. Throughout the film, a mysterious motorcyclist follows Jacqueline, and she assumes he is a protector.

Many of the scenes portray social occasions with hideous undercurrents just below the surface. I thought the use of masks in the nightclub was quite brilliant, and the scene in the swimming baths chilling. Chabrol's message is quite clear--women who search for love and companionship may find a little more than they bargain for. The film's tense atmosphere and sense of impending doom deepen as the story develops. "Les Bonnes Femmes" is an extremely dark and deeply disturbing film--Chabrol at his best--displacedhuman.

An underrated New Wave gem!!! Chabrol's coolest film!!!
Despite Kino's typically blah presentation of this early Chabrol film, this DVD is worth the money. There are no features to speak of on this DVD (I mean it, none - unless you count chapter selection), but Kino managed to get a pretty alright print of the film. It looks downright gorgeous until the last ten or fifteen minutes, when little slash-like tracers pepper the screen (looks like rain), although the picture clarity remains strong.

"Les Bonnes Femmes" is a fantastic film. I was really blown away. It hit the theaters of Paris around the same time as "Breathless" and many of the other New Wave splash-makers. Like those films, it shows strong influences of Hawks, Hitchcock, and other Hollywood directors. Also like those films, "Les Bonnes Femmes" is set in a less glamorous Paris, but without exploiting it for its seediness. The dark street scenes look beautiful through the camera of cinematographer Henri Decaë, who is also the director of photography on such notables as "Le Samourï," "The 400 Blows," "Bob le Flambeur," and many other fine films.

In addition to having a good deal in common, stylistically, with the early films of the likes of Truffaut, Godard, Demy, and Rivette (and with the Hollywood auteur-films revered by those names), "Les Bonnes Femmes" reminded me a great deal of early John Cassavettes films. I couldn't say whether or not Chabrol had seen "Shadows" by this point, or if Cassavettes cared for "Les Bonnes Femmes," but I think there is a real kinship between these films in terms of the handling of dialogue and acting. At least *I* think so.

The ending is a real conundrum for me. (SPOILERS COMING! Don't read on if you haven't seen "Les Bonnes Femmes" yet!) As soon as Jacqueline was united with motorcycling beau, I could tell right where the film was taking us. Why? Because Chabrol so heavily quotes "Nights of Cabiria" in the final portions of the film. But anyways, what do we make of the film's ending? Some argue that Chabrol is offering grim truths of the realities that such girls face (Jacqueline's case being an extreme example), and that Chabrol is suggesting that these girls deserve much better. That seems a bit tough to swallow to me, given the film's closing shot, which depicts a new girl - seemingly more socially conservative - enjoying the good life, dancing with a dapper-looking gentleman in a tux. I've heard the final scene described as hopeful, which to me seems bizarrely off-base. How can a viewer feel that this girl is safe after we saw what happened to Jacqueline? And maybe that's the point. Although I don't think the film lends itself well to a definite or concrete reading, I feel very strongly that the final scene (with the new girl) gives the film an extremely moralistic close. We go from our good-times girls - who as we see get killed for their good times - to a proper, feminine, and committed society girl who seems to possess all of the world's promise and happiness. What I do not know is whether this moral epilogue is meant to be preachy or ironic. But I digress....

In sum, "Les Bonnes Femmes" is a fantastic film. It is easily accessible, has a wealth of unexpected surprises in store, and is a fairly effective social commentary. And I think the film is far more complicated than it lets on.

Bored young women and brilliant, dark art
A beautifully constructed, emotionally desolate look at dreams and delusions in postcolonial, early '60s France. Directed by Claude Chabrol (later renowned for "The Umbrellas Of Cherbourg") in a cool style that's alternately dizzying and dispassionate, this is a marvelous bit of filmmaking, full of gorgeously concieved black & white cinematography, and somewhat subtle observations of modern human nature. The swinging Parisian nightlife, which doubtless at the time appeared exotic and outlandish to foreigners, is rendered flat and desolate under Chabrol's merciless gaze, and yet the playfulness and boredom of the love-hungry, stylishly chic gals in the film's title is both compelling and heart-wrenchingly recognizable. This film drifts briefly into art-house tedium, but is rescued by its tight focus and seamless execution. For a capsule view of European youth culture ennui, try watching this one in a double feature with the Who's "Quadrephenia."

Early New Wave Masterpiece
This film I think captures the excitement of New Wave film making as good if not better than any other example I can think of. First of all the film begins right in the middle of the action as two girls leave a party and begin to walk home. On their way home amid street noise and night life two men pick the girls up. One girl goes home alone. The other girl goes home with both guys. Bold beginning for any movie but especially bold for 1960. The plot is loose and it really is not a film with a strong plot line nor a particularly admirable structure rather it is a film about moments and few films of the early sixties boast as many memorable ones as this. Those moments seem very real and spontaneous and capture perfectly what the new wave film makers were trying to capture. Even today the strip tease scene for instance is highly charged and full of energy that has rarely been captured by any other film maker. After this film Chabrol evolved rapidly into a French version of his idol Alfred Hitchcock. Here Chabrol is not making one of his mysterys or suspense thrillers that he would later become famous for but those elements are not altogether missing from Les Bonnes Femmes either. Fascinating film to come back to for anyone interested in Chabrol or the New Wave in general.

Chabrol's warmest, yet most clear-eyed, masterpiece.
Chabrol's career is often seen as moving from the naturalism of his early films to the extreme stylisation of his great mid-period. It's not as simple as that, but in 'Les Bonnes Femmes', Chabrol achieves a balance between the two that he has rarely equalled.

The story of four shopgirls and their social lives has all the plotless and poignant banality of realism, while the closing third, with its move from Paris to the country, its seducer-cum-motorbike-riding-devil (reg. no.: 666), talking about the Creator, its little boys called Balthasar, and its vision of Hell/Limbo bespeak a more Cocteau-like world of mythology and religion.

But there is Cocteau too in the framing of Jacqueline in the shop window, while chabrol's filming of treacherous nature later on is uncommonly vivid. Although his least typical film, 'Les Bonnes Femmes' is also his most lovable, and seems to get richer with the years. ... Read more

Description

From the novel by Ellery Queen, this is a gripping and mesmerizing thriller with an exceptional cast.Anthony Perkins stars as Charles Van Horn, the troubled adopted son of tycoon Theo Van Horn (Orson Welles).Charles suffers from disturbing bouts of amnesia and is becoming increasingly worried about the missing segments of his life.When he awakes one morning in a strange hotel room with blood on his hands, Charles contacts an old doctor friend in the hope that he can alleviate the problem.Paul goes to stay at the Van Horn country estate where he meets Helene, Theo Van Horn's young wife.Charles and Helene reveal that they are having a passionate affair, but their happiness has been threatened by a blackmailer.A trap to catch the blackmailer fails and as deceit, betrayal and fear spread with all four trying to cover up the affair, the mysterious blackmailer makes contact again, triggering Charles' amnesia and leading to murder and a final betrayal ... Read more

Reviews (2)

We Will Serve No Mystery Before its Time
Orson Welles plays the grey bearded and portly God-like father, Anthony Perkins the rebellious son, and Marlene Jobert the young & sexy stepmother in this metaphysical Oedipal mystery which is based(only very loosely)on an Ellery Queen novel. Chabrol only uses the Ellery Queen novel as a kind of foundation, what he actually builds from that foundation has little to do with Ellery Queen. Be warned: If you're looking for a straightforward mystery this is not for you. However if you are looking for a film that plays with the mystery genre in creative and unexpected ways then this may just well be your kind of cinema as Claude Chabrol's is a subversive cinema and in his early to mid 1970's films he boldly re-invents each genre of filmmaking to accomodate his own ironic world view. Chabrol always has fun with the bourgeoisie in his films but here he expands that ridicule to include every kind of authority figure(and every kind of truth). Each authority figure tries to exert their influence, and force upon others their way of perceiving things but the truth slips through their grasp. In this film made in the very riotous year of our lord 1971, authority figures have lost their grip on "truth" and "reality". Claude Chabrol wrote a book about Hitchcock and is often compared to that master filmmaker but his films only resemble Hitchcock films on the surface, below the surface the two have nothing in common. Chabrol casting Anthony Perkins as the central conscience around which this mystery revolves is just another bit of Chabrol irony. In Hitchcocks Psycho Perkins was the psycho son of a dead mother. Here he is the confused son of a domineering father. As filmgoers who have all seen Psycho we expect Perkins to once again play the psycho but in Chabrols world expectations must be cast aside. This story takes some getting used to as there are so many things going on but if you stick with it you will be rewarded with a singular kind of film experience. Chabrol gives you lots of irony(lots of cinema in-jokes, including references to Welles films) but his ultimate vision is a unique & compelling one which will especially appeal to those restless minds out there who will find a real compatriot in Chabrol. His filmic re-formulations are highly literate & sophisticated and yet unlike Godard his interest in form never becomes merely formal exercises. He is one of those rare experimenters whose films are fun. I would recommend many of Chabrols films including La Rupture which was made in the same year as this one but also: La Femme Infidele, Le Boucher, Que la Bete Muere, Wedding in Blood, La Ceremonie.

Fantastic Cinema Work
Not for nothing Claude Chabrol is one of the best film makers. He goes unraveling the movie slowly to an impossible-to-grasp ending. An absolut black thriller, full of excitement. The cast is also brilliant, from the troubled Charles Van Horn (played by Anthony Perkins in a superb role), to his doctor and friend Paul (Michel Piccoli), to his father (Orson Welles, always good! ). Don't miss this movie! ... Read more

Reviews (4)

A cerebral thriller of vengeance
After a hit and run accident Charles Thenier (Michel Duchaussoy) loses his only son and he is determined to find and murder the perpetrator. In Charles's investigation he records every minute detail and notion that passes through his mind in regards to the death of his son in a small black journal with a red marker. However, the private investigation that Charles is running seems to come to an end as he watches with a discouraged mind all clues lead to nowhere, until by accident he comes across some information that leads him to the killer of his son. Calculated and determined Charles enters the world of the killer as he attempts to get as close as possible to carry out his vengeful plan. This Man Must Die is a cerebral thriller that is based on a novel by Nicholas Blake that Chabrol adapted brilliantly to a terrific cinematic creation. The suspenseful atmosphere that Chabrol creates is inescapable, as the audience can hear Charles's dark thoughts as he scribbles them down in his black journal, but cleverly Chabrol leaves something untold that will keep the audience in awe until the end.

By far the best film of Chabrol
No other film deserves an intense analysis like this. The sense of revenge takes a unsuspected twist in this simple story. Finally you make your choice. This film is simply authentic. And even you don't agree with the rhytm of the story, you will obtain a redemption's sense in his mitological ending.

HE WILL
THIS MAN MUST DIE (Que la Bête Meure) is a movie written and directed by French director Claude Chabrol in 1969. The film is about the revenge of a father looking for the hit-and-run driver who's killed his only son.

It's a pleasure to rediscover these Claude Chabrol movies of the late sixties-early seventies period. Often despised by those who swear only by the name of François Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard when speaking of the french New Wave, Claude Chabrol deserves our utmost respect. Each of his films is the acid description of a slice, in the Balzacian meaning of the word, of the french society of his time.

Chabrol is an admirable storyteller with a caustic and perceptive mind. His actors and actresses don't have much to say, their behaviours and silences replacing for the best unnecessary lines of dialogs.

A DVD zone "tell me a story".

Masterpiece of Chabrol's second phase
Chabrol's name brings to mind two things, the French New Wave & Alfred Hitchcock. If you're looking for the New Wave side of the equation I would suggest Le Beau Serge, Les Cousins & Les Bonnes Femmes. All three early 60's New Wave masterpieces. By the late 60's however Chabrol was a different kind of film maker. This Man Must Die along with La Femme Infidele & Le Boucher are what might be considered the best films from Chabrol's second phase. Until his resurgence in the 90's with the Cesar winning La Ceremonie these three second phase films were also considered his last great films. La Femme Infidele, Le Boucher & This Man Must Die(under its French title Que la Bete Muere) have not been the easiest films to find but have now all been rereleased in March 2003.

This Man Must Die begins with a little boy walking back to his home from a day at the sea. As he crosses the desolate street in the seaside village near his home a speeding car hits and kills the young boy. The car never stops but speeds away from the scene. Slowly the villagers gather round the corpse and when the father arrives on the scene he screams with helpless rage. After a period of mourning he begins to plot his revenge. He plans to find, earn the trust and then kill whoever it was that killed his son. The plot is one of Chabrols best. Each phase of the fathers revenge is fascinating to watch. We get to follow the fathers investigations as he hunts down the murderer and at the same time we witness what effect this revenge has on his psychology. When he does finally find the murderer he befriends him/her as planned and is invited to spend a week at the murderers seaside estate. All along he wonders to himself if he will actually be able to commit murder but as he gets to know this murderer he finds he is a most despicable creature who bullys every one around him. Murder nonetheless is a complicated thing and Chabrol is the master of the plot twist so you can sit back and enjoy this knowing full well you are in the hands of a master. ... Read more

Description

Directed by Claude Chabrol, Les Biches is a landmark in film history: its theme of bisexuality and upper-class decadence is surpassed only by its cool precision of cinematic style and exceptionally subtle performances.Socialite Frederique (Stephane Audran) encounters young student Why (Jacqueline Sassard) on the streets of Paris, seduces her and whisks her off to spend winter with the chic crowd of St. Tropez.When architect Paul (Jean Louis Trintignant) meets Why, he too charms her and comes between the two lovers.Frederiqe then seduces Paul out of jealousy, but finds herself feeling real love.Paul and Frederique invite Why to live together with them, resulting in a ménage a trios beset by jealousy, madness, and ultimately, murder. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

The blasé Frédérique seeks diversions...
The blasé Frédérique (Stéphane Audran) constantly seeks diversions as she finds Why (Jacqueline Sassard), a female street artist, with whom she initiates a love affair. Frédérique shows off her luxurious apartment in Paris and her mansion on the French Riviera as well as her company for Why. Why, who has nothing, is drawn into Frédérique's steel grip where she is dominated and controlled. The love affair between the two women seems to lead toward an end as Why falls in love with Paul Thomas (Jean-Louis Trintignant), but Frédérique becomes intrigued by the situation and finds a way to get things her way. Chabrol creates an excellent atmosphere in Les Biches, a dark drama, that depicts several concepts such as wealth, the bourgeoisie, domination, and rebellion. These concepts initiate a self-destructive pattern which influences the psychology of Why as she looses control of her own will and life. In the end, Chabrol leaves the viewer with a terrific psychological thriller with an open ending leaving much room for thought.

Powerful, Hypnotic film experience
I viewed Les Biches when I was 13 years old and have never been as affected by a film as much. This film ranks up with films masked in sorrow such as, Bertolucci's Last Tango in Paris, Bergman's Cries and Whispers, and Truffaut's Les Quatre Cents Coups. I am somewhat saddened that this film hasn't been released as a Criterion Collection DVD which I deeply belive it should. All the characters played in this film are very much enigmas especially Jacqueline Sassard's character, Why. At first Why appears to be naive and dull, but within the course of the film soon turns psychotic and violent.

The basic storyline is a bisexual Parisean socialite, Frederique, picks up a waif, Why, who earns her living drawing does on the streets of Paris. Soon Frederique brings Why to what is left of St. Tropez on the off season to meet the chic crowd. Why meets and falls in love with suave architect,Paul. When Frederique tries to get back at Why, she finds true love in Paul and gets between Why and Paul. Paul seduces Frederique and after a while goes back to Paris with him. Why goes back to Paris also.

The scene of Why going back to Paris, filmed from a moving car, focusing on Notre Dame on an overcast afternoon for about ten seconds is etched forever in my memory along with the ultimately distrurbing and murky ending.

This is a truly great film experience that has been unseen for too long.

A beautiful movie full of woman-to-woman sexual intensity
A beautiful movie full of sexual intensity. The movie revolvesaround the lesbian relationship of a wealthty french woman(StéphaneAudran) and a street artist who becomes her lover/protogee(Jacqueline Sassard).

Both woman are physically stunning and the scenes of them together, though never explicit, are thoroughly sensual. The plot thickens with the intoduction of a third character - an attractive male architect(Jean-Louis Trintignant). The protogee's sway towards him causes a facinating shift in the relationship between all three.

Keep in mind that director Claude Chabrol is something of a French Alfred Hitchcock

Most of the film is shot in St Tropez and Paris. The scenery is breathless. ... Read more

Description

Saint Tropez.Julie Wormser and her lover, writer and neighbour Jeff Marle, plan the murder of her wealthy husband Louis, an impotent who drinks a lot.She hits him, and leaves the rest of the task to Jeff.Julie finds herself alone the following day, and becomes therefore the prime suspect.Where is Louis' body?Where is Jeff?Is there any secret beyond a door?Nothing is what it seems in this highly acclaimed taut thriller. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Chabrol's sexiest film
Opening scene: Romy Schneider is sunbathing outdoors on the lush green lawn of her San Tropez estate, nude. A mans kite slowly comes to rest on Romy's back. The man approaches and asks if he can retrieve his kite. Romy rolls over exposing herself and asks, "is there anything else you want?". So begins Claude Chabrols 1975 Innocents With Dirty Hands.

Chabrol has made lots of movies and this in my estimation is his sexiest. Usually in his late sixties and early seventies pictures Stephane Audran is Chabrol's star and she is beautiful but also icy cold. Audran seems encased in her beauty and expresses very little in the way of emotion. It is nice to see an actress in a Chabrol film who express as much emotion and sensuality as Romy Schneider and there are lots of different kinds of emotions and sensuality to be expressed in Innocents. As to be expected in a Chabrol film the plot involves infidelity and murder but unlike many of Chabrols other treatments of his pet themes this film has some real heat. Chabrol loves to film the decadence of the rich as they enjoy their leisures and pleasures and San Tropez provides the perfect setting for this story of the idle rich playing dangerous games. Hitchcock is always mentioned in the same breath as Chabrol but Chabrol subverts Hitchcock as much as he borrows from him. In Hitchcock no matter how complicated things got there was always a comfortable resolution. In Chabrol complications do not work themselves out so neatly. Things get tangled and they remain tangled. In Chabrol's world everyone is a fallen creature, each character just realizes it in a different way and at a different time. Romy Schneider appears in one striking outfit after another, including one scene in a very cool caftan, another in black silk with cascades of diamonds. Her sensuality seems luxurious and this is a woman who basks in the glow of her luxury. Two men want her bad enough to kill, her husband played by Rod Steiger and the kite flying writer who lives next door. One plot gives way to another as each character tries to gain the upper hand. I've seen maybe 20 Chabrol fims and this one I would place very near the top of the list. The acting is tremendous by the main three characters and by the minor characters as well, ie the police detectives(great duo of detectives) and lawyer(great actor, Jean Rochefort). The ending as always with Chabrol is unexpected. A very sexy and very satisfying film which will please the most discerning filmgoer and delight anyone who already considers themselves a Chabrol fan. Also recommeded by Chabrol: La Ceremonie, Wedding in Blood, Le Boucher, The Unfaithful Woman(Le Femme Infidele), Cry of the Owl & This Man Must Die.

psychological thriller
i remember this movie from when I was a young girl growing up in Europe, but haven't seen it in years. Romy Schneider was a great actress and that alone makes it worth seeing. It impressed me so much at the time, I'll give it four stars...also recommended: Chabrol's "The Butcher" (Le Boucher).

Maintains a heart-stopping pace all the way through.
This loosely adapted biography of prima ballerina Jodi Lee Pavlova involves her affair with Rudolph Nureyev and the hundreds of impossible-to-detect ways she made her permanent mark on the ballet world. It was she who defined the now classic character of the little matchstick girl in the well known ballet "Ou Est La Bibliotheque, Bebe?" by appearing onstage under harsh lighting with a lit cigarette in her mouth, curses on her ruby lips, and a bad attitude that won hearts all over the world. But the scene she is most famous for is the 1977 Covent Garden Christmas Eve production of the Nutcracker. For it was there that she and Nureyev cemented their permanent love-hate, sex-surfing-disco-and-death manifesto by actually slugging it out in the lobby during intermission. Along the way to becoming a legend in her own time, she is widely credited with introducing the elegant, aloof, Nureyev to bowling and putt-putt golf, sex in glass elevators at high noon, crank phone calls in the middle of the night, insomniac pirouettes on balcony railings on weekday evenings, and obscure Chinese wines every weekend (who in the ballet world can forget the sight of Nureyev onstage as Prince Floramund with the "head shivers"). In return, Nureyev became her often petulant, blatantly misogynistic, constantly carping, somewhat embittered, often disoriented,love slave. And oh my! Can anyone ever forget her cat claws bared, fur flying, spitting and howling, tutu-ripping backstage brawl with Gelsey Kirkland after Kirkland called Nureyev "a lunatic?" Cinematographer Boogie Scheinfranken has created a timeless work of stunning visual beauty as seen through a prism of stage lighting and lots of glittering green eyeshadow (Nureyev's). A Must See! ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Hmmm... That summary leaves a bit to be desired...
Excellent Chabrol film --- probably the best introduction to the director. I'm suprised and very happy that this is out on video at a sell-through price. For some inexplicable reason, no one seems to talk much about this film. It's extremely absorbing and quite beautiful to look at though. Stephane Audran is particularly charming in this movie, although some have thought her to be a bit sophisticated for the part. A silly criticism, I think. The colors in this movie are absolutely amazing --- everything somehow dayglo and hyperrealistic at the same time. I think Philip K. Dick fans would in particular get a kick out of this film. It's organized similarly to his novels... Everything just gets more and more disjointed until reality has almost completely broken down. The denouement is pretty darned funny, too. A film that more folks should see, it'll add to your appreciation of Chabrol's other films too.

to go beyond
I liked this movie. It made a strong impact on me and brought meaning to past conversations and what it means to "go beyond." ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Hmmm... That summary leaves a bit to be desired...
Excellent Chabrol film --- probably the best introduction to the director. I'm suprised and very happy that this is out on video at a sell-through price. For some inexplicable reason, no one seems to talk much about this film. It's extremely absorbing and quite beautiful to look at though. Stephane Audran is particularly charming in this movie, although some have thought her to be a bit sophisticated for the part. A silly criticism, I think. The colors in this movie are absolutely amazing --- everything somehow dayglo and hyperrealistic at the same time. I think Philip K. Dick fans would in particular get a kick out of this film. It's organized similarly to his novels... Everything just gets more and more disjointed until reality has almost completely broken down. The denouement is pretty darned funny, too. A film that more folks should see, it'll add to your appreciation of Chabrol's other films too.

to go beyond
I liked this movie. It made a strong impact on me and brought meaning to past conversations and what it means to "go beyond." ... Read more

Reviews (6)

very suspenseful movie
really good suspenseful movie that is more exciting than most american mystery movies, except for the a few hitchcock movies. i really enjoyed this one and it's one of a few foreign movies i like.

Not the worst, not the best Chabrol
What saves this film--noticeably weaker than a number of other Chabrol efforts--is the acting. Veteran actress Natalie Baye is superb here, as is the actress playing her Aunt Line, Suzanne Flon. Also notable are Benoit Magimel and Melanie Doutey as the two young lovers.

While the actors all turn in solid performances, the plotting and story leave something to be desired. Chabrol specializes in the corruption of the well-to-do and how the lower classes conflict with those above them. This conflict can result in superb filmmaking (La Ceremonie, La Rupture, Les Biches). But this film is decidedly lopsided; with its essentially single focus--corruption and guilt--it lacks the dramatic punch and juice found in the other films cited here.

One can explore these themes (guilt and corruption) and certainly generate a powerful piece of drama. But Chabrol seems to be comfortable when they are inextricably tied to class conflict and when they are not, as is true here, he does not dig deep enough to make these themes as strong as they should have been to elicit real emotional intensity. What we have instead is cinema that slickly skates on the surface of these two related issues--corruption and guilt--without really plunging into the basis, the repercussions, the intricate complications they can generate.

Without revealing too much, a woman running for mayor focuses on getting out the vote, while her lecherous husband goes after young women--two in particular. Meanwhile, the husband's son--recently returned from America--and the wife's daughter (the husband and wife are each on a second marriage; hence the two younger people are half-siblings) fall hard for each other. Add to that a dark secret the woman's aunt has kept to herself for decades and there's the elements of the plot.

The climax is weak because the momentum generated is just not sufficient to result in any real emotional payoff. One of the above characters may receive his/her just desserts, but they don't count for much because there is essentially a humdrum development on display here.

Too bad. If Chabrol had added his signature element of class conflict he could have subverted the essentially superficial sheen of the film as it is with enough push and pull to make it really interesting. One can still admire it for the actors but not as a thrilling piece of dramatic cinema.

An insult to intelligent people, as well as the French.
If you think there's a reason for nearly forty used copies of this mess being for sale, there is. This nasty piece of snobbery is based on a play (first reason to avoid), and stereotypes French culture as anti-American and hypocritical. Did I say stereotype? Also, Chabrol needs to refresh his memory as to what plot resolution is. If you must waste an evening (as I did), buy or rent the latest Doctor Who re-release: there's more real culture in five minutes of bad science fiction than in this sham intellectual drek. Touche!

Chabrol: The Master Storyteller in Peak Form!
LA FLEUR DU MAL is Claude Chabrol at his best: this is a bizarre, convoluted French mystery told with such finesse and aplomb that it feels more like sitting down to fine French cuisine rather than just viewing another foreign film. But that is exactly what Chabrol is about - respecting the intellect as well as the curious mind and eye.

Set in a small town in France a family is slowly revealed to have a mysterious past with interfamilial marrying, murder, strange accidents, and political intrigues. The mother Anne (Nathalie Baye) is running for town council, a career move which the father Gerard (Bernard Lecoq) finds objectionable. Gerard's son Francois (Benoit Magimel) returns from America at the point that his stepmother Anne is campaigning and reunites with his stepsister Michele (Melanie Donley) in a love affair he has tried to avoid, not wanting to carry on the family tradition of 'inter-marrying'. The one sane member of this family is Aunt Line (Suzanne Flon in an epic performance!) who has lived through it all and favors the current romance between Francois and Melanie for reasons that are made clear by story's end. While this tale may sound a bit mundane, in Chabrol's clever hands it slowly develops into a mystery that is so well conceived that it knocks us for a loop. All of the actors are outstanding, the musical score is subtle and right, the filming is impeccable, and the overall effect out-Hitchcock's Hitchcock. For intelligent film making at its finest LA FLEUR DU MAL is a must see. Highly recommended.

When A Rose Is Not A Rose
Claude Chabrol's new film "The Flower of Evil" easily ranks among the master's (and he is a master film-maker) best works. The territory may not seem new but there's something refreshing about that. Because we, Chabrol fans know he knows this genre very well. As time has gone by Chabrol has not lost his touch. "The Flower of Evil" marks Chabrol's 50th film! His first was "Le Serge Beau" (1958). For over 40 years Chabrol has been wooing French audiences with his Hitchcockian style of film-making starting the famous French New-Wave. In fact "The Flower of Evil" is one Chabrol's favorite films of his own. The other is "The Story of Women".

Within the past year or so I've become a very big enthusiast of Chabrol's work. I loved his last film "Merci pour le Chocolat". I thought that was a wonderful throwback to his ealier days and films like "Le Boucher" & "Les Biches". But, I have to admit, I enjoyed "Flower of Evil" just the slighest bit more. There is so much to savor here. The wonderful way the screenplay (written by Caroline Eliacheff, Louise L. Lambrichs, and Chabrol himself) weaves so many themes at once but in a way where one idea doesn't seem to over-lap onto another. There are a lot of secrets buried here and Chabrol tells them with great energy.

I always feel when dealing with certain stories it's best not to know anything about the film before seeing it. Some movies just need to catch the audience off guard. Play with your senses a bit. For example think of movies like "Psycho", "The Crying Game" and "Mulholland Dr." you really wouldn't want someone revealing the plot to you, would you? Usually mystery films require you know almost nothing about the film before hand. So, in trying to somehow lure you into seeing the movie I can only supply a vague out-line of the film.

"The Flower of Evil" starts off with the appearance of a dead body (go figure!). And from that point on are mind starts going to work. Who died? Who killed him? And will the blood leave a stain on the carpet? We meet Francois Vasseur (Benoit Magimel) and his father Gerard (Bernard Lecoq). And soon old family secrets are starting to be revealed. Anne Charpin-Vasseur (Nathalie Baye), now pay attention. She is Francois step-mother. Her first husband and Gerard's first wife died together in a car accident, so logically they married. Now Anne has a daughter Michele (Melanie Doutey) and she seems to have more then sisterly love for her step-brother. But, just so you are warned and you may find it hard to believe, it is not presented in a werid twist way. And naturally I really can't go on any further.

"The Flower of Evil" is one of the year's best films. I hope many others come to enjoy this film as much as I did and not treat it as harshly as they did "Merci pour le Chocolat".

Bottom-line: Master film-maker Claude Chabrol's 50th film is one of the very best of his impressive career. Also, one of the best films of the year. Wonderfully written, superbly acted, and stylishly directed. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Chabrol's brilliant attempt at "Madame Bovary"
'The Unfaithful Wife' is really about a faithful husband, who will kill to save his marriage. This kind of fidelity is a chilling exercise of power - the film's many point-of-view shots are mostly his - with adultery a rebellion, a bid for freedom that must be crushed. It's not enough that Charles uncovers his wife's lover, he must sit on the bed they make love on, drink the same drink...

Chabrol's most perfect film, where character inertia is expressed in blatant artifice, both in the home and in 'nature'; where a materialist filming of materialists conceals an austere spirituality, embodied in those Fateful policemen. Like his namesake Bovary, Charles sleeps when his exquisitely beautiful wife offers herself to him. He deserves what he gets.

The basis for "Unfaithful" is of passing interest at best
Interest in Claude Chabrol's 1969 film "La Femme infidèle" is of course spurred by Adrian Lyne's 2002 remake "Unfaithful," which featured an Oscar nominated performance by Diane Lane. However, from that perspective watching the original is hardly worth the effort. The inevitable result of any comparison is going to be impressed with both the style of Lyne's version and the substantive additions to the new version in terms of the plot. In other words, I would expect few people to favor the original over the remake.

The basic story is, of course, the same: husband Charles Desvallées (Michel Bouquet) becomes suspicious that his wife Hélène (Stéphane Audran) is having an affair. Charles hires a private detective who comes up with the name of Victor Pegala (Maurice Ronet) and then goes off to contront his wife's lover. The key difference between the two versions is that the original French film is much more about the husband and his reaction to the affair rather than about the wife and the affair itself. Actually, "The Faithful Husband" is a more accurate description of the story being told in this version.

I want to make something out of the fact that the character's name is Charles, the name of the cuckolded husband in "Madame Bovary," but that would be pushing. But this Charles is neither blind to his wife's unfaithfulness nor incapable of taking action. Ironically, his wife treats her lover with more coldness than she shows her husband. If it were not for the fact we see her in the bed of another man there would be no obvious reason to suspect her of infidelity. Her motivation is never really explained, but when she turns to her husband in bed at night and he decides just to go to sleep, the obvious implication is that it is Charles who has driven Hélène into the arms of Victor.

Outside of satisfying your curiosity as to what Lyne was working from when he created "Unfaithful," there is not much else here. The DVD has the French trailer (without subtitles), so this is pretty bareboned. Consequently I think you will find "La Femme infidèle" to be of passing interest at best. ... Read more

Description

Le Boucher (The Butcher) is possibly Claude Chabrol's best known and critically acclaimed film.At a friend's wedding, Helen meets Popaul (Yanne), an ex-soldier with combat honors from Algeria and Indo-China, who has returned to his hometown and the family trade of butchery.The two are attracted to each other, but Helene is reluctant to get involved, as a previous lover has hurt her.Shortly after Popaul's arrival in town, the body of a murdered girl is found.When Helene discovers a second victim and a vital piece of evidence that seems to link Popaul to the murders, she reluctantly suspects her new found friend.Consistently taut, with engrossing twists, Le Boucher (The Butcher) is an intense and enthralling thriller. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

We Will Serve No Mystery Before its Time
Orson Welles plays the grey bearded and portly God-like father, Anthony Perkins the rebellious son, and Marlene Jobert the young & sexy stepmother in this metaphysical Oedipal mystery which is based(only very loosely)on an Ellery Queen novel. Chabrol only uses the Ellery Queen novel as a kind of foundation, what he actually builds from that foundation has little to do with Ellery Queen. Be warned: If you're looking for a straightforward mystery this is not for you. However if you are looking for a film that plays with the mystery genre in creative and unexpected ways then this may just well be your kind of cinema as Claude Chabrol's is a subversive cinema and in his early to mid 1970's films he boldly re-invents each genre of filmmaking to accomodate his own ironic world view. Chabrol always has fun with the bourgeoisie in his films but here he expands that ridicule to include every kind of authority figure(and every kind of truth). Each authority figure tries to exert their influence, and force upon others their way of perceiving things but the truth slips through their grasp. In this film made in the very riotous year of our lord 1971, authority figures have lost their grip on "truth" and "reality". Claude Chabrol wrote a book about Hitchcock and is often compared to that master filmmaker but his films only resemble Hitchcock films on the surface, below the surface the two have nothing in common. Chabrol casting Anthony Perkins as the central conscience around which this mystery revolves is just another bit of Chabrol irony. In Hitchcocks Psycho Perkins was the psycho son of a dead mother. Here he is the confused son of a domineering father. As filmgoers who have all seen Psycho we expect Perkins to once again play the psycho but in Chabrols world expectations must be cast aside. This story takes some getting used to as there are so many things going on but if you stick with it you will be rewarded with a singular kind of film experience. Chabrol gives you lots of irony(lots of cinema in-jokes, including references to Welles films) but his ultimate vision is a unique & compelling one which will especially appeal to those restless minds out there who will find a real compatriot in Chabrol. His filmic re-formulations are highly literate & sophisticated and yet unlike Godard his interest in form never becomes merely formal exercises. He is one of those rare experimenters whose films are fun. I would recommend many of Chabrols films including La Rupture which was made in the same year as this one but also: La Femme Infidele, Le Boucher, Que la Bete Muere, Wedding in Blood, La Ceremonie.

Fantastic Cinema Work
Not for nothing Claude Chabrol is one of the best film makers. He goes unraveling the movie slowly to an impossible-to-grasp ending. An absolut black thriller, full of excitement. The cast is also brilliant, from the troubled Charles Van Horn (played by Anthony Perkins in a superb role), to his doctor and friend Paul (Michel Piccoli), to his father (Orson Welles, always good! ). Don't miss this movie! ... Read more

Description

A hit and run driver kills a child.The child's father Charles wants to do everything to revenge the death of his son.After a long investigation, a chance meeting puts him in the presence of Paul, a despicable garage owner, who terrorizes his family.Paul is the murderer of Charles' son.Charles waits for the right moment to face Paul and to bring him to justice. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

A cerebral thriller of vengeance
After a hit and run accident Charles Thenier (Michel Duchaussoy) loses his only son and he is determined to find and murder the perpetrator. In Charles's investigation he records every minute detail and notion that passes through his mind in regards to the death of his son in a small black journal with a red marker. However, the private investigation that Charles is running seems to come to an end as he watches with a discouraged mind all clues lead to nowhere, until by accident he comes across some information that leads him to the killer of his son. Calculated and determined Charles enters the world of the killer as he attempts to get as close as possible to carry out his vengeful plan. This Man Must Die is a cerebral thriller that is based on a novel by Nicholas Blake that Chabrol adapted brilliantly to a terrific cinematic creation. The suspenseful atmosphere that Chabrol creates is inescapable, as the audience can hear Charles's dark thoughts as he scribbles them down in his black journal, but cleverly Chabrol leaves something untold that will keep the audience in awe until the end.

By far the best film of Chabrol
No other film deserves an intense analysis like this. The sense of revenge takes a unsuspected twist in this simple story. Finally you make your choice. This film is simply authentic. And even you don't agree with the rhytm of the story, you will obtain a redemption's sense in his mitological ending.

HE WILL
THIS MAN MUST DIE (Que la Bête Meure) is a movie written and directed by French director Claude Chabrol in 1969. The film is about the revenge of a father looking for the hit-and-run driver who's killed his only son.

It's a pleasure to rediscover these Claude Chabrol movies of the late sixties-early seventies period. Often despised by those who swear only by the name of François Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard when speaking of the french New Wave, Claude Chabrol deserves our utmost respect. Each of his films is the acid description of a slice, in the Balzacian meaning of the word, of the french society of his time.

Chabrol is an admirable storyteller with a caustic and perceptive mind. His actors and actresses don't have much to say, their behaviours and silences replacing for the best unnecessary lines of dialogs.

A DVD zone "tell me a story".

Masterpiece of Chabrol's second phase
Chabrol's name brings to mind two things, the French New Wave & Alfred Hitchcock. If you're looking for the New Wave side of the equation I would suggest Le Beau Serge, Les Cousins & Les Bonnes Femmes. All three early 60's New Wave masterpieces. By the late 60's however Chabrol was a different kind of film maker. This Man Must Die along with La Femme Infidele & Le Boucher are what might be considered the best films from Chabrol's second phase. Until his resurgence in the 90's with the Cesar winning La Ceremonie these three second phase films were also considered his last great films. La Femme Infidele, Le Boucher & This Man Must Die(under its French title Que la Bete Muere) have not been the easiest films to find but have now all been rereleased in March 2003.

This Man Must Die begins with a little boy walking back to his home from a day at the sea. As he crosses the desolate street in the seaside village near his home a speeding car hits and kills the young boy. The car never stops but speeds away from the scene. Slowly the villagers gather round the corpse and when the father arrives on the scene he screams with helpless rage. After a period of mourning he begins to plot his revenge. He plans to find, earn the trust and then kill whoever it was that killed his son. The plot is one of Chabrols best. Each phase of the fathers revenge is fascinating to watch. We get to follow the fathers investigations as he hunts down the murderer and at the same time we witness what effect this revenge has on his psychology. When he does finally find the murderer he befriends him/her as planned and is invited to spend a week at the murderers seaside estate. All along he wonders to himself if he will actually be able to commit murder but as he gets to know this murderer he finds he is a most despicable creature who bullys every one around him. Murder nonetheless is a complicated thing and Chabrol is the master of the plot twist so you can sit back and enjoy this knowing full well you are in the hands of a master. ... Read more