that night in varennes
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ettore scola, director, la nuit de varennes [ night of varennes ] (1982) color, france, italy, gaumont, france 3, opera film produzione, running time: 131 min .
with the headline:' nuit de varennes,' spot of french history .
le nuit de varennes has some fine things in it, surrounded by a lot of other things .
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that night in varennes
or another language wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the gnu free documentation license; or on original research by jahsonic and friends. see art and popular culture' s copyright notice .
in june of 1791, a group of passengers in a stagecoach find themselves caught up in the events of the french revolution, when they find themselves in the city of varennes when... see full summary »
in june of 1791, a group of passengers in a stagecoach find themselves caught up in the events of the french revolution, when they find themselves in the city of varennes when revolutionists arrest the fleeing king louis .
he must know well the frustration that his character feels in trying to get a much - cherished project off the round? “oh, that hasn’t happened to me in a long time. ”
in conclusion, as a teaching device, la nuit de varennes has much to say, and in my view, few rivals. in this regard, at least, mitterand got it right .
it’s true that when keitel starred in quentin tarantino’s reservoir dogs (which he co - produced) in 1992, the picture introduced him to a new, younger demographic. but the actor’s credits during the “obscure 1980s” are hardly lacking in lustre: bertrand tavernier’s death watch was rightly shortlisted for berlin’s golden bear and for five césar awards; ettore scola’s that night in varennes was a contender at cannes, and, even though his performance as judas earned him a golden raspberry award for worst supporting actor nomination, most right - minded viewers enjoyed his turn in the last temptation of christ .
in paris in june 1791, the libertine writer restif de la bretonne is the witness of the departure of a mysterious coach, leaving at night from the palais royal. intrigued, restif starts with casanova the pursuit of the company. he soon discovers that the coach' s occupants are nothing less than members of the french royal family .
nominated for palme d' or at the cannes film festival, italian director ettore scola' s
la nuit de varennes
a. k. a .
the night of varennes
( 1982) arrives on blu - ray courtesy of french distributors gaumont. the supplemental features on the disc include a long interview with director ettore scola and the film' s original french theatrical trailer. in french or italian, with optional english, french sdh and french subtitles. region - free .
découvrez la bande annonce du film la nuit de varennes réalisé par ettore scola casting: daniel gélin, andréa ferréol, enzo jannacci. disponible en dvd et blu - ray
a picaresque story of the coach and party that followed hard on the one which tried to transport louis xvi and marie antoinette to safety in 1791 .
'' la nuit de varennes,'' which opens today at the lincoln plaza 3, begins as an italian theatrical troupe offers re - enactments of revolutionary scenes to the people of paris, two years after the fact. it quickly shifts, with a rhythm and reason that are all its own, to the night of the king' s flight as it introduces nicholas edme restif de la bretonne (jean - louis barrault), the writer who documented many of the events of the revolution, and one of a number of historical personages who will follow in louis xvi' s wake .
the great historical pageant that is ettore scola' s'' la nuit de varennes'' unfolds with supreme ease. it begins with a series of casual coincidences and weaves them brilliantly into a vision of one of the most important moments in french history, a vision not the least bit limited by the specifics of its place and time .
scola retired in 2003, stating that while silvio berlusconi was in power every film made in italy was touched by some of his money. however, in 2013, he made how strange to be named federico (che strano chiamarsi federico), an affectionate semi - documentary on his friend fellini .
he pauses, then guffaws: “if six months ago is a long time. just last year there were three movies i was eager to do. but they didn’t happen. that’s film. that’s the business. film and business don’t always mix well. you have to hang on in there. ”
traces events in the life of carlo, from his christening in 1906, where his grandfather reminds his father that carlo means
free man ,
to his 80th birthday party. the film principally... see full summary »
there are other nice touches: a scene in the carriage where the passengers experiment to see how far they can venture with rude speech; bretonne' s casual air of being on the most extraordinarily friendly terms with his daughter; casanova' s gallant agreement (he is only being polite) that he is the father of an aging society woman' s child; and a touching final scene in which a dummy is dressed in the clothes of the king .
le nuit de varennes
has some fine things in it, surrounded by a lot of other things .
ettore scola at the world film festival in montreal, canada, in 1999. photograph: pierre roussel / getty images
“i don’t know where i got the idea from, ” laughs keitel. “my father used to say: ‘where do you come to be an actor? no one in the family is an actor. you can’t sing. you can’t dance’. that’s the way it was in that culture. my parents were smarter than me. they knew what it was to be poor. they knew i was heading for danger .
action opens in november of 1793, with danton returning to paris from his country retreat upon learning that the committee for public safety, under robespierre' s incitement, has begun a... see full summary »
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“things happen, but the discipline of the military defined my life to a great extent, ” he says. “it gave me something that i didn’t have as a young man growing up. it gave me a sense of honour, of self - esteem, it gave me the lessons of endurance. i was able to handle much more than i thought i could handle or that i’d ever be asked to handle. and a very strong sense of camaraderie. i had that sense growing up in brooklyn, but this was something deeper. ”
the travelers begin discussing the news. then, they begin arguing. some of them are convinced that without louis xvi france would be a stronger state. tom paine argues that it is time that the people of france took what rightfully belongs to them. countess sophie de la borde, however, is unsure. louis xvi is france. without him, there would be no state; the barbarians would take over. restif de la bretonne thinks that change could be good, as long as no one gets hurt. virginia capacelli needs more time to think about what is happening - after the change, would people still go to the opera? casanova could not care less. he has had a great life. once he even dined with louis xvi. all that he wants now is peace and quiet .
this was the situation when the monarch decided to flee the city to go abroad. a plot was hatched and louis and marie - antoinette with family and retainers left paris secretly heading northeast toward germany, where friendly french troops would escort them across the border, presumably to lead an army that would reinstate the monarch’s full control over france. in fact, the trip, which began on the evening of june 21, ended with their arrest by local officials at varennes, near the frontier .
even though the italian audio track is marked on the disc as
version originale
, i really believe that it is up to you to decide which audio track you would want to see the film with, because the overwhelming majority of the actors in it actually speak french, not italian. i believe that regardless of which track you select, your viewing experience would be equally pleasing .
all sides of the day' s issues are represented within this entourage, with the foremost ideological rift between the progressive restif and casanova, now an elderly gentleman who declares:'' i miss the sweeter times of yore, when all was harmony and light.'' however,'' la nuit de varennes'' is not a film about conflict, and it has no villains. it approaches the forces at work in the revolution even - handedly - with compassion for the peasants whose uprising is about to begin, and also with regret about the violent change that is on its way. mr. scola sees change as something that is forever necessary and forever incomplete, which means that only one or two characters in the film regard the imminent revolution with any overriding idealism. idealism in this film is very much a young man' s attitude, and most of the characters are old enough to have a broader, more tolerant world view .
norman hampson outlines the financial case against danton, along with a level - headed discussion of the possibility that he was a ‘double - agent’ in chapter 4 of his political biography, danton (oxford: basil blackwell, 1978) .
during a scene in a bordello, sketched by mr. scola with an earthy humor that figures throughout the film, restif learns from a maid at the royal palace that the king may be attempting to escape from paris. he follows along and soon becomes part of a group of travelers that includes one of the queen' s ladies - in - waiting (hanna schygulla), the wealthy industrialist de wendel (daniel gelin), an italian opera singer (laura betti), a wealthy widow (andrea ferreol), a prissy hairdresser (jean - claude brialy) and others. also eventually in the group, last but hardly least, are casanova (marcello mastroianni) and thomas paine (harvey keitel) .
when louis xvi summoned the etats - generaux he unleashes a revolution that would change his country and cost his life. this is the story of one of the crucial points in the history of france, and europe, divided into two parts .
this talky french costume drama chronicles the adventures of king louis xvi and marie antoinette as they attempt to flee paris during the 1791 revolution. while en route to varennes, the couple encounter and have philosophical debates with a number of fascinating historical figures including thomas paine and restif de la bretonne .
honoré panisse is dying, cheerfully, with friends, wife, and son at his side. he confesses to the priest in front of his friends; he insists that the doctor be truthful. but, he cannot... see full summary »
la nuit de varennes
begins with an intriguing notion. what if a group of travelers were journeying by coach along the exact route being taken by louis xvi in his attempt to escape from france? what if their paths crossed? and what if the travelers represented a who' s who of second - rank nobility, intellectuals and notorious celebrities? what if, indeed, they included casanova, that aging rake; tom paine, the radical american pamphleteer; restif de la bretonne, the first pornographer; and a countess from the king' s household ?
and yet, as marisa linton has recently demonstrated, the terror was, in fact, sometimes tragically intimate. friendships mattered in the behind - closed - doors machinations of the revolutionary government, and in the procurement of government positions for trusted individuals; they also mattered in identifying conspirators who too often met in private. it is no historical error that in wajda’s evocative representation of the revolutionary tribunal, one of the first questions fouquier - tinville asks of danton’s fellow defendants is whether or not they are friends. as linton writes, “the legitimate venues for the conduct of revolutionary politics were places to which all citizens might have access: the revolutionary assemblies, sections, and committees, and the clubs for which membership was open – at least in theory – to everyone who could pay the fee. ” [ 4 ] personal relationships that developed beyond the public gaze could render one potentially suspect .
“i don’t remember it as obscurity, ” he nods. “i don’t remember it that way at all. i do know there were times i had a difficult time getting work. many difficult times. but i got through it. i made the effort. i have an 11 - year - old son. i’m always telling him: make the effort and you’ll always wind up in the right place. that’s all anyone can ask of you. ”
with such a promising premise, director ettore scola can hardly go wrong. but he does, in a long, rambling movie that contains moments of great charm, a couple of wonderful performances, and a great deal of self - indulgent tedium. the movie takes the basic situation of john ford' s
stagecoach
( and countless other movies) and loads it with so many mannerisms, asides and nice little directorial flourishes that we finally lose patience .
in the 1920s, the provence is a magnet for immigrants seeking work in the quarries or in agriculture. many mingle with locals and settle down permanently - like toni, an italian who has... see full summary »
in the final analysis, therefore, there is something satisfying about the movie’s unsatisfying causal narrative for robespierre’s spiraling megalomania. i would be less likely to trust or recommend a movie that offered a fully convincing or simple causal explanation for the terror, an event that challenged the comprehension of its contemporaries as well as generations of scholars ever since. it is instead the sense of tragic bewilderment with which the movie concludes that makes it one of the best representations available of the tumultuous year ii. the closing scenes – the gruesome images of danton’s head being raised to the revolutionary crowd while his blood soaks into the hay beneath the scaffold, followed by robespierre listening to a young boy’s recitation of the declaration of the rights of man and citizen – make that sense of sorrowful confusion all the more poignant: what, the audience is left to wonder, can possibly link the former with the latter? it is hard to imagine a better site for beginning, or ending, a classroom conversation about the terror, than the struggle to make sense of that tragic juxtaposition .
mr. scola' s direction of'' la nuit de varennes'' isn' t overly elegant or schematic, and the film is all the fresher for that. his style is flexible without the slightest trace of gimmickry. when he sees the need for an odd lighting effect or a historical footnote, he simply tosses these things into a narrative that is otherwise simple, beautiful and straightforward. so casanova can interrupt the story to tell us, while wearing a wool bonnet and sipping soup or tea, why he wasn' t very well known at the time the action takes place (his fame, he confides, came with the memoir'' published after my death, which, as you all know, occurred in 1798''). and the key figure of restif can, at the end of the film, stride out of the past and into the present - which, as a representative of a work that both encapsulates and transcends history, is most assuredly where he belongs .
this is not bad for a man, who, by his own admission, had no real business being an actor in the first place. growing up in brooklyn, long before the gentrification of that borough: his parents were jewish immigrants from romania and poland, who owned and ran a luncheonette. his father supplemented the family income by working as a milliner .
film lore and folk tales have it that keitel’s departure from the fraught set of apocalypse now – his military experience simply didn’t tally with francis ford coppola’s version of captain willard – led to years in the wilderness. even keitel’s wikipedia entry uses the phrase “drifted into obscurity through most of the 1980s” .
the historical characters speak in the voices that might be expected of them (casanova:'' on his throne or not, no king ever made me miss a meal''), but they' re never in any danger of becoming puppets. the screenplay, by mr. scola and the late sergio amideo, never overstates the historical importance of any one event or individual. and so it accomplishes the small miracle of letting these figures exist, in equal measure, as characters within this story and as archetypes or legends. the small talk here is never small (the industrialist, telling a fellow voyager about the day he saw a worker fold his arms and refuse to do his job, calls this'' the most terrifying sight i ever saw''). but it is wonderfully casual at some times, quietly resonant at others, and always exquisitely delivered. if'' la nuit de varennes'' offered nothing more than the ensemble acting on display, it would be major and memorable on that basis alone .
there are no normal opening credits, director sacha guitry introduces everyone in the film .
we really enjoyed this. barrault and mastroianni are terrific actors - - did an outstanding job. the philosophical questions raised are still worth considering today, as the movie implies, and yet they are raised in an interesting and indirect way, so the viewer doesn' t feel bludgeoned or lectured at. i was interested to discover that the flight to varennes was in fact historical, though i could not discover whether restif de bretonnes (barrault' s character) was actually at the event and commented on first - hand knowledge. he did write extensively about life and events of the time. the interchange of ideas seemed natural, despite the apparent absurdity of finding all of them in the same coach at the same time. sort of like those
if you could invite 5 historical figures to dinner at the same time
ideas. very much worth seeing .
the films of italian director ettore scola are practically impossible to see in north america. they are often screened at cannes, berlin and venice, but, for whatever reason, north american distributors have shown little interest in promoting them. i find this so sad. scola truly is one of the last great living italian directors from that special generation of filmmakers who transformed italian cinema during the 50s, 60s and 70s .
the acting is excellent. mastroianni' s casanova is arguably one of the best ever. in
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“it’s like we knew each other for a lifetime. ” harvey keitel with michael caine in youth
the french dts - hd master audio 2. 0 track sounds very good. the dialog is crisp, clean and exceptionally easy to follow. armando trovajoli' s wonderful baroque score also sounds lovely; i particularly enjoyed the long bassoon solos that are heard while the main characters in the film travel through the french countryside. for the record, i did not detect any disturbing pops, cracks, or hissing to report in this review .
the tomatometer score — based on the opinions of hundreds of film and television critics — is a trusted measurement of critical recommendation for millions of fans. it represents the percentage of professional critic reviews that are positive for a given film or television show .
let’s talk about women (se permettete parliamo di donne, 1964), his first film as director, was a series of sketches (a form fashionable in italy at the time) featuring the versatile gassman in nine different roles. in jealousy italian style, aka the pizza triangle (dramma della gelosia, 1970), mastroianni, as a young communist bricklayer, leaves his wife for monica vitti. all is bliss until she falls for his waiter friend, played by giancarlo giannini. in this contribution to that italian genre which uses dark, melodramatic plots to create comedy, scola manages to achieve delightful moments of political and social satire .
as the previous analysis indicates, gender plays a large role in establishing the moral worth of the characters and the groups they represent. almost without exception, the old regime appears to produce effeminate males; the revolution their opposite. interestingly, all the intellectuals, except casanova who cuts across social lines, are seen as normative in their masculinity, directly or indirectly. rétif de la bretonne is first introduced as the chronicler of over 400 sexual encounters with women. although his behavior also challenges bourgeois ideals of domesticity embraced by the revolution, rétif is so charming that the tawdry side is largely subsumed. it would seem that the filmmaker, like the revolutionaries, signals his preference for domesticated and restrained sexual behavior .
for all the lush visuals, the film’s best scenes are the buddy exchanges between caine and keitel. “it’s funny. i’ve never worked with michael before. but as michael keeps saying: it’s like we knew each other for a lifetime. we never even met before the movie. the only way i can account for it seeming like an old friendship is that we’re two of only a few actors who have served in the military: michael in the british army and me in the marines. so we had a language, a common tongue between us. ”
the time is the french revolution, and the occasion is the flight of the royal family from paris to the small town of varennes, where they will be captured and sent back to their deaths. but the feeling is utterly modern, or perhaps it' s timeless. the key issues of the film are the issues of any era. and the humor and generosity with which mr. scola presents them are correspondingly enduring .
sophia loren and marcello mastroianni in a special day, 1977, directed by ettore scola. photograph: alamy
raises his fist in the air as he walks toward me: “éirinn go brách, ” he cries .
when the film turns to the upper middle classes, it is likewise uncharitable. here, in the guise of a judge, industrialist, and widow of a wine grower, rich commoners come across as narrow and selfish. interestingly, the judge – an official of the old regime – is treated more harshly than the owner of ironworks, perhaps showing greater approval of capitalism. but it is the widow who receives the most negative treatment. enamored with casanova, she propositions him, but he graciously turns her down, invoking his decreptitude. but she soon discovers that he can still be amorous as she catches him in an embrace. although the viewer later learns that she was mistaken, the widow feels humiliated. neither this film nor the revolution offer her a meaningful role, but, then, the bourgeois men shuffle out of the movie in a similarly unremarkable way .
la nuit de varennes, directed by ettore scola; screenplay (french with english subtitles) by sergio amidei and mr. scola; director of photography, armando nannuzzi; edited by raimondo crociani; music by armando trovajoli; produced by renzo rossellini for opera film (rome) and gaumont - fr3 (paris); released by triumph films, a columbia / gau - mont company. running time: 133 minutes. this film is rated r .
: this is a region - free blu - ray disc. therefore, you will be able to play it on your ps3 or sa regardless of your geographical location. please note that there is no pal or 1080 / 50i content preceding the disc' s main menu) .
a group of men go to a villa in the french countryside where they resolve to eat themselves to death .
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we should not be surprised that the man knows his audience. a pleaser of crowds for some five decades, the 76 - year - old first came into prominence when american cinema was at the height of its post - classical powers. it is, in fact, difficult to imagine the medium without him: would anyone else have sufficed in, say, martin scorsese’s mean streets? or jane campion’s the piano? or quentin tarantino’s pulp fiction? or abel ferrara’s bad lieutenant? or ridley scott’s thelma & louise ?
four generations of a family live crowded together in a cardboard shantytown shack in the squalor of inner - city rome. they plan to murder each other with poisoned dinners, arson, etc. the... see full summary »
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i tested only a couple of scenes with the italian dts - hd master audio 2. 0 track and thought that technically it was on par with the french dts - hd master audio 2. 0 track. as far as i am concerned, gaumont' s did a terrific job with both of them .
two neighbors, a persecuted journalist and a resigned housewife, meet during hitler' s visit to italy in may 1938 .
- the original french theatrical trailer for the film. in french, not subtitled. (4 min, 1080p) .
jermaine fowler and omari hardwick of sorry to bother you take us back in time to the worst jobs of their careers .
in contrast, a special day (una giornata particolare, 1977) told of two lonely residents of a seedy apartment building who are drawn together on the day in 1938 when the populace in the streets is cheering hitler’s visit to mussolini in rome. most of the appeal of this oscar - nominated downbeat drama is the casting against type of sophia loren as a frumpish housewife, and mastroianni as a depressed gay man. the film stresses how repression can be a common bond between two very different people .
- an exclusive interview with director ettore scola. in italian, with optional french subtitles. (32 min, pal) .
to complete the previous comment (which i agree), i will add that michel simon' s (clever) machiavelism is to visit the lawyer prior the killing of his wife (pretending he already did it), in order to know how to commit the
perfect
murder without being sentenced as much as possible; smart! maybe sacha guitry' s most cynical movie about marriage. the famous director / writer was an active womanizer and we may think that he was deceived by the female gender at this time (close to his death) and wished some revenge through this film (his young last wife - lana marconi - was supposedly interested in his money only and eventually sold his late husband' s house in paris to speculating promoters, only a couple of years after his death (the house was destroyed immediately to build a new building of no interest, whereas guitry' s last deep wish was to open a comedian' s museum to exhibit his rarest manuscripts, costumes, theater memorabilia, etc .). what a pity !
finally, in his emphasis on the personal relationships and private motivations driving the terror, wajda echoes the opinion of some of the victims themselves. in a letter written from prison to his wife, camille desmoulins stated: “i do not conceal from myself that i die victimized for a few pleasantries and for my friendship with danton. ” [ 9 ] desmoulins attempted to make sense of what seemed nonsensical – his death at the hands of his friend robespierre and his indictment for betraying the republic he had served devotedly – by tracing it to personal, rather than political, motives. in wajda’s film, we see the same process at work. the personal is political, and the only way to make sense of robespierre’s turn against his fellow revolutionaries and, in the case of desmoulins, dear friends, is to stage a confrontation between two powerful but incompatible personalities .
scola, whose parents were actors, was born in trevico in the southern province of campania. he studied law in rome, but was more interested in drawing satirical cartoons. after dropping out of university, he joined the humorous magazine marc’ aurelio as a cartoonist, and there he got to know fellini, who was on the editorial board. this connection helped scola enter the film business as a writer of dozens of screenplays for broad italian comedies from 1952 to 1964. scola’s best scripts were for dino risi, whose comic style he assimilated as director .
as a result, within the film’s narrative, there is something inexplicable about robespierre’s sudden spiral into dictatorial ambitions in the wake of the fateful dinner with danton. robespierre voices reservations throughout the film about the direction which the revolution is taking; he speaks with saint - just of his desire to end the carnage of the terror, defends both danton and desmoulins against their detractors early in the film, and speaks with ominous regret after danton’s execution. but it is only after the tête à tête in danton’s private chambers that his doubts give way to decisive action. it is after the dinner that his fellow committee of public safety members accuse robespierre of acting like a monarch; later, he circumvents the law to ensure a sympathetic jury at danton’s trial. it is as if danton’s fate is sealed by his overindulgences and his ad hominem attacks on robespierre’s asceticism, and not political necessity or even ideology. this causal mechanism is, perhaps fittingly and intentionally, dissatisfying: surely, the viewer thinks, danton is not sent to his death for petty personal grievances; surely robespierre does not abandon law and justice out of spite and disgust .
in the 1860s, giorgio (giraudeau), a young italian soldier, is sent to a remote post, far away from his lover, clara (antonelli). he is lodged in the house of the colonel (girotti). he... see full summary »
roger ebert was born on this day in 1942, and died a little over five years ago. i owe a good part of my success…
after the triumph of the sensitive we all loved each other so much, whose theme, expressed by one of the characters was “we thought we’d change the world, instead the world has changed us”, scola entered the realm of grotesque comedy with down and dirty aka ugly, dirty and mean (brutti, sporchi e cattivi, 1976). it focuses on a large family, headed by the ageing one - eyed giacinto (manfredi), living in squalor in one rat - infested room in a shanty town on the outskirts of rome. scola treats his poverty - stricken characters far less kindly than the directors of the italian neo - realist movement, who saw the poor as innocent victims of a brutal system. no less critical of a system that breeds poverty, scola shows its degrading effects in graphic, scatological detail, yet keeping an ironic distance. “grotesque humour is a noble and tragic way of representing contemporary problems, ” scola claimed .
presented in its original aspect ratio of 1. 66: 1, encoded with mpeg - 4 avc and granted a 1080p transfer, ettore scola' s
through a series of circumstances and plot twists an enterprising man manages to get away with murdering his wife, even though he cheerfully admits his guilt in court .
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featuring such notables as tom paine (keitel), the ageing casanova (mastroianni), the randy writer restif de la bretonne (barrault), and an austrian countess (schygulla), this is a picaresque story of the coach and party that followed hard on the one which tried to transport louis xvi and marie antoinette to safety in 1791. thus is history viewed not through the eyes of its main participants, but through the appetites, passions and prejudices of its commentators and bit players. the result is like tom jones crossed with stagecoach, with the addition of sergio amidei and scola' s wise and witty dialogue, some sumptuous painterly landscapes, and a subtle feeling for the period far removed from the clichés of british imagining. there' s a real sense both of history in the making and of life in the living: a warm, bravura work of lasting majesty .
in mixing the personal and the political, and in juxtaposing the private spaces of revolutionaries’ lives with the public spaces of the revolution like the convention floor, the tribunal, and the place de la révolution (present - day place de la concorde), the film has stood the test of time, both as an engaging narrative of the terror and as a classroom tool. in the 1980s, much was written on the background of polish solidarity against which this film was written and produced, and in france, criticism focused on the apparently counterrevolutionary stance of wajda, whose depiction of the revolution is framed by the looming image of the guillotine. [ 1 ] in fact, these criticisms of danton could serve as a site for thinking through the legacies of the revolution and the ways in which it has been appropriated and re - narrated by later political groups. paired with robert darnton’s essay, “danton and double entendre, ” the film and its reception remind us of the continuing battles over the legacy of the revolution in twentieth - (and one may suggest, twenty - first) century france. [ 2 ]
roger ebert' s speech on empathy for the
11th hour
series on april 9th, 1994, being republished here in honor of his birthday june 18 .
the way mastroianni projects casanova' s weariness, wisdom and infinite sadness is very touching. his performance deserves a footnote in film history as a variant of the casanova he might have given us in
fellini casanova
( 1977), if fellini had not at the last moment decided to cast donald sutherland instead of mastroianni .
recreates the final days of louis xvi, who has secretly left paris where the revolution is already underway. the news soon reaches a stagecoach with a few fascinating travelers in it who, without knowing, are heading in the same direction louis xvi is. one of them is restif de la bretonne (jean - louis barrault ,
“you’re from ireland, right? so you come from a culture of poetry and literature and storytelling. those things weren’t part of the culture in my neighbourhood. ”
soon, countess sophie de la borde and virginia capacelli ask casanova to tell them about his sexual escapades. all the women he has loved, what were they like - rich, poor, beautiful, not so beautiful? were there any men in casanova' s life? were they good looking? were they good in bed ?
expensive vines, tables filled with food, but emptiness inside. everyone has stopped developing, and fastened in their roles. hurtful, but still funny story about human development .
his body looks weak, but his mind is razor - sharp, and the manner in which he conquers the hearts of his companions is absolutely brilliant. ferreol' s emotional collapse at the end is also very convincing. schygulla is terrific as the loyal but disillusioned beauty who despises the revolution. keitel also fits well in this film, though we never get to hear his real voice .
looks very good in 1080p. fine object detail is excellent, contrast levels pleasing, and clarity consistent throughout the entire film. the color - scheme is notably warm, favoring softer than usual but natural looking yellows, greens, blues, browns and blacks. edge - enhancement is not a serious issues of concern; neither is macroblocking. the daylight scenes, for example, look very strong, conveying pleasing depth and clarity. the nighttime scenes, and particularly the inn scenes, where most of the conversations about louis xvi and casanova take place also look convincing. during a few selected scenes, however, i noticed some extremely mild noise corrections. there are no serious stability issues that i noticed while viewing
at the time of its production, the movie received critical acclaim and scholars viewed it as an interesting take on the revolution; it still deserves praise, and remains an excellent vehicle (pun intended) to study the revolution. director ettore scola meticulously recreates the material aspects of life allowing students to picture living conditions. furthermore, the discussion and interplay among the travelers and their surroundings provide sophisticated insights into different views of the revolution. in a nutshell, the most important facet of the film from a pedagogical perspective is the debate over the revolution among the travelers. yet this will serve more to reinforce what most instructors might do in class. the film suffers from overly confining certain viewpoints to a class or a particular profession. despite this flaw, la nuit does propose an interpretation of class distinctions that will stimulate all types of viewers. even if one disagrees with its snapshots, they are subtle, interesting, and stimulating .
convincing de niro it was keitel who convinced robert de niro, a fellow - student training under stella adler, lee strasberg and the hb studio, to take the role of johnny boy in mean streets .
le bal (1984), which gained another oscar nomination, followed events in france from 1936 to the present day as reflected inside a ballroom by the changing music and the characters who frequented the place over the years. behind the decor and the caricature performances, one senses the pain of real events, underlined by the music. films speak in many ways: le bal manages to say a lot without a single line of dialogue .
in the eighteenth century, the
traveling company of scenic arts
composed of tyrant, lady leonarde, serafina, isabella, leandre, zerbina, matamore and pulcinella gets lost while traveling... see full summary »
still, the film has moments of great charm. many of them belong to marcello mastroianni, in a wonderful performance as casanova. he has been everywhere and done everything, and as a result is very tired. he is also vain, powdering his nose, adjusting his wig, keeping up appearances. but he is just too satiated by past excesses to take an interest in future ones, and he fends off the women attracted by his reputation .
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“but i kept going. i was driven by youth and ignorance. and i got lucky. luck counts in acting. it’s a big, big factor. once my career took off, it had its ups and downs. like most people. except, in acting, most people don’t have a career. i’m lucky. i’m not crying about anything. i took on the ups and downs. they took me on. sometimes they won. sometimes i won. ”
besides recounting the revolution from the perspective of its contemporaries, the movie also treats the time period as disturbing. rapid scene changes render the film sometimes disjointed but also convey the discomfort of the characters. numerous scenes are shot with dust flying everywhere. such conditions so annoy the hairdresser that he veils his face. but the use of dust can also reinforce the social message of the film. at one point casanova attempts to overtake the stagecoach with his own carriage. as it does so, the italian proclaims, “let them eat our dust. ” the public stagecoach cannot compete with the private (though very cramped) conveyance which carries the aristocratic casanova. yet the very next day, casanova’s vehicle breaks down as a wheel gives way, probably as the occupant notes, as a result of the race. even the noble conveyance has, in fact, failed .
. i also did not detect any disturbing scratches, cuts, splices, or warps. all in all, this is a very strong presentation of an excellent film, which has been extremely difficult to locate and see during the years. (
gianni, nicola and antonio become close friends in 1944 while fighting the nazis. after the end of the war, full of illusions, they settle down. the movie is a the story of the life of... see full summary »
typical was scola’s first international success, we all loved each other so much (c’eravamo tanto amati, 1975), in which three men from different backgrounds have been bound by their friendship for 30 years since they met as partisans in the second world war. the lives of antonio (manfredi), a good - natured, politically active proletarian; gianni (gassman), a bourgeois opportunist, and nicola (stefano flores), a radical intellectual film buff, are paralleled by the events and the history of italian cinema over the years. in this moving and amusing humanistic study of friendship, there are extracts from films by michelangelo antonioni, roberto rossellini, luchino visconti, federico fellini and vittorio de sica (to whom the film is dedicated) .
the 50 year story of a ballroom in france, from the 1920s. the people who go there is always the same, even the musicians. you can see all kind of people dancing all the fashion dances (... see full summary »
the intellectuals and artists receive the most favorable treatment: casanova in his role as a writer and observer, an italian opera singer on her way to an engagement, tom paine (played by american harvey keitel) and the famous rétif de la bretonne who is la nuit ’s covert hero (jean - louis barrault). these characters are shown to advantage by the script and camera lens. their words offer the justification for the revolution. paine is the one person in the film who is associated completely with the revolution and who receives an overall positive treatment. though revolutionary, he is thoughtful and embraces the notion of dissent. and perhaps in the most beautiful scene of the movie, casanova and the opera singer display their virtue by singing a snippet from le mariage de figaro .
another oscar - nominated film, the family (la famiglia, 1987), was a portrait of a bourgeois italian family seen through the eyes of an old retired professor, over a period of 80 years, all the action of which takes place in the same apartment .
although the national assembly was persuaded to treat the flight as a kidnapping and louis kept his crown, tensions increased. only three weeks later, partly in response to this flight, parisian radicals petitioned for the end of monarchy. at a signing ceremony on the champs de mars, a military parade ground (now part of the area around the eiffel tower), suspicion led to violence. the authorities invoked martial law. the national guard fired on the crowd, resulting in many casualties. such events rendered the creation of a stable, moderate regime impossible .
relies on an exceptionally strong script where humor and politics are mixed to perfection. substantial portions of the film are comprised of long conversations where a variety of social and political themes are addressed. some of the events seen in the film are fictional; other, however, are factual .
what scola apparently wants to do here is create a small, temporary community of many different lifestyles of the 18th century. he gives us an american revolutionary, a suddenly obsolete countess, a few servants, and a couple of the hugh hefners of their day, and shows the ways in which they advance themselves and defend their positions against the upheaval of the french revolution. as an idea, this is just fine, but as a film it grows tedious, especially since everybody in scola' s 18th century seems to pose, meditate and strike an attitude before saying anything .
is a period film, but the majority of the observations its main characters produce have a strong contemporary flavor (you would be surprised to see how the film ends). there are also a variety of different predictions in it about the future of europe, some of which have already materialized .
two years into the french revolution, as the first constitution was nearing completion, the royal couple grew restive. detained, more or less under house arrest, louis and marie - antoinette were becoming especially alarmed by the way the civil constitution of the clergy was transforming the church. and, of course, living in paris, they were never far from the populace which, while it had demonstrated some loyalty, had also revealed its potential for anger and violence. in this circumstance, the king played a double game, treating with the revolutionary government while negotiating with foreign powers for support and even armed intervention .
as interesting as are the class vignettes, few historians would embrace them as accurate. the 1980s sexism and homophobia seem especially dated. but these images, it seems to me, capture quite accurately the actual point of view of moderate revolutionaries who prevailed in the assembly until 1791 and even of many jacobins later on.
that night in varennes ( italian : il mondo nuovo ; french : la nuit de varennes ) is a 1982 italian and french drama film directed by ettore scola . it is based on a novel by catherine rihoit . it tells the story of a fictional meeting between restif de la bretonne , giacomo casanova , thomas paine and sophie de la borde ( a lady in waiting to the queen ) . they are all traveling together in a coach that is a few hours behind the one that is carrying king louis xvi and marie antoinette in their flight to varennes during the french revolution . the film was entered into the 1982 cannes film festival . the film was nominated for best foreign language film by the u.s. national board of review of motion pictures . 
that night in varennes (italian: il mondo nuovo; french: la nuit de varennes) is a 1982 italian and french drama film directed by ettore scola. it is based on a novel by catherine rihoit. it tells the story of a fictional meeting between restif de la bretonne, giacomo casanova, thomas paine and sophie de la borde (a lady in waiting to the queen). they are all traveling together in a coach that is a few hours behind the one that is carrying king louis xvi and marie antoinette in their flight to varennes during the french revolution. the film was entered into the 1982 cannes film festival. the film was nominated for best foreign language film by the u.s. national board of review of motion pictures.
that night in varennes (italian: il mondo nuovo; french: la nuit de varennes) is a 1982 italian and french drama film directed by ettore scola. it is based on a novel by catherine rihoit. it tells the story of a fictional meeting between restif de la bretonne, giacomo casanova, thomas paine and sophie de la borde (a lady in waiting to the queen). they are all traveling together in a coach that is a few hours behind the one that is carrying king louis xvi and marie antoinette in their flight to varennes during the french revolution. the film was entered into the 1982 cannes film festival. the film was nominated for best foreign language film by the u.s. national board of review of motion pictures.