La Princesse de Cleves / Princess of Cleves (1961)
Princess of Cleves / La Princesse de Cleves (1961)
DVD9 | VIDEO_TS | PAL | 2.40:1 | 720x576 | 8900 kbps | 7.2Gb
Audio: French AC3 2.0 @ 192 Kbps | Subtitles: English (custom)
01:47:00 | France, Italy | Drama, History, Romance
DVD9 | VIDEO_TS | PAL | 2.40:1 | 720x576 | 8900 kbps | 7.2Gb
Audio: French AC3 2.0 @ 192 Kbps | Subtitles: English (custom)
01:47:00 | France, Italy | Drama, History, Romance
France, 1559. King Henri II gives a state ball in honour of the marriage of the young Lady of Chartres to the Prince of Cleves. At the ball, the young princess dances with the handsome Duke of Nemours and the two are instantly attracted to one another. Realizing that he is in love, the Duke of Nemour subsequently tries to court the princess, but in vain. Although the Princess of Cleves loves the Duke as much as he loves her, she remains implacably loyal to her husband…
Director: Jean Delannoy
Cast: Jean Marais, Marina Vlady, Jean-Francois Poron, Annie Ducaux, Lea Padovani, Raymond Gerome, Alain Ferral, Renee-Marie Potet, Henri Piegay, Pieral, Ivan Dominique, Lea Gray, Jacques Hilling, Hubert de Lapparent, Georges Lycan, Pierre Moncorbier, Josee Steiner, Anthony Stuart, Henri Cote, Henri Coutet, Helene Laffly, Louisette Rousseau, Sylvain
This tragedy of two star-crossed lovers, directed by Jean Delannoy, is based on a 17th-century novel by Madame de La Fayette. When a young teen (Marina Vlady) marries the Prince of Cleves (Jean Marais), more than twice her age, she automatically becomes an official Princess and takes her new position to heart. Although distracted by the elite entertainments found at court, the princess cannot help but mourn her impossible love for the dashing Duc de Nemours (Jean-Francois Poron). Faithful to her husband in spite of her longings for the Duc, her fidelity – as is always the case – is unfairly doubted and maligned, leading to trouble all around.
~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
IMDb
La Princesse de Cleves / Princess of Cleves (1961)
La Princesse de Cleves / Princess of Cleves (1961)
"La Princesse de Cleves" was released at the wrong time.The reasons are obvious:
1. It was the heyday of the nouvelle vague and Jean Delannoy was a laughing stock for all these directors."He does not live his movies" was what M.Godard used to say.I'm not sure M.Godard used to live His.
2.The mainstream audience mistook the movie for a swashbuckler entertaining yarn , a genre which was very popular in France at the time .It was after all a costume movie and Jean Marais was par excellence the sword hero.
So nobody was satisfied and the film died commercial and artistic death.It should be restored to favor now,because ,simply, it's really a beautiful movie which has stood the test of time quite well,as well as ,say, Jacques Rivette's "la religieuse" .
There's a contrast ,in "la princesse de Cleves" between the brightness and the beauty of the cinematography -several sequences are stunning:the first one,the magnificent ball ,one of the most entrancing openin scene ever filmed and the last one,when the duc de Nemours comes to the lodge in a misty morning ,is awesome- and the screenplay,which is very austere,and might put off some viewers .Madame de la Fayette 's novel tells a story of passion,but a passion which struggles with reason and duty.Some people said that Marina Vlady's performance was remote and that her feelings could not reach us:that's partly true.But It 's a woman from the sixteenth century depicted by another woman from the seventeenth!Jean Cocteau's adaptation,if he wanted to be faithful to De la Fayette's work had to invent another psychology ,another language (the dialogue is very precious and literary).
Jean Delannoy 's directing,icily impersonal,is very effective here.The cast and credits,at the beginning , fit the movie like a glove.We see the characters as some Madame Tussaud statues.Cocteau's favorite actor,Jean Marais gives a wonderful performance:his prince de Cleves is oozing with suffering and longing to be loved.His commitment to his role is extraordinary.This was the great thespian's farewell to youth as well as his last great part,with the eventual exception of Jacques Demy's "peau d'ane"(1970).
The ending slightly differs from the novel-Madame de La Fayette simply says that Madame De Cleves 's life was rather short-but Cocteau found an adequate equivalent.
~ dbdumonteil
La Princesse de Cleves / Princess of Cleves (1961)
La Princesse de Cleves / Princess of Cleves (1961)
