Max Ophuls - c/d, s & d?

Just watched Liebelei (1933, a well-worn and poorly subtitled copy on YouTube). The "military men (like Charles Boyer in Madame de) whose conventional views and demeanor mask an obvious depth of feeling" are in full effect--Fritz's duel with the baron is negotiated in high-level discussions of the sort one would associate with an armistice treaty. And Dori, Fritz' playboy roommate, when faced with serving as Fritz' second in that duel, is so disgusted by the prospect that he talks of resigning his commission and emigrating to a Brazil coffee plantation.

I suppose it's oversimplification to reduce all of Ophuls' films to "love never wins in the end, but it's glorious while it lasts"?

I like that all of the Max Ophuls films I have seen now seem to focus on a series of coincidences or connected themes

still have to see Letter From an Unknown Woman and The Reckless Moment

uh yeah

looks like Letter From an Unknown Woman is on youtube

really liked The Earrings of Madame de... and Lola Montès

re: Madame de..., don’t fully understand it, but I like the quote from Jacques Rivette: "a difficult work, in the fullest sense of the word, even in its writing, one in which everything aims to disconcert, distract the viewer from what is essential through the accumulation of secondary actions, wrong turns, repetitions and delays; a work in which the picturesque tries hard to conceal the pathetic."

also love La Ronde

“but Le Ronde killed me, I was unprepared for something so self-conscious or sexed up, you usually don't get both done equally well: 10 episodes where a couple gets together, connected by one of the characters wandering off, vaguely discontent to dreamily encounter their next partner.”

― Milton Parker, Tuesday, October 14, 2008 11:58 AM (eleven years ago)

watched Lola Montès again, it really is beautiful, I’m impressed with Max Ophuls as a director, and his films seem completely distinct from everyone else’s

I wish I could even like Lola!

what did you dislike about it?

still haven't seen Letter From an Unknown Woman or The Reckless Moment

It's stilted in a way those films you cited (Earrings de Madame de..., even La Ronde) aren't. But I've long suspected Lola is one of those Great Films I'll wrestle with for decades. I've read beautiful defenses.

*you cite aren't.

it does have a more stilted quality with all of the spectacle and ceremony, but I was kind of thrilled by that, and I liked that the flashbacks were the heart of it

You're right. He was moving into another manner.

Recently watched Madame de ... with someone who found the title character the weak link; she didn't understand why the men were so smitten. The only defense I could mount was that she does have amazing chemistry with Donati, and she becomes more compelling once her jealous husband makes miserable.

Were they smitten? The most tragic part of the film is the depth of Boyer's commitment, as he discovers on his own. He insists on wanting a friendship (l'amitié) even if they don't sleep together; she wants something absolute, thus violating the terms of the times. But I wouldn't say he was smitten with his wife in any modern sense.

and the way Boyer modulates irony enough to hint at his regard for Louise is exquisite; it's one of my favorite film performances.

now I want to see it again