Grand
A rare short film by Max Ophuls, one of two music pieces he made at this time. Chopin’s VALSE BRILLANTE, treated by the Diving Max as an opportunity for rhythmic cutting, architectural wipes, elegant camera moves and playful angles. Pure form!
A rare short film by Max Ophuls, one of two music pieces he made at this time. Chopin’s VALSE BRILLANTE, treated by the Diving Max as an opportunity for rhythmic cutting, architectural wipes, elegant camera moves and playful angles. Pure form!
March 19, 2010 at 5:44 am
really cool..love old filmings of the older claasics..
This guy brought the clasics to me in the early 70s..
damaged hands MUCh later on ..but don’t he look good..
March 19, 2010 at 2:53 pm
Douglas Sirk has an almost identical shot in his kitsch tearjerker classic INTERLUDE. I’ve always felt there was an affinity between Sirk and Ophuls, so thanks for illustrating it so well.
March 19, 2010 at 3:52 pm
You’re very welcome! I agree that the two have a lot in common, as The Reckless Moment seems to show particularly well: the stylistics are very much Ophuls, but the themes have a great deal in common with Sirks’ domestic dramas AND thrillers.
March 19, 2010 at 5:49 pm
Looks forward to Lola Montes.
March 19, 2010 at 6:12 pm
Indeed. Ophuls’ tendency to serve up dutch tilts and the like purely for their beauty (as far as I can tell) is a nice challenge to those who insist on form following content. There’s no alibi of “the world being out of balance” in these shots, even though Ophuls’ universe is frequently disordered and oppressive.