La ronde: Vicious Circle
By September 15, 2008
In the too-brief life and art of Max Ophuls (1902–57), La ronde was a momentous film, a turning point. It represented a homecoming of sorts, though “home” was a rather Read more »
- France
- 1950
- 97 minutes
- Black and White
- 1.33:1
- French
SYNOPSIS: Simone Signoret, Anton Walbrook, and Simone Simon lead a roundelay of French stars in Max Ophuls’s delightful, acerbic adaptation of Arthur Schnitzler’s controversial turn-of-the-century play Reigen. Soldiers, chambermaids, poets, prostitutes, aristocrats—all are on equal footing in this multicharacter merry-go-round of love and infidelity, directed with a sweeping gaiety as knowingly frivolous as it is enchanting, and shot with Ophuls’s trademark mellifluous cinematography.
Cast & CreditsOpen
Cast
| The Meneur de jeu | Anton Walbrook |
| The Prostitute | Simone Signoret |
| The Soldier | Serge Reggiani |
| The Parlor Maid | Simone Simon |
| The Young Gentleman | Daniel Gélin |
| The Young Wife | Danielle Darrieux |
| The Husband | Fernand Gravey |
| The Sweet Young Thing | Odette Joyeux |
| The Poet | Jean-Louis Barrault |
| The Actress | Isa Miranda |
| The Count | Gérard Philipe |
Credits
| Director | Max Ophuls |
| Based on the play by | Arthur Schnitzler |
| Adaptation by | Jacques Natanson and Max Ophuls |
| Dialogue | Jacques Natanson |
| Music | Oscar Strauss |
| Sets | Jean d'Eaubonne |
| Cinematography | Christian Matras |
| Assistant director | Paul Feyder and Tony Abboyantz |
| Costumes | Georges Annenkov |
| Editing | Léonide Azar |
Disc Features
- New, restored high-definition digital transfer
- Audio commentary featuring film scholar Susan White, author of The Cinema of Max Ophuls
- Interview with Max Ophuls’s son, Academy Award–winning filmmaker Marcel Ophuls
- Interview with actor Daniel Gélin
- Interview with film scholar Alan Williams
- Correspondence between Sir Laurence Olivier and Heinrich Schnitzler (the playwright’s son), illustrating the controversy surrounding the source play
- New and improved English subtitle translation
- PLUS: A new essay by film critic Terrence Rafferty
From the CurrentView the Current »
Film Essays
Press Notes
Press Notes: Ophuls, A Pleasure Indeed
September 18, 2008
Though we fully expected our special edition of Max Ophuls’s long-unavailable The Earrings of Madame de . . . to garner a lot of attention from movie lovers Read more »
