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.
| 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 |
| 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 |
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 fluid concept for Ophuls Read more »
May 14, 2009
Here’s a definite must-read: in its latest issue, Bright Lights Film Journal features André Bazin’s essay “Fifteen Years of French Cinema,” in its first-ever English translation (by Bert Cardullo). Originally Read more »
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 everywhere (this is, after Read more »
