Jean Renoir’s Trilogy of Spectacle
By August 02, 2004
Movie trilogies can be created by either filmmakers or critics. When Pier Paolo Pasolini wrote and directed The Decameron (1971), The Canterbury Tales (1972 Read more »
- France
- 1956
- 95 minutes
- Color
- 1.33:1
- French
SYNOPSIS: Set amid the military maneuvers and Quatorze Juillet carnivals of turn-of-the-century France, Jean Renoir’s delirious romantic comedy Elena and her Men (Elena et les hommes) stars a radiant Ingrid Bergman as a beautiful, but impoverished, Polish princess who drives men of all stations to fits of desperate love. When Elena elicits the fascination of a famous general, she finds herself at the center of romantic machinations and political scheming, with the hearts of several men—as well as the future of France—in her hands.
Cast & CreditsOpen
Cast
| Princess Elena Sorokowska | Ingrid Bergman |
| General Rollan | Jean Marais |
| Henri de Chevincourt | Mel Ferrer |
| Hector | Jean Richard |
| Miarka | Juliette Gréco |
| Martin-Michaud | Pierre Bertin |
| Rosa la Rose | Dora Doll |
| Gaudin | Frédéric Duvallès |
| Fleury | Renaud Mary |
| Duchêne | Jacques Morel |
| Buchez | Albert Remy |
| The street singer | Léo Marjane |
| Lionel | Jean Claudio |
| Marbeau | Mirko Ellis |
| Lisbonne | Jacques Hilling |
| Eugène | Jacques Jouanneau |
| Paulette | Elina Labourdette |
| Olga | Olga Valéry |
Credits
| Director | Jean Renoir |
| Producer | Louis Wipf |
| Writers | Jean Renoir and Jean Serge |
| Cinematography | Claude Renoir |
| Editing | Borys Lewin |
| Production design | Jean André |
| Costume designer | Rosine Delamare |
| Sound recordist | William Robert Sivel |
| Original music by | Joseph Kosma |
Disc Features
- New high definition digital transfer, with restored image and sound
- Introduction to the film by Jean Renoir
- Jean Renoir—Hollywood and Beyond: part two of a two-part 1993 BBC documentary by David Thompson, featuring reflections on Renoir from his family, friends, collaborators, and admirers
- Jean Renoir parle de son art: part three of Jacques Rivette’s three-part interview with Renoir
- A collection of production stills
- New and improved English subtitle translation
- Optimal image quality: RSDL dual-layer edition
- Plus: an original essay by Renoir historian Christopher Faulkner
From the CurrentView the Current »
Film Essays
Elena and Her Men
By August 02, 2004
Elena and Her Men (Elena et les homes, 1956) has been rather thoughtlessly dismissed as minor Renoir and was not much appreciated upon its release, either by the public or Read more »
