68 Le Grand Jeu

[jbeall]

Indeed. I've only seen La Kermesse Heroique, and I'll be picking up any Feyder that gets released. It's awesome that MoC is putting this out; I can't wait!

[Tommaso]

In the meantime, you might pick up the "Rediscover Jacques Feyder" set here. All great films.

And Landjorden, you won't need a Blu player. This is dvd only.

[Landjorden]

Oh, I know that Tommaso , just tried to hint that I wanted the Immamura as well

[triodelover]

Beaver

[htdm]

Those caps look miles better than the Japanese IVC release - looking forward to this.

[Svevan]

Looks very nice indeed. Been on a bit of a Feyder kick lately, looking forward to picking this up.

[sidehacker]

MOC page is now live.

[HerrSchreck]

Wow... I know I'm behind on my posting duties here, especially viz the pre-20's silents, but I've just seen this film in a beautifully subtitled edition, and need to ooze a bit for it.

When first launching my spin of this film, and with the expectation of Poetic Realist in my head, I was a bit limp for it. To me that appellation is little more than the French Cinematic incarnation of The Blues, and it flowed pretty naturally from what geniuses like Epstien, Kirsanoff, and Gremillon were doing in the silents and just forward. Heavy development of mood and ambience, visual triggers which seem to strum a heavy warm syrup out of your endocrine system, and anti-Hollywood message that Justice Does Not Prevail, and Everything Will Not Be Okay.

This film was a little different, a touch more stoical, and took it's time in threading its fatalistic cord through you.

I absolutely adored the tempo and manner of this film. Feyder manages to subtly get his fingers around that elusive, factual something... instead of gassing you with heavy mood and autumnal fog and dreariness, he sits you down and weaves a tale patiently, hitting you with mostly reticent characters holding everything back, desiring catharsis and never achieving it. What he leaves you with feels a little more authentic than your standard, fog-laden tale, and I loved it.. absolutely loved it.

Wilmm's entirely magnificent performance was absolutely authentic for me... I've read reviews where his rendering was poo pooed as wooden, dry, etc. These are probably missing the point-- Feyder is strumming the narrative instead of the image and characters for their own sakes... therefore the results are far from gratuitous. They have a steely, icy, worn-down feeling, too worn down to derive pleasure from the blues. It's all there in Francoise Rosay's first heavy-lidded, dope addled peek over the booth divider.

Don't miss this film.

[Florinaldo]

Has this begun to show up in people's mail yet?

MoC often starts shipping some time before the official launch date.

I must say this is an issue I am especially excited about. There is so little Feyder available on DVD, and here we get a title that sounds fascinating, with a Vincendeau essay to boot!

[otis]

My copy arrived this morning (from Amazon), and I've just watched it - lovely stuff! Heartbreaking performances from Marie Bell and Françoise Rosay, marvellous lighting and set design, superb tracking shots, terrific music by Hanns Eisler. Recommended.

[Florinaldo]

Mine came in today, direct from Eureka, the very next day after I inquired here about it (isn't it always like that).

I can't wait to give it a spin.

No postcards included though, as some have reported receiving elsewhere on this board. Are you playing favorites MoC?

[What A Disgrace]

This disc probably won't sell for beans, but it deserves to. Incredible film, great transfer, and the booklet essays have more than quenched my curiosity for more knowledge of Feyder. I hope MoC devotes more attention to 20s and 30s French films, whenever they can, in the future.

[jbeall]

An excellent and important release from MoC. After the beginning, I was expecting something a bit more comedic, but it moves into a melodramatic mode for the majority of the film. Francoise Rosay is fantastic, as is Marie Bell to a slightly lesser extent. As Vincendeau's essay in the booklet notes, you can see the beginnings of the move toward poetic realism just as Feyder is beginning to move into the 'talkie' era. I suppose this film was overlooked for so long precisely because it belongs to this in-between period of no-longer-silent, not-yet-poetic-realism, and that makes this release all the more important.

[Richard--W]

I received my copy from amazonUK and have it in hand. The booklet is elegantly put together, a valuable resource, and much appreciated. A commentary is sorely missing. A film of this vintage requires a commentary to put it in historical and aesthetic perspective, for the benefit of those consumers who are not already experts.

But I'm not complaining. I'm just glad to have it. I hope MoC will find more films by Feyder and more French films of this vintage to release.

[Tommaso]

Absolutely. I can't understand why there are no English friendly versions of such fine French releases like Duvivier's "Maria Chapdelaine" or Delannoy's "L'éternel retour", for instance. Not to speak of lots of 30s Ophuls.

[Richard--W]

What are some others, Tommaso?
List them here.

I have a short list and a long list of early French films I'd like to see on English-friendly DVD. Mostly from the 1930s, which was an exciting time in French cinema, it seems. Too many Duvivier and Ophuls are missing from home video. Time to put them back into the world's consciousness again.

[NABOB OF NOWHERE]

David Hare started compiling a check list drawn from Dudley Andrew's Mists of Regret (which is a must have for anyone interested in this period).
It's the first post in the thread French Cinema 1930-1939

[Wu.Qinghua]

... drawn from Dudley Andrew's Mists of Regret (which is a must have for anyone interested in this period). ...

Seconded ... Dudley's Mists of Regard is the book to read for the time being.

[Tommaso]

Yeah, that's a fine list for a start. Curiously, it misses out on Ophuls, so the titles needing a release would be:

Divine
Tendre ennemie
Werther
Yoshiwara

and especially (a complete masterpiece):

Sans lendemain

And of course there needs to be a dvd of his 1933 German film "Liebelei", which is stunning all around.

[Richard--W]

Why doesn't Gaumont subtitle their discs?
They've released so many classic films in France, and not one single disc is English friendly for us collectors who buy imports.
Not one.

David Hare started compiling a check list drawn from Dudley Andrew's Mists of Regret (which is a must have for anyone interested in this period).
It's the first post in the thread French Cinema 1930-1939

Okay, where is this French Cinema 1930-1939 thread? Link?

[swo17]

I believe he's referring to this.

[Drucker]

I just watched this film and wanted to heap a little praise on it. It was great in what I found to be a totally unexpected way, and while there are certainly references, as MOC points out, to Vertigo and Pepe Le Moko, I felt this to still be a very unique film.

One thing that I really, really enjoyed early on was the lack of focus on the supposed anti-hero. (for lack of a better term?) The film in general gives a much fuller and satisfying amount of attention to the context and surroundings of Pierre than Casablanca or Pepe do to their protagonist (not to continue to make the comparison, though it is a bit inevitable). I feel with those two films, Gabin and Bogart are such a strong presence and everything revolves around them. Part of those film's strength is the mystery of how did these sub-heroes come into positions of power? The lack of their background lends to intrigue about them.

Le Grand Jeu, instead, gives an excellent set-up and back-story. We are then treated to nearly 45 minutes of wonderful texture and mood. We travel with Pierre, find ourselves lazing about or in a crowded street, we get much more than just a cursory glance at the people he's living wtih, and get to live with them, too, for a little while.

When Irma shows up, I knew (from reading the back of the DVD) what the rest of the plot would be, but it was still full of surprises and played out in an unexpected way. As for the film's ending:

SpoilerShow

It, too, did not give us an easy answer. Pierre does not resign himself to Irma, and his first love has disappointed him. He is still searching for answers, and we don't get any heroically definitive statement. Just the knowledge that Pierre will continue to move where the wind blows.

Really, really enjoyed this film. The picture quality is indeed excellent, and I look forward to tackling the booklet later today. Great job MoC.