Essential Art House: Gervaise

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#1 Post by **Jeff** » Tue Jun 16, 2009 5:21 am

Gervaise

[img]http://criterion_production.s3.amazonaws.com/release_images/2344/EAH4_Gervais_box_348x490_w128.jpg[/img]

One of France’s most respected directors of the postwar era, René Clément directed such searing psychological dramas as Forbidden Games and Purple Noon. And Gervaise, his vivid 1956 adaptation of Émile Zola’s 1877 masterpiece L’assommoir, is no exception. An uncompromising depiction of a lowly laundress’s struggles to deal with an alcoholic husband while running her own business, Gervaise was nominated for an Oscar, and the indomitable Maria Schell earned best actress honors at the Venice Film Festival.

dad1153 · #2 Post by **dad1153** » Tue Feb 02, 2010 5:11 pm

Going Out of Print by the End of March. And yes, it sucks this is the first post on the thread.

Cinephrenic · #3 Post by **Cinephrenic** » Wed Feb 03, 2010 1:32 am

When was this released??? Just kiddin'.

Jean-Luc Garbo · #4 Post by **Jean-Luc Garbo** » Fri Feb 05, 2010 7:27 pm

Is this film any good?

Minkin · #5 Post by **Minkin** » Fri Feb 05, 2010 7:35 pm

Beaver. Looks excellent.

dad1153 · #6 Post by **dad1153** » Fri Feb 05, 2010 7:53 pm

Should I be embarrassed that I only know of Maria Schell from her handful of scenes in "Superman: The Movie"? The way Donner and Mankiewicz gushed about her (and the other British thespians) in the "Superman" DVD commentary track I knew she must have an impressive body of work. Anything more accessible or mainstream (i.e. not an EAH obscurity) Schell did that I might be more familiar with?

joshua · #7 Post by **joshua** » Sat Feb 06, 2010 5:49 pm

Have you seen Visconti's La Notti Bianche, Anthony Mann's Cimarron or The Heart of the Matter with Trevor Howard?

dad1153 · #8 Post by **dad1153** » Sat Feb 06, 2010 6:46 pm

^^^ Three strikes (and I'm OUT)! #-o Man, I guess "Gervaise" is it if I want a proper introduction to Schell as an actress.

#9 Post by **domino harvey** » Sat Feb 06, 2010 9:27 pm

I saw Cimarron recently and can heartily recommend-- it's a great Mann-helmed epic and much better than the lukewarm reaction then and now would suggest

colinr0380 · #10 Post by **colinr0380** » Sun Feb 07, 2010 1:12 am

Plus she was also in the Yul Brynner film of The Brothers Karamazov.

This cuts against your wish for accessible and mainstream but she was also in Jess Franco's 99 Women with Herbert Lom and Mercedes McCambridge, and she is also in an utterly bizarre film fusing Midnight Cowboy and Cabaret-influences and directed by David Hemmings, Just A Gigolo, notably featuring David Bowie's first film role post Man Who Fell To Earth, Kim Novak and Marlene Dietrich's last performance.

DVD Beaver on Gervaise

tavernier · #11 Post by **tavernier** » Sun Feb 07, 2010 1:26 am

colinr0380 wrote:DVD Beaver on Gervaise

already posted

bottled spider · #12 Post by **bottled spider** » Wed May 25, 2011 4:04 am

[reconsidered]

colinr0380 · #13 Post by **colinr0380** » Fri Mar 30, 2012 11:26 am

A Sight and Sound article on Gervaise

ptatler · #14 Post by **ptatler** » Tue Dec 04, 2012 3:32 am

I wrote this up because no PURPLE NOON screener meant I had nothing else to do, Clement-wise.

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