| Release | Sep 16, 2008 |
| Video | Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 |
| Audio |
French: Dolby Digital 1.0 |
| Subtitles | English |
| Studio | Criterion |
| Year | 1953 |
| Genre | Drama, Romance |
- Remastered Audio and Video (New, restored high-definition digital transfer)
- Audio commentary featuring film scholars Susan White and Gaylyn Studlar
- Introduction by filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson (There Will Be Blood)
- Interviews with Ophuls collaborators Alain Jessua, Marc Frédérix, and Annette Wademant
- A visual analysis of the movie by film scholar Tag Gallagher
- Interview with novelist Louise de Vilmorin on Ophuls's adaptation of her story
- New and improved English subtitle translation
- PLUS: A booklet featuring a new essay by Molly Haskell, an excerpt from costume designer Georges Annenkov's 1962 book Max Ophuls, and the source novel, Madame de, by Louise de Vilmorin
It was her vanity that destroyed her.
In France of the late 19th century, a wealthy general's beautiful wife - Madame de.. (her name is never said in full) - sells the earrings her husband gave her on their wedding day to pay off debts. She claims to have lost them, but her husband quickly learns of the deceit, which is the beginning of many tragic misunderstandings, all involving the earrings, the general, the countess... and her new lover (an Italian diplomat).
Arguably French master Max Ophüls's most cherished work, THE EARRINGS OF MADAM DE... is an emotionally profound, cinematographically adventurous tale of false opulence and tragic romance. When the aristocratic woman known only as Madame de (the extraordinary Danielle Darrieux) sells her earrings in order to pay personal debts (unbeknownst to her husband), she sets off a chain reaction, the financial and carnal consequences of which can only end in despair.
Director Ophüls adapts Louise de Vilmorin's sharp and famous 1951 novel with virtuosic camera work so elegant and precise it’s been called the equal to that of Orson Welles. What is particularly brilliant about the film is the way Ophüls constantly draws attention to this improbable plot device, to allow a distanced and unmoralistic meditation on actions and their consequences.
In France of the late 19th century, a wealthy general's beautiful wife - Madame de.. (her name is never said in full) - sells the earrings her husband gave her on their wedding day to pay off debts. She claims to have lost them, but her husband quickly learns of the deceit, which is the beginning of many tragic misunderstandings, all involving the earrings, the general, the countess... and her new lover (an Italian diplomat).
Arguably French master Max Ophüls's most cherished work, THE EARRINGS OF MADAM DE... is an emotionally profound, cinematographically adventurous tale of false opulence and tragic romance. When the aristocratic woman known only as Madame de (the extraordinary Danielle Darrieux) sells her earrings in order to pay personal debts (unbeknownst to her husband), she sets off a chain reaction, the financial and carnal consequences of which can only end in despair.
Director Ophüls adapts Louise de Vilmorin's sharp and famous 1951 novel with virtuosic camera work so elegant and precise it’s been called the equal to that of Orson Welles. What is particularly brilliant about the film is the way Ophüls constantly draws attention to this improbable plot device, to allow a distanced and unmoralistic meditation on actions and their consequences.
Criterion
presents
Danielle DarrieuxCharles BoyerVittorio De SicaJean DebucourtJean GallandMireille PerreyPaul AzaisHubert NoelLia Di LeoGerard BuhrMadeleine Barbulee"Earrings Of Madame De, The: The Criterion Collection"
Written byAnnette WademantWritten byMarcel AchardWritten byMax Ophulsproduced byRalph Baum
directed byMax Ophuls
Production Year: 1953
Written byAnnette WademantWritten byMarcel AchardWritten byMax Ophulsproduced byRalph Baum
directed byMax Ophuls
Production Year: 1953
Details are based on information from various sources. We do everything we can to keep them as accurate as possible. However, errors occur so use this information at your own risk and remember to check the product itself before buying.
Average user rating (1-5):
Not yet rated.
Not yet rated.
[release]24652[/release]