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DVD Mr. Klein
How can state-sponsored bigotry destroy the life of an "ordinary" citizen, one whose heritage should exempt him from such policies? The eponymous Mr. Klein (Alain Delon), a suave, single, wealthy Parisian art dealer, finds out. It's 1942, the Nazis have occupied Paris, and Jews are being arrested and shipped to Germany. The lucky ones obtain false passports and flee the country. Robert Klein, whose family has been "French and Catholic since Louis XIV," is taking advantage of the situation by buying up Jewish family heirlooms at rock-bottom prices. Then one morning a Jewish newspaper appears on his doorstep, addressed to Robert Klein. The fact that he received mail intended for another Parisian Robert Klein--this one a Jew--must be a simple mistake. But is it?
Mr. Klein becomes obsessed with finding his Jewish alter ego, finally falling into a trap from which it is impossible to escape. Directed by Joseph Losey, who confronted prejudice in The Boy with Green Hair, and written by Franco Solinas, coauthor with Costa-Gavras of such classics of political intrigue as State of Siege, Mr. Klein is haunting and suspenseful: an exciting thriller with real substance. --Laura Mirsky
Mr. Klein is a bitter tale about an exquisite marchand, in the middle of the war. Suddenly he's caught for burocratic mistake for other Klein from jew ascendence . This is the dramatic focus of this dark picture. Joseph Losey once more swims in his favorite theme : the cruelty and moral decline in the nazi environment. Delon makes a magnificent performance as the disturbed Mr. Klein. The ending is unforgettable! Acquire this jewel.
A beautiful film made by genuises
Joseph Losey entered college at Dartmouth at age 16, went on to be a successful stage director, and then headed off to Europe before McCarthy could summon him. He is known as an international director. And to this day he is greatly overlooked. Thank god for the release of MONSIEUR KLEIN.
This is a film made by a genius, assisted by geniuses. I still can't believe this film was made in 1976! The look of it is extraordinary, with brilliant cinematography by Gerry Fisher (who photographed 7 films for Losey), and art direction by Alexander Trauner. With a script by Franco Solinas, who also wrote the powerful THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS, MR KLEIN is a film that doesn't explain itself, or hit you over the head with a philosophy, or message. Delon is incredible, as he is in Losey's other, much less graceful ASSASSINATION OF TROTSKY, although Delon is striking, and you would be pressed to not look at him. His face is amazing in this film, as it captures the confusion, bewilderment of the character as he is stripped of his identity. This film is atmospheric and dreamy.
This is a must for any serious film enthusiast. THE SERVANT should be next, then ACCIDENT, THE GO-BETWEEN, and the rest of Losey's oeuvre. Great books on Losey are Conversations with Losey by Michel Ciment and Joseph Losey by David Caute. Incredibly insightful and informative.
GREAT FILM/ EXCELLENT DVD
For those who have seen all of Joseph Losey's significant films, MR. KLEIN is the greatest after THE SERVANT. Some even call MR. KLEIN Losey's finest achievement. It's telling of our fragmented film culture that such an accomplished work of art remains unknown, even to many serious film buffs. For years, we had to settle for an English-dubbed, panned & scanned VHS tape. But the greatness of MR. KLEIN showed through even that medium.
Now the film is available on a high-quality DVD from Home Vision (which manufactures Criterion DVDs). The transfer is very fine, with the broad color pallette ringing out. And the widescreen aspect of the film can be appreciated by many who have never seen it look so good.
MR. KLEIN is a work of which its director should have been proud. It's intelligent, intriguing, moving, funny, and beautiful. Like THE SERVANT, it has at its center an ambiguous hero by whom one is, at turns, repelled and attracted.
This may also be the greatest acting achievement of Alain Delon. The charismatic French actor's still-stunning good looks sometimes can distract from appreciating his genuine talent. Delon probably never gave a bad performance in any film. But MR. KLEIN provides him with a wide range and depth that he is more than capable of handling. It's mostly a quiet performance, with few outbursts. Delon is required to react, which he does brilliantly at several points, or to express the meaning of scene through posture and facial expression alone. One subtle example is the scene early on, where the mistress is on the bed in the background, wondering if she should get up. Delon is seated at his desk, half-listening to her trivialities. He has far more pressing issues on his mind. The actor perfectly conveys the ambivalent, trapped situation through small body gestures and tone of voice. When he finally rises to address the mistress's concerns, his forced tone is also exactly right for the moment. Later, Delon plays Klein's mixture of desperation and arrogance with so much conviction, it's easy to forget he is, after all, acting.
MR. KLEIN is a film of rich interiors, and eye-catching, but not ostentatious, location shooting. It looks tremendous on DVD and it can leave the viewer devastated, but undeniably impressed by the genius of Joseph Losey and Alain Delon.
With this magnificent Criterion DVD release, Luchino Visconti's 1963 historical drama The Leopard will finally earn widespread recognition as one of the most beautiful epics ever produced. In adapting the popular novel by Giuseppe Tomassi di Lampedusa (an Italian equivalent to Gone with the Wind, set during the tumultuous Garibaldi revolution of 1860-62), Visconti was initially reluctant to cast Burt Lancaster as the melancholy Prince of Salina--the aging aristocrat "leopard" of the title--who accepts change as inevitable during the struggle for a unified Italy. But Lancaster (even with his voice dubbed in the fully restored Italian release) delivered one of his finest performances, modeled after Visconti himself, and reacting to political and familial upheavals with the... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Burt Lancaster DVD Release Date: Released the 08 June 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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This 1966 masterpiece by Michelangelo Antonioni (The Passenger) is set in the heady atmosphere of Swinging London, and stars David Hemmings as an unsmiling fashion photographer hooked on ephemeral meaning attached to anything: art, sex, work, relationships, drugs, events. When a real mystery falls into his lap, he probes the evidence for some reliable truth, but finds it hard to reckon with. Vanessa Redgrave plays an enigmatic woman whose desperation to cover something up only seems like one more phenomenon in Hemmings's disinterested purview. This is one of the key films of the decade, and still an unsettling and lasting experience. --Tom KeoghMore Info about this DVD Actor(s): Vanessa Redgrave - David Hemmings Director(s): Michelangelo Antonioni DVD Release Date: Released the 17 February 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Consistently cited by critics worldwide as one of the greatest films ever made, Jean Renoir's bittersweet drama of life, love, class, and the social code of manners and behavior ("the rules of the game") is a savage critique undertaken with sensitivity and compassion. Renoir's catch-phrase through the film, "Everyone has their reasons," develops a multilayered meaning by the conclusion. A young aviator (Roland Toutain) commits a serious social faux pas by alluding to an affair on national radio. To avert a scandal, the cultured Robert de la Chesnaye (Marcel Dalio), husband to the aviator's mistress, Christine (Nora Gregor), and a philanderer in his own right, invites all to a weekend hunting party in his country mansion. The complicated maze of marriages and mistresses (social register... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Nora Gregor - Marcel Dalio Director(s): Jean Renoir DVD Release Date: Released the 20 January 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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There is one thing that the French do better than almost any country, they produce first class cinema. Le Corbeau (The Raven) is no exception. Director Henri-Georges Clouzot makes a fine film from a popular novel about real poison pen strife in Tulane France during Vichy France in the early 40's.
The first thing an American would notice about the film, there are references, nay, there are actual scenes of passion and sex, clothed, but obvious between Pierre Fresnay of the pencil mustache and Ginette Leclerc of the lacquered lips in a 1943 film. It's subdued, and the biting of the hand scene is a little pulpy, but these folks want to do it. Americans would have to wait for Bogart and Bacall before they got some steam.
