Lola Montez (1955) ( The Fall of Lola Montes ) ( The Sins of Lola Montes )

Lola Montez (1955) (DVD) (*)

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Original Title: The Fall of Lola Montes
Alternate Title: The Sins of Lola Montes
Language Selections:
English ( Dolby Digital 2.0 )
French ( Dolby Digital 2.0 )
German ( Dolby Digital 2.0 )
Spanish ( Dolby Digital 2.0 )
Spanish ( Subtitles )

Product Origin/Format:
Spain ( PAL/Region 2 )

Running Time:
115 min

Aspect Ratio:
Anamorphic Widescreen (1.78:1)

Special Features:
Filmographies
Interactive Menu
Scene Access

Movie filmed in 1955 and produced in:
France ( France, Benelux )
Germany ( Germany, Central Europe )

Directed By:
Max Ophüls

Written By:
Cécil Saint-Laurent
Annette Wademant

Actors:
Martine Carol ..... Lola Montes
Peter Ustinov ..... Circus Master
Anton Walbrook ..... Ludwig I, King of Bavaria
Henri Guisol ..... Horseman Maurice
Lise Delamare ..... Mrs. Craigie, Lola's mother
Paulette Dubost ..... Josephine, The maid
Oskar Werner ..... Student
Jean Galland ..... Private Secretary
Will Quadflieg ..... Franz Liszt
Héléna Manson ..... Lieutenant James' Sister (as Helena Manson)
Germaine Delbat ..... Stewardess
Carl Esmond ..... Doctor (as Willy Eichberger)
Jacques Fayet ..... Steward
Friedrich Domin ..... Circus Manager
Werner Finck ..... Wisböck, The artist

Synopsis:

Max Ophuls' final film (and his only movie in color) is a cinematic tour-de-force masquerading as a biography, in this case a dazzling fictionalized life of the notorious 19th century dancer, actress, and courtesan. A still beautiful, but weary and disillusioned (and, as we later discover, ailing) Lola Montes (Martine Carol) is first seen as the featured attraction at a seedy American circus, appearing at the center of a series of various tableaux depicting the scandalous events for which she is known. With a strangely sincere yet sinister and manipulative ringmaster (Peter Ustinov) providing color commentary, some of it very ironic on two or more levels, the movie flows between these staged recreations in the circus and the events as recalled by the subject. In a series of dissolves, the film takes us through her girlhood with her mother, interrupted when her mother's lover (Ivan Desni) becomes attached to the daughter; her unhappy marriage and its aftermath; romances with composer Franz Liszt (Will Quadflieg), abduction by a Russian general (in the arms of Cossacks, no less); her affairs across the landscape of Europe with men great and notable; her thwarted aspirations as a dancer; and her romance with King Ludwig I (Anton Walbrook) of Bavaria, which led to her being made Countess of Landsfeld, and, later, to his abdication. The gracefulness of Ophuls' cyclical narrative, and the transitions between the recalled elegance of the locales, and the people with whom her romances and affairs took place, and the seediness of the circus -- where she is also compelled, in the course of performing, to perform as an aerialist -- were lost on viewers in 1955. And for many years the movie only existed in a version re-cut without the director's approval, in which the story was presented in linear fashion. It was only in the 1960's, long after Ophuls' death, that efforts were made to restore the original structure, and in 2008 the movie's original Technicolor luster was restored to its full depth and richness.

Max Ophuls' final work was released to great controversy in 1955. The style was not what audiences were expecting and critics were polarised in their reviews, seeing it as either incomprehensible or a masterpiece. The latter camp were joined by the likes of Jean Cocteau, Roberto Rossellini, Jacques Tati and Francois Truffaut. Renowned critic Andrew Sarris would later hail it as 'the greatest film of all time'. Today the film is widely viewed as not only the director's greatest work but one of cinema's.

For this highly acclaimed restoration, which began work in 2006, rights holder Laurence Braunberger and La Cinematheque Francaise decided to recreate the original edit of the film. Using various elements and the latest digital techniques the dazzling beauty and vibrant colour of Lola Montes was brought lovingly back to life and presented at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival. Raptuously received it takes its place as one of the great cinematic restorations of a 'lost' masterpiece.

This product was added to our catalog on Saturday 13 June, 2020.