| Delphine Seyrig | A |
| Giorgio Albertazzi | X |
| Sacha Pitoeff | M |
| Francoise Spira | |
| Pierre Barbaud | |
| Françoise Bertin | |
| Wilhelm von Deek | |
| Luce Garcia-Ville | |
| Helena Kornel | |
| Jean Lanier | |
| Gerard Lorin | |
| Gilles Queant |
| Alain Resnais | Director |
| Jasmine Chasney | Editor |
| Henri Colpi | Editor |
| Pierre Courau | Producer |
| Bernard Evein | Costumes/Costume Designer |
| Raymond Froment | Producer |
| André Girard | Musical Direction/Supervision |
| Georges Glon | Set Decoration/Design |
| Alexandre Marcus | Makeup |
| Alain Robbe-Grillet | Screenwriter |
| Jacques Saulnier | Production Designer |
| Francis Seyrig | Score Composer |
| Sacha Vierny | Cinematographer |
seenafterscene
Posted October 1, 2010
Without getting to nostalgic, I will say that this was one of my early discoveries and later, while a student in college, I was given the unique opportunity to guest lecture my own class on the topic of the lesser known "Left Bank" of the French New Wave movement, its film director Alain Resnais, and this film specifically.
I will spare you the lecture, but suffice to say, it has had an important impact on me, continues to delight me, and I tend to notice something "new" almost every time I watch it.
This is puzzling & confusing "almost to the point of incomprehension," as one critic coined the phrase (though that well-known film critic was talking about "The Big Sleep.")
This film has been out-of-print for several years, and as to be expected from Criterion, the print (which also was my first exposure to Criterion in Blu-Ray format) is immaculate. The old (long OOP) print of Fox Lorber was adequate, but this is stunning. Of course, as to be expected from any Criterion release, the bonus material is fantastic.
All that said, this is NOT for the casual viewer. Its constant jumps from past to present, and constantly shifting "perspectives" are likely to simply annoy, bore, or disinterest even today's viewers who are more commonly accustomed to unconventional narrative structure, and even those fans of more famous French New Wave of Godard, Truffaut, etc.
All that said, this is a one-of-a-kind, highly challenging, divisive, and discussion-starting films of all time. It is a one-of-a-kind experience.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.The only thing I knew about this film was Delphine Seyrig's hairstyle (which turned out to have been improvised at the last minute to cover up a last-minute change she had made to her hairstyle -- Resnais's vision of her character was that she'd have a Louise Brooks bob), which became big in the 60's. I was born in '61, the year it came out, so I can be forgiven for that. Watching the film, I now see why people raved about it. A previous reviewer described the camera techniques (which would influence Kubrick's THE SHINING, Nolan's MEMENTO, and Crowe's VANILLA SKY) much better than I ever could, so this review will concentrate on other aspects of the film.
Like, for instance, that the haunting music (which probably ended up influencing many thrillers) was composed by Seyrig's brother Francis -- after Resnais's first choice Messiaen turned him down. Or that the film was supposed to have been a collaboration with French modernist author Alain Robbe-Grillet, Resnais's interpretation of the script would result in the allegedly dissatisfied author dissing the film. Or that it was filmed in three different Baroque palaces (none actually IN Marienbad), with the harmony of the architectural style and the filming in black and white allowing Resnais to get away with piecing together scenes from different locations with us none the wiser, as smoothly as Seyrig's bob. In fact, some scenes would be very difficult to film because the actors and camera crew would have to work around some extremely priceless interiors without leaving so much as a scratch. I found it amazing that they were able to pull it off.
The two short films, the first in black and white, the second in color, are:
"Toute la memoire du monde", from 1956, about the Bibliotheque Nationale (the Paris Library), in which Resnais demonstrates that the same labyrinthian camera style he would use for the corridor scenes in MARIENBAD worked just as well in revealing the back rooms and shelving complex of a building that was being added on to vertically and equipped with what was then considered state-of-the-art technology to preserve not just books, but rare prints and even maps as well.
"Le chant du styrene", from 1958, filmed in the Pechiney polystyrene factory, features abstract groupings of Pechiney products, all in the colors that were popular at the time (some of which are reappearing today, thanks to the retro trend inspired by MAD MEN).
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