{"id":20051,"date":"2020-02-21T13:28:15","date_gmt":"2020-02-21T21:28:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=20051"},"modified":"2020-02-21T13:28:15","modified_gmt":"2020-02-21T21:28:15","slug":"blasts-from-the-past-blu-ray-review-manon-1949","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=20051","title":{"rendered":"Blasts from the Past! Blu-ray Review: MANON (1949)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The following disc is available February 25th<\/sup> from\nArrow Academy (www.arrowvideo.com \u2013 www.facebook.com\/ArrowVideo\/) as a\nSpecial Edition Blu-ray.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Henri-Georges\nClouzot was an incredibly well-respected French writer and director whose work\nhas been praised by cinema experts for more than 50 years. He\u2019s perhaps best\nknown in this part of the world for classics like The Wages of Fear<\/em> (1953)\nand Diabolique<\/em> (1955). Still, many of his other titles are just as well respected.\nOne such example is Manon<\/em> (1949), an adaptation of the 1731 Antoine\nFran\u00e7ois Pr\u00e9vostnovel, Manon Lescaut<\/em>. While the source material might\nlead some to believe that this earlier drama from Clouzot might not have much\nin common with his later, grittier work, but that couldn\u2019t be farther from the\ntruth.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This week,\nArrow Academy are putting out Manon<\/em> on Blu-ray. As with the distributor\u2019s\nother titles, the high definition presentation of the movie looks spectacular.\nThe images here are not only sharp and clean, but consistently striking in\ncomposition. And the disc comes with plenty of extras that will help new enthusiasts\nget a sense of what Clouzot was interested in and what he was trying to\naccomplish. The movie received raves during its original release, winning the\nGolden Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 1949. And one can understand why, as\nIt\u2019s certainly a remarkably effective film and one that will offer cinema fans\nwith plenty to enjoy and analyze. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It becomes\nclear right away that while using a classic novel as its source material, the story\nupdates the setting to what would have been a modern era and features characters\nwith contemporary sensibilities. Set at the close of WWII, stowaways Robert\nDesgrieux (Michel Auclair) and Manon Lescaut (C\u00e9cile Aubry) are arrested aboard\na barge travelling east on the Mediterranean Sea among a group of Jewish refugees.\nThe ship\u2019s captain (Henri Vilbert) interviews the couple as they explain why\nthey\u2019ve hastily left their homeland. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Their tale\nbegins with young French resistance fighter Robert being assigned to guard Manon.\nShe is a woman accused of fraternizing with her Nazi occupiers. He quickly falls\nfor her charms and the two escape a local mob. They try to make a new life for\nthemselves in Paris with Manon\u2019s brother, L\u00e9on Lescaut (Serge Reggiani). Unfortunately,\nit\u2019s a tumultuous relationship, times are tough, and all involved are out to survive\nin a country struggling to recover from the war. The young and materialistic Manon\nbecomes frustrated with Robert\u2019s inability to make money and her brother encourages\nhis sister into prostitution (taking a cut for himself in the process). This\nleads to all kinds of conflict between the three that results in tragedy.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This is\ncertainly a melodramatic piece, with the leads veering from proclamations of\nlove and adoration to volatile fights and spiteful behavior. In fact, the\ncharacters in the movie aren\u2019t particularly nice or sympathetic, consistently\ntreating each other quite poorly. While it makes some of their behavior a bit difficult\nto process, Clouzot\u2019s approach actually ends up helping the film tremendously.\nThis could have been a corny, straight-forward drama filled with the usual histrionics.\nHowever, the director makes sure never to give away too much information about\nhis characters, forcing viewers to interpret their actions and come to their own\ninterpretations of their motivations. As such, Robert and Manon are\nunpredictable, drawing viewers in as one studies their expressions to get a\nsense of what they might be thinking. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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One thing is certain. It\u2019s a harsh and unforgiving world in Clouzot\u2019s eyes and both of the leads are deeply flawed people (not unlike the protagonists in the filmmaker\u2019s other works). Manon is opportunistic and materialistic. It\u2019s also never revealed whether or not she was guilty of the charges (although based on her actions, one assumes that she likely did whatever she could with the enemy to survive). Robert definitely falls into the obsessive type, furious with jealousy at his lady\u2019s infidelities yet, unwilling to leave her or allow her to abandon him. These are very abnormal protagonists and there is plenty of fascinating drama on display. The lead performers are also very capable in their parts, making their characters fascinating to watch as we wait for a possible train-wreck to occur.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The movie is a technical delight, gorgeously photographed in\nblack and white. There are some creative camera angles on display, including some\noverhead shots of the leads on the boat as well as images of them among crumbling\nbuildings in a French village. When the story takes a turn and follows the protagonists\nwalking with refugees through the scorching deserts of Palestine, there are even\nmore incredible and almost surreal images. Some of the final revelations and\nuse of sand during the climax are memorable and feature inventive arrangements\nof cast members within the frame. All of this is helped significantly by the\nnew high definition presentation of the film. The images look crystal clear,\nmaking these sights pop more vibrantly onscreen than ever before. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Overall, this is a very good movie that may be a bit more eccentric\nthan The Wages of Fear<\/em> or Diabolique<\/em>, but still has plenty of the\nartist\u2019s trademarks. And the Blu-ray also includes some great bonus features to\nhelp decode the film. The first features critic Geoff Andrew discussing Clouzot\u2019s\nearly life and career. There are plenty of curious tidbits. The expert even\nsuggests that the artist\u2019s suffered from poor health and his numerous illnesses\nmay have led to a sour world view. He goes over the man\u2019s career and the varied\ntitles he directed, noting the surprisingly misanthropic elements that are\npresent in all of his work. Andrew also marvels at the skill in making grim pictures\nthat were still appealing to mass audiences (many of his features were box\noffice hits). The historian certainly helps to clarify some of the ideas and\nthemes being toyed with onscreen in the picture.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There\u2019s also an archival French documentary on the director.\nMade in 1970, it is essentially a series of conversations between the filmmakers,\nClouzot, his wife, and the subject\u2019s friends. He discusses his influences and childhood\npassion for the stories of Alexandre Dumas and Jules Verne. Besides a lengthy\nand impressive series of book recommendations, the filmmaker shares his\ninterest in American fiction and jokes about a psychoanalysis treatment which\nended with his provider suggesting that he not continue the process of resolving\nhis psychological problems, ultimately fearing that doing so would limit his\ncreativity\u2026 Clouzot agreed and never resumed with the therapy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also describes his creative process, his experiences in\nthe industry and discusses the differences with storytelling using film and the\nwritten word. The creator comes across as remarkably relaxed and appears to be\nenjoying himself. All around are smoking like chimneys, surrounded by sidestream\nsmoke and wafting fumes as they discuss the arts. It\u2019s fun to watch. The disc\nalso comes with a series of still and promotional images that accompanied the\nfilm\u2019s release.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Manon<\/em> is a fascinating feature and a great addition to\nArrow Academy\u2019s catalog of classic films. The movie looks spectacular and the\nextras are equally enlightening, helping viewers get inside the head of the\ncreator of so many great features. This Blu-ray is another winner and won that\nwill impress those with an interest in Henri-Georges Clouzot and his cinematic work.\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The following disc is available February 25th from Arrow Academy (www.arrowvideo.com \u2013 www.facebook.com\/ArrowVideo\/) as a Special Edition Blu-ray. Henri-Georges Clouzot was an incredibly well-respected French writer and director whose work has been praised by cinema experts for more than 50 years. He\u2019s perhaps best known in this part of the world for classics like The Wages of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":20060,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[79,2917,2923,2928,2949,3067,3073,3295,4041,4540,6251,7058,7798,8466,9071,9072,13055,13056,13057,13058,13059,13060,13672,13852,18043,22825,23707,24534],"class_list":["post-20051","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dvdblu-ray-reviews","tag-79","tag-blast-from-the-past","tag-blasts-from-the-past","tag-blasts-from-the-past-blu-ray-review","tag-blasts-from-the-past-blu-ray-reviews","tag-blu-ray","tag-blu-ray-review","tag-book-adaptation","tag-cecile-aubry","tag-clouzot","tag-drama","tag-escape","tag-france","tag-golden-lion","tag-henri-vilbert","tag-henri-georges-clouzot","tag-manon","tag-manon-blu-ray-review","tag-manon-film-review","tag-manon-lescaut","tag-manon-movie-review","tag-manon-review","tag-melodrama","tag-michel-auclair","tag-serge-reggiani","tag-thriller","tag-venice","tag-wwii"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20051","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20051"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20051\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20051"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20051"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20051"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}