Review of Lola Montès (1955) by Scott S — 31 Dec 2009
A ravishing and boldly conceptual film that takes the idea of 'media circus' and makes it literal - the titular montes has had more lovers than can be imagined, ranging from musical geniuses to royalty.
outcast from her lavish life, her last resort is to have her story reenacted nightly as a garish circus act, which flashes back from the circus (brilliantly emcee'd by peter ustinov) to the real events in her scandalous life.
from max ophuls, who also directed the lavish and complicated 'earring of madame de..' I saw the recently restored french version, which restored the film to the director's vision using recently discovered footage.
the film was shot in three languages simultaneously, and each version of the film reportedly affects the performances in interesting ways. also features brilliant use of cinemascope and technicolor - carefully plotted palettes for each period of her life, and innovative use of the large screen real estate - ophuls would simply block off part of the image for more intimate scenes not requiring widescreen.
one to watch again, and study.
This review of Lola Montès (1955) was written by Scott S on 31 Dec 2009.
Lola Montès has generally received positive reviews.
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