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                             Le Plaisir (1952)
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STARS...........: Claude Dauphin, Madeleine Renaud, Daniel Gelin
DIRECTOR........: Max Ophuls
WRITERS.........: Max Ophuls, Jacques Natanson, Guy de Maupassant (stories)
GENRE...........: Comedy, Drama, Romance
IMDB............: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045034
RUNTIME.........: 1h 37mn
SIZE............: 4.95 GB
VIDEO CODEC.....: HEVC (Main10@L4)
BITRATE.........: 7000 Kbps (2-pass)
RESOLUTION......: 1440x1080
ASPECT RATIO....: 1.33:1
FRAMERATE.......: 23.976 fps
AUDIO1..........: French FLAC 1.0
AUDIO2..........: Commentary by writer/critic Adrian Martin
SUBTITLES.......: ENG
SOURCE..........: Arrow Blu-ray, Criterion DVD, Director's Suite DVD
ENCODE DATE.....: 2022-03-18


Roving with his dazzlingly mobile camera around the decadent ballrooms, bucolic countryside retreats, urban bordellos, and painter's studios of late nineteenth-century French life, Max Ophuls brings his astonishing visual dexterity and storytelling bravura to this triptych of tales by Guy de Maupassant about the limits of spiritual and physical pleasure. Featuring a stunning cast of French stars (including Danielle Darrieux, Jean Gabin, and Simone Simon), Le plaisir pinpoints the cruel ironies and happy compromises of life with a charming and sophisticated breeziness.


Extras

• A Journey Through Le Plaisir, a 54-minute documentary by Philippe Roger featuring interviews with cast and crew, and a visit of the film s locations fifty years on.
• Diary of a Film Shoot, an interview with Ophuls assistant director, Jean Valerie.
• An interview with Marcel Ophuls, the filmmaker son of Max.
• Le Plaisir Restored, Ronald Boullet and Andre Labbouz discuss the restoration process.
• Theatrical trailer
• Introduction by filmmaker Todd Haynes. (Criterion)
• English and German-language versions of the opening narration. (Criterion)
• From Script to Screen, a video essay featuring film scholar Jean-Pierre Berthomé discussing the evolution of Max Ophuls’s screenplay for Le plaisir. (Criterion)
• Interviews with actor Daniel Gélin, assistant director Tony Aboyantz, and set decorator Robert Christidès. (Criterion)
• Commentary by writer/critic Adrian Martin. [Director's Suite DVD]