In 1964, legendary French filmmaker Henri-Georges Clouzot began work on one of the most ambitious projects of his career. The imaginative tale, following the tribulations of a jealous hotelier (Reggiani) and his beautiful wife (Schneider) enticed investors, and the project was given an unlimited budget and Clouzot was awarded free rein to achieve his vision.
But the would-be masterpiece was not to be, and the production was plagued by problems from the off. The notoriously difficult Clouzot dragged his heels over tiny details and shrugged off deadlines. Lead actor Serge Reggiani called quits and walked away from the production midway into filming, and as if to hammer the final nail in the coffin, Clouzot was struck down by a heart attack in the middle of a shoot. After three weeks of shooting, and countless hours of test filming; the project was aborted and the existing footage, heralded as magnificent, remained largely unseen.
It wasnt until decades later that the spotlight would once again fall on Clouzots unrealised masterpiece. Directors Serge Bromberg and Ruxandra Medrea have painstakingly crafted together a new film, one that gathers the remnants of Clouzots efforts and grants us considerable insight into the project.
Original footage is shown to us as it was shot, giving us as close an insight into Clouzots initial vision as possible. The directors original script is granted new life courtesy of reconstructive read-throughs by French actors Jacques Gamblin and Berenice Bejo. And, the drama that unfolded behind the lens is presented to us in a series of illuminating interviews with surviving cast and crew members, detailing the difficult production and its eccentric director.
Bromberg and Medrea have to be commended for their meticulous efforts here. This isnt just a simple retrospective on the doomed production, but one that goes out of its way to genuinely bring new life to it. Countless hours of existing footage have been sorted through, delivering the best possible account of the script through the use of suitable rushes and screen tests. The films original soundtrack, unusable alongside the visuals, is largely restored by other means; be it from original sound tests or the new performances courtesy of Gamblin and Bejo.
Its the screen tests that are most exciting though. A great deal of Clouzots vision for the film lay in its unusual imagery, often dreamlike, sometimes nightmarish and always innovative. In order to achieve these groundbreaking visuals, Clouzot and his seasoned team spent weeks experimenting with then new technologies and ingenious techniques, the result being some startling and memorable moving images that stands head and shoulders above what youd expect of the era.
Overall Verdict: Henri-Georges Clouzots Inferno finally reaches a kind of fruition in this illuminating documentary that not only pieces together the stunning fragments of ill fated film, but chronicles the impossible vision of one of French cinemas greats.
Special Features:
Theatrical Trailer
Making of
Director Interview
Photo Gallery
Park Circus Trailers
Reviewer: David Steele