L'enfer d'Henri-Georges Clouzot (2009)

Directors:

Serge Bromberg
Ruxandra Medrea

Writer:

Serge Bromberg (written by)

Release Date:

6 November 2009 (UK)

Genre:

Documentary

Plot Keywords:

Film In Film

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Romy Schneider	...	Odette (archive footage)
Bérénice Bejo	...	Odette
Serge Reggiani	...	Marcel (archive footage)
Jacques Gamblin	...	Marcel
Dany Carrel	...	Marylou (archive footage)
Jean-Claude Bercq	...	Martineau (archive footage)
Mario David	...	Julien (archive footage)
André Luguet	...	Duhamel (archive footage)
Maurice Garrel	...	Dr. Arnoux (archive footage)
Catherine Allégret	...	Yvette / Herself - Interviewee (also archive footage)
Barbara Sommers	...	Mme Bordure (archive footage)
Maurice Teynac	...	M. Bordure (archive footage)
Henri Virlojeux	...	L'homme sur la terrasse (archive footage)
Blanchette Brunoy	...	Clotilde (archive footage)
Henri-Georges Clouzot	...	Himself (archive footage)

Also Known As:

Henri-George Clouzot's Inferno (International: English title)
Inferno (International: English title) (short title)

Runtime:

102 min | Canada:94 min (Toronto International Film Festival) | Argentina:94 min (Mar del Plata Film Festival)

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Black and White | Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

UK:15 | Argentina:13

Company:

Lobster Films

maybe someone else one day will have another go

A most interesting film surrounding the making of Clouzot's unfinished, Inferno. Abandoned in 1964 ostensibly due to the director's heart attack, a substantial amount of filming remains and much use has been made of the original footage. Intended as a film about a husband's obsessive jealousy over his wife's apparent philandering, it seems Clouzot became himself obsessed. The b/w footage appears to have some promise but is without soundtrack so hard to judge, but no the real interest here is the experimental reels. Determined to make a film like no other, Clouzot recruited any number of technicians and artists to help create devices to give him surreal or psychedelic affects. Along the way the director has clearly fallen for the lovely Romy Schneider who for instance spent four days with a camera close up on her lips whilst exhaling cigarette smoke and wearing various colours of lipstick, including blue. Valuable as an insight into the attempted making of Inferno but a little frustrating in that it asks more questions than it answers, like the true mental state of the director and why nobody else might have carried on. It is possible that a lot was left out here because Clouzot's widow was to have last say on the film but it would be nice to know and maybe someone else one day will have another go, there seems enough footage.