Le Plaisir (1952)

Three separate stories about the same thing: le plaisir (pleasure).

Director:

Max Ophüls

Writers:

Guy de Maupassant (stories), Jacques Natanson (adaptation)

Stars:

Jean Gabin, Danielle Darrieux, Simone Simon

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Claude Dauphin	...	Le docteur (segment "Le Masque")
Gaby Morlay	...	Denise - la femme d"Ambroise (segment "Le Masque")
Madeleine Renaud	...	Julia Tellier (segment "La Maison Tellier")
Ginette Leclerc	...	Madame Flora dite Balançoire (segment "La Maison Tellier")
Mila Parély	...	Madame Raphaële (segment "La Maison Tellier") (as Mila Parely)
Danielle Darrieux	...	Madame Rosa (segment "La Maison Tellier")
Pierre Brasseur	...	Julien Ledentu - Le commis-voyageur (segment "La Maison Tellier")
Jean Gabin	...	Joseph Rivet (segment "La Maison Tellier")
Jean Servais	...	L'ami de Jean / La voix de Maupassant (segment "Le Modèle")
Daniel Gélin	...	Jean, le peintre (segment "Le Modèle") (as Daniel Gelin)
Simone Simon	...	Joséphine - le modèle (segment "Le Modèle")
Amédée	...	Frédéric - le serveur (segment "La Maison Tellier")
Paul Azaïs	...	Le patron du bal (segment "Le Masque")
Antoine Balpêtré	...	Monsieur Poulain - L'ancien maire (segment "La Maison Tellier") (as Balpétré)
René Blancard	...	Le maire (segment "La Maison Tellier")

Storyline

Three stories about pleasure. The first one is about a man hiding his age behind a mask to keep going to balls and fancying women, pleasure and youth. Then comes the long tale of Julia Tellier (Madeleine Renaud) taking her girls (whores) to the country for attending her niece's communion, pleasure and purity. And lastly, Jean (Daniel Gélin) the painter falling in love with his model, pleasure and death.

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Plot Keywords:

pleasure | painter | niece | model | mask | 

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Taglines:

Three intimate tales by GUY de MAUPASSANT about people who live the way people shouldn't!

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French English

Release Date:

19 May 1954 (USA)

Also Known As:

Le Plaisir

Filming Locations:

Clécy, Calvados, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Compagnie Commerciale Française Cinématographique (CCFC), Stera Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Stanley Kubrick's favorite movie (as of 1957).

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Goofs

As the children parade in during the first communion sequence, half of an actor's mustache falls off. He sticks it back on as the camera pans him out of frame.

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Quotes

Joséphine - le modèle (segment "Le Modèle"): I don't want your money or your letter or your goodbye! I won't be treated like a tart! It wasn't I who ran after you. You begged me, and you took me, so now keep me.

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Alternate Versions

An American release switches the last two stories, and ends with "La Maison Tellier" instead of "Le Modèle".

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Connections

Referenced in Les échos du cinéma: Episode #1.3 (1961)

User Reviews

Illuminated by genius.

It has been rightly claimed that, between 1945 and 1955, Max Ophuls was the greatest director in the world, crafting a string of dense pearls unmatched before or since. Even 'Le Plaisir', supposedly a minor film in his canon would be a staggering masterpiece in anyone else's.

A triptych of Guy de Maupassant stories, it is also about a trio of Gods. The first two are shown to be limited: Maupassant, author, creator, narrator, speaks to us from the darkness, disembodied, all pervasive ('I could be sitting next to you'), responsible for everything we see - in the last story he crashes down to earth, and is responsible for a suicide attempt; and Ophuls' camera, seemingly weightless, able to navigate space with a freedom unavailable to humans - even it is barred from Madame Tellier's Establishment, forced to peek in from outside. It can reveal the bleak reality behind the prostitutes' gaiety, but is has no access, like the men who exploit them, to their souls.

Or does it? The stunning epiphany at the church, is, after all, on one level just a trick of the camera, or a mere figment of the women's imagination. As we would expect, the camerawork, composition, decor, music and acting are breathtaking and ambiguously nostalgic; what is more remarkable is the magic sense of nature, so rare in Ophuls, and, with the exception of the Archers, King Vidor and Lynne Ramsey, so rare in cinema.