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Le Plaisir

Original title: Le plaisir
  • 19521952
  • Not RatedNot Rated
  • 1h 37m
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
4.8K
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Le plaisir (1952)
  • Comedy
  • Drama
  • Romance
Three separate stories about the same thing: le plaisir (pleasure).Three separate stories about the same thing: le plaisir (pleasure).Three separate stories about the same thing: le plaisir (pleasure).
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
4.8K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Max Ophüls
  • Writers
    • Guy de Maupassant(stories)
    • Jacques Natanson(adaptation)
    • Max Ophüls(adaptation)
  • Stars
    • Jean Gabin
    • Danielle Darrieux
    • Simone Simon
Top credits
  • Director
    • Max Ophüls
  • Writers
    • Guy de Maupassant(stories)
    • Jacques Natanson(adaptation)
    • Max Ophüls(adaptation)
  • Stars
    • Jean Gabin
    • Danielle Darrieux
    • Simone Simon
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 26User reviews
    • 45Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 Oscar
      • 1 nomination total

    Photos24

    Le plaisir (1952)
    Le plaisir (1952)
    Le plaisir (1952)
    Daniel Gélin and Simone Simon in Le plaisir (1952)
    Daniel Gélin and Simone Simon in Le plaisir (1952)
    Daniel Gélin and Simone Simon in Le plaisir (1952)
    Danielle Darrieux and Jean Gabin in Le plaisir (1952)
    Daniel Gélin and Simone Simon in Le plaisir (1952)
    Claude Dauphin in Le plaisir (1952)
    Claude Dauphin in Le plaisir (1952)
    Jean Galland in Le plaisir (1952)
    Daniel Gélin and Simone Simon in Le plaisir (1952)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Jean Gabin
    Jean Gabin
    • Joseph Rivet (segment "La Maison Tellier")as Joseph Rivet (segment "La Maison Tellier")
    Danielle Darrieux
    Danielle Darrieux
    • Madame Rosa (segment "La Maison Tellier")as Madame Rosa (segment "La Maison Tellier")
    Simone Simon
    Simone Simon
    • Joséphine - le modèle (segment "Le Modèle")as Joséphine - le modèle (segment "Le Modèle")
    Claude Dauphin
    Claude Dauphin
    • Le docteur (segment "Le Masque")as Le docteur (segment "Le Masque")
    Gaby Morlay
    Gaby Morlay
    • Denise - la femme d"Ambroise (segment "Le Masque")as Denise - la femme d"Ambroise (segment "Le Masque")
    Madeleine Renaud
    Madeleine Renaud
    • Julia Tellier (segment "La Maison Tellier")as Julia Tellier (segment "La Maison Tellier")
    Ginette Leclerc
    Ginette Leclerc
    • Madame Flora dite Balançoire (segment "La Maison Tellier")as Madame Flora dite Balançoire (segment "La Maison Tellier")
    Mila Parély
    • Madame Raphaële (segment "La Maison Tellier")as Madame Raphaële (segment "La Maison Tellier")
    • (as Mila Parely)
    Pierre Brasseur
    Pierre Brasseur
    • Julien Ledentu - Le commis-voyageur (segment "La Maison Tellier")as Julien Ledentu - Le commis-voyageur (segment "La Maison Tellier")
    Jean Servais
    Jean Servais
    • L'ami de Jeanas L'ami de Jean…
    Daniel Gélin
    Daniel Gélin
    • Jean, le peintre (segment "Le Modèle")as Jean, le peintre (segment "Le Modèle")
    • (as Daniel Gelin)
    Amédée
    • Frédéric - le serveur (segment "La Maison Tellier")as Frédéric - le serveur (segment "La Maison Tellier")
    Paul Azaïs
    Paul Azaïs
    • Le patron du bal (segment "Le Masque")as Le patron du bal (segment "Le Masque")
    Antoine Balpêtré
    Antoine Balpêtré
    • Monsieur Poulain - L'ancien maire (segment "La Maison Tellier")as Monsieur Poulain - L'ancien maire (segment "La Maison Tellier")
    • (as Balpétré)
    René Blancard
    René Blancard
    • Le maire (segment "La Maison Tellier")as Le maire (segment "La Maison Tellier")
    Gaby Bruyère
    • Frimousse - La danseuse (segment "Le Masque")as Frimousse - La danseuse (segment "Le Masque")
    Mathilde Casadesus
    • Madame Louise dite Cocotte (segment "La Maison Tellier")as Madame Louise dite Cocotte (segment "La Maison Tellier")
    Henri Crémieux
    Henri Crémieux
    • Monsieur Pimpesse (segment "La Maison Tellier")as Monsieur Pimpesse (segment "La Maison Tellier")
    • Director
      • Max Ophüls
    • Writers
      • Guy de Maupassant(stories)
      • Jacques Natanson(adaptation) (dialogue)
      • Max Ophüls(adaptation)
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit
    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. —Yepok
    • period drama
    • based on short stories
    • monocle
    • pleasure
    • painter
    • 28 more
    • Plot summary
    • Add synopsis
    • Taglines
      • Three intimate tales by GUY de MAUPASSANT about people who live the way people shouldn't!
    • Genres
      • Comedy
      • Drama
      • Romance
    • Certificate
      • Not Rated
    • Parents guide

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Stanley Kubrick's favorite movie (as of 1957).
    • 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.
    • Quotes

      Jean's friend: [Last lines] He found love, glory and fortune.

      Friend of Jean's friend: Still, it's very sad.

      Jean's friend: But, my friend, there's no joy in happiness.

    • Alternate versions
      An American release switches the last two stories, and ends with "La Maison Tellier" instead of "Le Modèle".
    • Connections
      Edited into Origins of the 21st Century (2000)

    User reviews26

    Review
    Top review
    Intense pleasure.
    One of Max Ophuls' finest achievements,one of the best Guy de Maupassant adaptations for the screen.

    This is a movie made up of three sketches;it is rather a long story (la maison Tellier) framed by one prologue (le masque) an an epilogue (le modèle).Guy de Maupassant is ,by far,the best writer France as ever known,as far short stories are concerned-He wrote about 200 of them,and even influenced Dudley Nichols for the screen play of "stagecoach"(actually ,Claire Trevor was Boule de Suif)

    Le plaisir (the pleasure) is something fleeting,but the hero of the prologue(le masque) can't stand life is passing him by.His wife is a victim,women are often sacrified in Maupassant's work.At best they are ways for men to social advancement(Bel Ami,see "the private affairs of Bel-Ami", filmed by Albert Lewin ,1947,watchable,but which has given a totally false rendering of the conclusion),at worst ,once their lover or husband has used them ,they are often deserted (see "une vie" , directed by Alexandre Astruc,1958,which has a fine Claude Renoir cinematography.

    "La maison Tellier" is the main body of the work:the subject is scandalous:madam and her whores close the brothel and head for the country.There,they are to attend madam's niece's communion.Max Ophuls has not always been faithfull to Maupassant:if you read the short story,you will realize how much these women are ugly,vulgar and fat;here ,we've got gorgeous Danielle Darrieux,plus Ginette Leclerc and Madeleine Renaud.Ophuls is an esthete and he could not subscribe to Maupassant's depictions.The two men come together when it comes to describe the reactions of the inhabitants of the village:the prostitutes pass for grandes dames,well educated,chic,and when they enter the church,it seems as if they enhance the religious fervor !!Maupassant,who was anticlerical to a fault,lets his irony flow;but there's compassion in Max Ophuls'pictures and I'm not sure the tears his heroines shed are that much laughable:regaining a child's soul -particularly on this communion day- is many a human being's secret longing.But cynism get the upper hand quickly and madam's brother,a bawdy Jean Gabin (the father of the little girl making her communion),is much more interested in his sister's "residents" than spiritual elevation.This second part climaxes the movie,with its steam-powered train,its banquet,its brothel of which the shutter are closed -we're only allowed to have a glimpse behind them-

    The movie opens and closes the same way:woman is born to be deserted when she's not a whore,like in the second sketch.Josephine (Simone Simon) will find her lover back but the price she will have to pay is terrifying.

    Why "le plaisir" ?Pleasure is few and far between in this world.Pleasure walks hand in hand with suffering.Guy de Maupassant himself knew fleeting pleasures he describes in part 2,but if you read his biography,you 'll meet a tormented soul,an extremely pessimistic mind,and a faux bon vivant who lived a dissipated life which ended in madness.

    This is one of the most absorbing,ambitious,complex and artistically successful masterwork of the French fifties.
    helpful•32
    4
    • dbdumonteil
    • Jan 22, 2002

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • May 19, 1954 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • France
    • Languages
      • French
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Zadovoljstva
    • Filming locations
      • Clécy, Calvados, France
    • Production companies
      • Compagnie Commerciale Française Cinématographique (CCFC)
      • Stera Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross worldwide
      • $2,097
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 37 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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