The Blood of Others (1984)

WWII. In German occupied Paris, Helene is torn between the love for her boyfriend Jean, working for the resistance and the German administrator Bergmann, who will do anything to gain her ... See full summary »

Director:

Claude Chabrol

Writers:

Simone de Beauvoir (based on the novel by), Brian Moore (adaptation)

Stars:

Jodie Foster, Michael Ontkean, Sam Neill

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jodie Foster	...	Hélène
Michael Ontkean	...	Jean
Sam Neill	...	Bergman
Lambert Wilson	...	Paul
Stéphane Audran	...	Gigi
Alexandra Stewart	...	Madeleine
Jean-François Balmer	...	Arnaud
John Vernon	...	Charles
Marie Bunel	...	Yvonne
Michel Robin	...	Raoul
Roger Miremont	...	Marcel (as Roger Mirmont)
Christine Laurent	...	Denise
Kate Reid	...	Madame Blomart
Jean-Pierre Aumont	...	Henri Blomart
Monique Mercure	...	Madame Klotz

Storyline

WWII. In German occupied Paris, Helene is torn between the love for her boyfriend Jean, working for the resistance and the German administrator Bergmann, who will do anything to gain her affection.

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Plot Keywords:

foreign language adaptation | paris france | german occupation | based on novel | 

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Genres:

Drama | History | Romance | War

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Did You Know?

Trivia

A TV movie made for the HBO network.

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Alternate Versions

The original version was a 175 minute made-for-tv movie filmed in English, in open-matte format, titled "The Blood of Others", produced by the USA tv cable network HBO. It was formatted to a 1.33 aspect ratio and first broadcast in a full 3-hour time slot beginning at 8:00 PM on August 25, 1984. At the request and instigation of director Claude Chabrol, it was afterwards cut by 40 minutes to 135', reformatted to a 1.78 aspect ratio, dubbed into French, retitled "Le sang des autres", and shown theatrically in France and other European countries beginning on May 2, 1985. This cut version then had its dubbing removed and the original sound (and language) restored, the aspect ratio was reformatted back to 1.33, and released on VHS in the USA under both the English and French titles (still in the 135' cut version). Much later it was released on DVD in Europe in PAL format for Region 2, using the same version as the USA VHS (the cut version in the restored original English sound and 1.33 ratio), but with added subtitles for the DVD and cut by an additional 5 minutes to 130' (125' on the DVD due to PAL speedup), and retitled "Blood of Others" (without the preceding word "the").

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Soundtracks

C'Était Écrit
Music by Jack Stern
Lyrics by André Hornez
Performed by Maurice Chevalier

User Reviews

When you love someone, you do things that aren't done, including making a believable film.

Jodie Foster plays Hélène in World War II's German-occupied Paris, where she is torn between the love for her boyfriend Jean, working for the resistance and the German administrator Bergmann, who will do anything to gain her affection.

Watching Jodie Foster in the role you really see the promise and potential she showed as a young actress. Playing a young and precocious idealist, Hélène stumbles through life, never quite responsible, never quite concerned, while the war goes on around her.

Sam Neill steals the show as the brilliantly suave, sick and terrible Nazi who falls deeply in love with Hélène.

One aspect of the movie I find intriguing is the perspective. I'm used to seeing WWII films from the Jew's perspective, with Schindler's List, Holocaust, and The Story of Anne Frank and many others, and in a Rosencrantz and Guildenstern way, the bit players of the darker tales, The French are the main characters while the story of the Jews goes on in the background almost unaware. It is interesting to see the story from another angle.

In the end, The Blood of Others is the story of a girl who does the wrong things because she's young, and does the right things out of love, but what she really believes is a childish ideal, and her life, though a short one, tells the tale of small but important sacrifices made during the war effort for the resistance. The movie some what falls short in this regard, because while we feel a loss, the overall film suffers from a lack of depth and tension.

Details

Country:

USA France Canada

Language:

English German

Release Date:

25 August 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Blood of Others

Filming Locations:

Brussels, Brussels-Capital, Belgium

Company Credits

Production Co:

HBO Premiere Films, Filmax, International Cinema Corporation (ICC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

130 min (DVD) 135 min (cut) 175 min (original)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1