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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
classy French film noir,
By Nelkin (London, England) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Lift To The Scaffold (B/W) [DVD] (DVD)
An enjoyable black-and-white French thriller from the late fifties, featuring all the usual themes of the film noir genre: love and betrayal, murder, fatalism, seedy glamour, unlikely plot twists, and so forth. It was Louis Malle's directorial debut and Jeanne Moreau's first leading role in a feature film, and was a big commercial success at the time -- neither of them looked back after this. It was also distinguished by an excellent soundtrack, composed by Miles Davis in his usual ad-hoc manner using a pick-up band of musicians he was barely even on first-name terms with. Nowadays the connection between jazz and film noir seems obvious -- a cliche, even -- but that has a lot to do with the success of this film, and the excellent marriage of music and action achieved by Miles Davis and his musicians.
For a film nearly fifty years old, I must say it has aged well, even if some of the plot devices are a bit clunky. Visually it's a treat, with very stylish camera work. I particularly like the night shots of Paris early in the film, with Jeanne Moreau wandering blindly around in the rain looking for her lover; I also enjoyed the (highly stylised) interrogation sequence near the end, which I'm sure has little resemblance to real interrogation but which captures superbly the isolation and disorientation of the male protagonist. Some people lump this film in with the Nouvelle Vague scene that became fashionable a few years later, and maybe in some respects there is a bit of a family resemblance; Malle, though, always resisted attempts to classify him as part of the Nouvelle Vague movement. I should add that the extra features are a bit meagre compared with what we're accustomed to on DVD releases these days. There are just a couple of short interviews, one with Louis Malle's brother -- Malle himself died in 1995 -- and also one with Rene Urtreger, the pianist who played on the soundtrack. If not for the lack of bonus material, I would probably have given it five out of five, because on the whole it's quite a nice package. In short: good film, good music, well worth a viewing if you haven't seen it before.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Jolie voitures!,
By Mario "At Mario's Film Cafe" (Devon UK) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Lift To The Scaffold (B/W) [DVD] (DVD)
Accessible, twisty and rather enthralling, subtly photographed, classic risk-taking piece with the Miles Davis music better known than the film amongst the knowing jazz aficionados. To some it's just a film score and a rather good one. Am I right, but I get the feeling there's not a Malle film which is top notch? There are lots which are very good. Like Chabrol. You keep watching and ennjoying and then you go to bed needing a hot water bottle? Perhaps someone can advise!
4.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent film noir,
By
This review is from: Lift To The Scaffold (B/W) [DVD] (DVD)
A truly great film by Louis Malle starring the lovely Jeanne Moreau and the late Maurice Ronet. A slicky classic thriller - not a Hitchcok, but wonderfully Played out by Jeanne Moreau as the beautiful wealthy Blonde who with her lover, conspire to murder her husband. Things do not work out as planned and the viewer is not Disappointed by the outcome. A must for those who enjoy a murder with a twist.
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