Join Amazon Prime and get unlimited Free One-Day Delivery. Already a member? Sign in.
Frequently Bought Together
What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?
![Les Enfants Terribles [1949] [DVD]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51GRPM102JL._SL75_SS50_.jpg) |
76% buy the item featured on this page: Les Enfants Terribles [1949] [DVD] £12.78 |
![Jean Cocteau Collection [DVD]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/514mPIq25jL._SL75_SS50_.jpg) |
8% buy Jean Cocteau Collection [DVD] £7.98 |
![La Belle Et La Bete [DVD] [1946]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/517EDiCJGGL._SL75_SS50_.jpg) |
7% buy La Belle Et La Bete [DVD] [1946] £12.48 |
![Le Silence de la mer (Masters of Cinema) [DVD] [1949]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41eQOkyNW5L._SL75_SS50_.jpg) |
5% buy Le Silence de la mer (Masters of Cinema) [DVD] [1949] £9.68 |
Product details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Reviews
Amazon.co.uk Review
Jean-Pierre Melville's second film, made in 1950, became a significant influence among French film-makers and earned Melville renown as a maverick who could do wonderful things outside his country's studio system. (Melville's independence was a forerunner of that enjoyed later in the decade by New Wave figures such as François Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard.) Les Enfants Terribles is based on a 1929 novel by poet and film-maker Jean Cocteau, who also wrote the script with Melville and according to some people interfered in everything from the casting (the rather stiff male lead was a Cocteau protégé) to the photography. Nevertheless, the story of a sister (an outstanding performance by Nicole Stephane) and brother (Edouard Dhermite) who withdraw into their own, insulated world to play out suggestively erotic dramas, has a fluid, lyrical movement that is part of a visionary whole. In some ways a harbinger of the coming pop narcissism of youth culture, Les Enfants Terribles is also a timeless tale of mythic exploration of existence and purpose. --Tom Keogh, Amazon.com
Synopsis
Cinema giants Jean-Pierre Melville (THE WAGES OF FEAR) and Jean Cocteau (LA BELLE AT LA BETE) collaborated to create LES ENFANTS TERRIBLES, a stunning portrait of surreal perversion and narcissism based on Cocteau's novel of the same name. When teenage Paul, the fragile protagonist, is mysteriously felled by a powerful snowball thrown by his dastardly and handsome idol, Dargelos, he returns home to recuperate under the unwilling care of his irascible sister, Elisabeth. The two share a bedroom in the home of their ailing mother. Within the their bedroom, the siblings have constructed a private universe of erotically charged jokes, elaborate rituals, and coded behaviour sealing them off from the rest of the world. When their mother unexpectedly dies Paul and Elisabeth spiral even further into their own world, with Paul's fragile condition keeping him from returning to school. The incestuous undertones and poisonous ambiance are further complicated as Paul and Elisabeth are joined first by Paul's friend Gerard, who is obsessed with Elisabeth, and finally by Agathe, Elisabeth's colleague who is the spitting image of Paul's nemesis Dargelos. As the diabolical Elisabeth becomes unable to hide her dangerous love for Paul, the film heads for its high-pitched climax. Cocteau's tale of sublimation and deception comes to life under Melville's lucid direction.
Jean-Pierre Melville's second film, made in 1950, became a significant influence among French film-makers and earned Melville renown as a maverick who could do wonderful things outside his country's studio system. (Melville's independence was a forerunner of that enjoyed later in the decade by New Wave figures such as François Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard.) Les Enfants Terribles is based on a 1929 novel by poet and film-maker Jean Cocteau, who also wrote the script with Melville and according to some people interfered in everything from the casting (the rather stiff male lead was a Cocteau protégé) to the photography. Nevertheless, the story of a sister (an outstanding performance by Nicole Stephane) and brother (Edouard Dhermite) who withdraw into their own, insulated world to play out suggestively erotic dramas, has a fluid, lyrical movement that is part of a visionary whole. In some ways a harbinger of the coming pop narcissism of youth culture, Les Enfants Terribles is also a timeless tale of mythic exploration of existence and purpose. --Tom Keogh, Amazon.com
Synopsis
Cinema giants Jean-Pierre Melville (THE WAGES OF FEAR) and Jean Cocteau (LA BELLE AT LA BETE) collaborated to create LES ENFANTS TERRIBLES, a stunning portrait of surreal perversion and narcissism based on Cocteau's novel of the same name. When teenage Paul, the fragile protagonist, is mysteriously felled by a powerful snowball thrown by his dastardly and handsome idol, Dargelos, he returns home to recuperate under the unwilling care of his irascible sister, Elisabeth. The two share a bedroom in the home of their ailing mother. Within the their bedroom, the siblings have constructed a private universe of erotically charged jokes, elaborate rituals, and coded behaviour sealing them off from the rest of the world. When their mother unexpectedly dies Paul and Elisabeth spiral even further into their own world, with Paul's fragile condition keeping him from returning to school. The incestuous undertones and poisonous ambiance are further complicated as Paul and Elisabeth are joined first by Paul's friend Gerard, who is obsessed with Elisabeth, and finally by Agathe, Elisabeth's colleague who is the spitting image of Paul's nemesis Dargelos. As the diabolical Elisabeth becomes unable to hide her dangerous love for Paul, the film heads for its high-pitched climax. Cocteau's tale of sublimation and deception comes to life under Melville's lucid direction.
Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought
![Jean Cocteau Collection [DVD]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/514mPIq25jL._SL500_SS90_.jpg)
DVD ~ Jean Cocteau Box Set
|
![Le Silence de la mer (Masters of Cinema) [DVD] [1949]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41eQOkyNW5L._SL500_SS90_.jpg)
DVD ~ Howard Vernon
|
![Les Enfants Du Paradis [DVD] [1945]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/510GCDZ8F6L._SL500_SS90_.jpg)
DVD ~ Arletty
|
![The Jean Vigo Collection (2 disc Collector's Edition) [DVD]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41KNS6ZATHL._SL500_SS90_.jpg)
DVD ~ Jean Taris
|
![A Man Escaped [DVD] [1956]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51v2XzL75QL._SL500_SS90_.jpg)
DVD ~ François Letterier
|
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Customer Discussions
Beta (What's this?)|
This product's forum
(0 discussions)
Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Active discussions in related forums
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
The Body Shop |
Treat Someone
With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is). |
|||||||||
Make sure you always get what you want with an Amazon.co.uk 
| |||||
Your Recent History
(What's this?)|
You have no recently viewed items or searches.
After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in. Look to the right column to find helpful suggestions for your shopping session. |
Continue Shopping: Top Sellers
| ||||
Amazon Home | |
| International Sites: United States | Germany | France | Japan | Canada | China | |
| Business Programs: Sell on Amazon | Fulfilment by Amazon | Join Associates | Join Advantage | |
| Customer Service | Help | View Basket | Your Account | |
| About Amazon.co.uk | Careers at Amazon | |
| Conditions of Use & Sale | Privacy Notice © 1996-2009, Amazon.com, Inc. and its affiliates |