Le plaisir (1952)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

Max Ophüls

Writers:

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

Release Date:

19 May 1954 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

Three stories about the pleasure. The first one is about a man hiding his age behind a mask to keep going to balls and fancying women...

Plot Keywords:

Mask | Model | Painter | Niece | Anthology

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

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")

Also Known As:

Le plaisir (UK) (USA)
House of Pleasure
Pleasure

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound)

Certification:

Finland:K-11 (new rating: 2001) | Finland:K-12 | UK:PG (video rating) | UK:X (original rating) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Clécy, Calvados, France

Company:

Compagnie Commerciale Française Cinématographique (CCFC)

Trivia:

The last segment initially considered was "La Femme de Paul".

Quotes:

Jean's friend: But, my friend, happiness is not a joyful thing.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Le Plaisir: From Script to Screen (2006) (V)

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.