Lola Montes - A Film by Max Ophuls (Restored Edition)

Max Ophuls is, without doubt, one of the most visually obsessive directors in the history of film. His work is frequently breath-taking, and never more so than in this incredible transfer of possibly his most visually arresting film. The reason I mention just how great this fully restored transfer is so early in this review is because, ironically, I couldn't grab even a single frame from the check disc I was sent. It plays beautifully on various DVD players, though wouldn't play on my laptop. This is no biggie. I'm confident the official release will work just fine. I can only apologise for not offering up a one grabbed frame from what is nothing short of a visual treat and the result of no less than two years of pain-staking restoration. You'd be hard-pushed to freeze-frame this DVD at any point that wouldn't result in a still frame perfect for printing as a poster of framed picture.
 
I have only seen a half dozen or so of Max Ophul's twenty-four features but from the few I've seen a pattern emerges that is played out in full in 'Lola Montes'. He's a very theatrical director (literally using theatre on many occasions to narrate his moralistic tales). He's also a director who wants to carefully choreograph every filmed frame, leaving nothing to chance. Incredibly long tracking shots with objects appearing frequently in the foreground to add depth (like a 3D movie) are another recognisable feature, as is the care in which he frames each shot. In Lola Montes for example, forced into using widescreen Cinemascope for the first time, he sometimes crops the image to frame the action where he wants it, protesting that widescreen is great for wide exterior shots but useless for showing two lovers embraced in a kiss for example. This is also one of his rare excursions in colour and, according to the excellent documentary included in the extras, he painted great swathes of roads and buildings to get the palette he was after. Aware of the fastidious nature of the director, crew were terrified of not being able to rise to his very particular needs and there is a fascinating interview with one such member who talks about grading the shots in post-production and Ophuls need to get deep blacks regardless of what it did to depth of field and focus. He was a director who worked by feel and who surrounded himself with talented crew who would help him realise his visions.
 
So, putting all that pre-amble aside, what is the film about? 'Lola Montès' turned out to be Ophul's last ever film and is regarded by many as one of his finest hours.  Based on loose fact, Lola (Martine Carol) was once the lover of many of the most powerful men in Europe. In Ophul's film she has been has been reduced to a freakish circus act,  billed as "the most scandalous in the world" and brought out into the ring for all to see. Though the film is in French language, a young Peter Ustinov plays the story-telling ringmaster and does so with hammy theatrical relish, entirely appropriate for the role.
 
Using this device we begin to hear her tale, mixing from dialogue through to the narrative in reconstruction, the story begins with her stormy affair with Franz Liszt (Will Quadflieg). We then hear how Lola became a dancer before entrancing Louis I, King of Bavaria (Anton Walbrook), followed by a Scottish army officer and a student revolutionary. Lola is portrayed as a powerful woman (another trait of Ophul's work) though destined for tragedy and humiliation. After all, there must be some consequences for such passion!
 
Christian Matras's exquisite photography, Jean D'Eaubonne's breath-taking sets (including the priceless Chandeliers which have a prominent role in the film), Georges Annenkov's period costumes and Georges Auric's score combine to give this film a richness that undoubtedly reflected Ophul's very particular vision for the film.
 
The film was originally shot in three versions: Ophul's native German, French and English. Ustinov, apparently, equally comfortable in all three. The producers (a curious mix of Swiss and German venture capitalists) ploughed a fortune into the film and despite their frequent fall-outs with Ophuls, gave in to frequent demands for more money despite Ophul's refusal to do anything to help popularise the film in any way that didn't reflect his own vision. Perhaps the backers had hoped for another 'La Ronde' which, thanks to getting into some deep water with the censors, and getting plenty of publicity as a result, had done very well at the box-office. The film flopped spectacularly on release, which must have been painful for the inexperienced backers and their investors, and this may, in part, have contributed to the fact that this was Ophuls last ever outing. No one was ever going to risk letting this artiste loose with their cash again, and Ophuls died of a heart-attack in 1957.
 
As a result of its disappointing returns, it was cut from its premiere length of 140 minutes to the present length. Until recently, the only available version of the original cut was the French one and it is this version that has been painstakingly restored to its original brilliance.
 
According to the accompanying blurb, Jean Cocteau, Robert Rossellini, Jacques Tati and Francois Truffaut - recognised it there and then as one of the greatest works of cinema ever made - and recommendations don't come better than that!

Also , it apparently 'brought the house down' when presented at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival. It bought the house down at the screening, and garnered massive critical acclaim.

The disc also has some excellent and very worthwhile extras including a feature called 'Lola Montes Revisited - A Documentary On The Making Of The Film' which was fascinating viewing, especially for those who have a real interest in the mechanics and technicalities of cinema. There's also a very good commentary by Ophul's expert Susan White, which will be welcomed by scholars and fans of the man. It's one of those informative commentaries that add a great deal to the film, whilst avoiding a completely gushing approach to the subject.

All in all this release deserves to make a splash. We should be grateful that there are organisations willing to put the work, effort and resources into restoring these great works for our digital consumption and it makes sense to show you support to Second Sight by treating yourself to a very decent copy of this cinematic marvel.  Definitely recommended.