Liliom
by Fritz Lang
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Alexandre Rignault, Charles Boyer, Madeleine Ozeray, Robert Arnoux, Roland ToutainDirector: Fritz Lang
Brand: Kino International
Cinematographer: Rudolph Maté
Writer: Fritz Lang
Producer: Erich Pommer
Writer: Bernard Zimmer
Writer: Ferenc Molnár
Writer: Robert Liebmann
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); French (Original Language)
Format: Black & White, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 118 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2004-03-30
Audience Rating: Unrated
Model: 3452
Studio: Kino Video
Product features:
- LILIOM (DVD MOVIE)
Movie Reviews of Liliom
Movie Review: Deserves to become a true cinema classic
Summary: 5 Stars
At last we have it on video and DVD--the 1934 French film version of Ferenc Molnar's "Liliom", with very legible subtitles, so that now the entire English-speaking world can take in the beauty of this sorely neglected film.
For those who don't know, "Liliom" is the non-musical Hungarian play on which Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Carousel" is based, and in 1934, the great German director Fritz Lang, while staying in France during his flight from the Nazis (he was Jewish), made a French film version of it. (There had already been an early U.S. talking film version in 1930, but from all accounts, it received very poor reviews, made no impact whatsoever and remains forgotten.) Hammerstein, when adapting "Liliom" into "Carousel" in 1945, was largely faithful to his source material, so viewers unfamiliar with "Liliom" should have no trouble recognizing the similarities, right down to certain lines of dialogue.
This French film, unfairly kept out of circulation by Fox in favor of the film version of "Carousel", is everything an exemplary film version of a play should be, exceptionally well acted by some of the best character actors ever to emerge from France, beautifully photographed, and directed with an imagination that surpasses Henry King's in "Carousel", as excellent as that film is. Fritz Lang's idea of Heaven, easily the funniest segment of this otherwise very serious and deeply moving film, is one of the most imaginative concepts Lang ever dreamed up, and has to be seen to be appreciated.
Charles Boyer, extremely young, and with a full head of hair if not a hairpiece, is perfectly suited for the role of Liliom , the non-musical equivalent of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Billy Bigelow. The role of Julie has an imaginative twist to it in this version---both Julie and her daughter are played by Madeleine Ozeray, and if ever an actress showed versatility it is here. Ms. Ozeray creates two distinct characterizations flawlessly.
In other roles, the actress Florelle plays Mrs. Muskat (Mrs. Mullin in "Carousel") as more of a floozy than Hammerstein makes her in the musical, and Lang even gives her a touch of sympathy and humanity when she orders that all the lights in the amusement park be dimmed at an especially tragic moment.
Pierre Alcover plays Alfred the criminal (Jigger Craigin in "Carousel") as a self-satisfied, overfed lout who wouldn't even think of obtaining money in an ethical manner, and does so in the great tradition of French 1930's character acting. Wolf Beifeld, the character who was turned into Mr. Snow in "Carousel", is omitted entirely in this version, but Mimi Funes does play Marie, Julie's best friend, as a much more worldly character than we have ever seen. Maximillienne is all wise understanding as Mrs. Menoux, the boarding house keeper and equivalent of Cousin Nettie in "Carousel".And Henri Richard contributes a truly comical portrayal of two equally flustered commissioners, one in Heaven, and one on Earth.
There is no clambake in this version either, but those who are used to "Carousel" will notice that "Liliom" is so well acted and directed that one does not miss the beautiful Rodgers and Hammerstein score even if the viewer has it ringing in their head as they watch this film. That is how good the Fritz Lang "Liliom" is. Fox has been, up to now, sorely negligent in seeing that this film was widely shown with subtitles in English-speaking countries, but they have finally come through. Rent or buy "Liliom", and treat yourself to the most unfairly neglected 1930's foreign film classic.
Summary of Liliom
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