Cannes Classics : “Henri-Georges Clouzot’s Inferno” Revisited

At 19:45pm in the Soixantième theater, attended by the film crew, festivalgoers are served another offering from the Cannes Classics program, Henri-Georges Clouzot’s Inferno, a reconstitution of the lost work, for which shooting began in 1964 and was never completed. After having found tests and some rushes, director Serge Bromberg, who is better known for his company Lobster Films and their archival work, along with Ruxandra Medrea succeeded in recreating a new film from the remnants and brought it to fruition.

Inferno tells the story of Marcel Prieur, played by Serge Reggiani, owner of a modest hotel in the province, who is riddled with jealousy in demonic proportions. Razor in hand, standing over the corpse of his wife Odette, played by Romy Schneider, he tries to understand this criminal act. “Our intention is to revive Clouzot’s film as close as possible and bring it to audiences,” said director Serge Bromberg. “It was necessary for actors Jacques Gamblin and Berenice Bejo to redo several scenes from Clouzot’s original script in order to stay in line with the narration. They took on the roles of Serge Reggiani and Romy Schneider.”