CANNES CLASSICS 2009

Godard, Losey, Antonioni, Visconti, Tati, Franju et Sergio Leone once again in the Official Selection? Pierrot le Fou, Eyes Without A Face or Senso in Competition against L’Avventura or Once Upon A Time…the Revolution?

With Martin Scorsese as a guest of honor in 2009, Cannes Classics, a section established in 2004 to accompany the contemporary films of the Official Selection with a program of restored  and rediscovered films, to be released theatrically or on DVD. The films will be presented in the Palais des Festival and screened retrospectively at the Licorne theatre.

The program

The Red Shoes presented in the Debussy Theater

Cannes Classics has invited Martin Scorsese to present Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s masterpiece, THE RED SHOES (1948, UK), has been restored by UCLA Film & Television Archive in association with The British Film Institute, The Film Foundation, ITV Global Entertainment Ltd., and Janus Films, with funding provided by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, The Film Foundation, and the Louis B. Mayer Foundation. The film will be presented in the Debussy Theater with Martin Scorsese and Thelma Schoonmaker-Powell in attendance.

Inferno refound, memories of Henri-Georges Clouzot

In 1964, Henri-Georges Clouzot’s tempestuous shoot of L’ENFER, with Romy Schneider and Serge Reggiani, comes to a sudden halt. The film lay dormant, never to be touched again; its images and legends remaining a myth. Serge Bromberg, known for his ceaseless efforts at preservation with Lobster Films, and Ruxandra Medrea found the canisters which contained screen tests and scenes from the film. By successfully “recomposing” the lost work he creates a new film, bringing the old one back to life.

World Cinema Foundation 2009

Inaugurated in Cannes 2007 to help developing countries preserve their film heritage, the World Cinema Foundation, presided by Martin Scorsese, presents three films supported by advisor-filmmakers:
A BRIGHTER SUMMER DAY by Edward Yang (1991, 237’ Taiwan), uncut version.
AL-MOMIA by Shadi Abdel Salam (1969, 103’ Egypt)
REDES by Emilio Gomez Muriel and Fred Zinnemann (1936, 61’ Mexico)

The World Cinema Foundation has also helped the Ingmar Bergman Foundation, which will be presenting IMAGES FROM THE PLAYGROUND (29′ Sweden). Directed by Stig Björkman, this unseen footage from Ingmar Bergman’s images was shot by him during the making of his films.

Joseph Losey Centenary

One hundred years after the birth of Joseph Losey, ten years since the loss of his primary collaborator, Dirk Bogarde and one year on from that of the playwright and screenwriter Harold Pinter, ACCIDENT (1967, 105′ UK), screened in their honor, was restored by the BFI National Archive with Studio Canal and Optimum releasing and will be presented in the Buñuel Theater. There will also be a new print of DON GIOVANNI (1979, 176′ Italy) screened as part of our “Cinema de la plage” thematic program.

Documentaries on filmmaking

LES DEUX DE LA VAGUE (90′ France), a film by Antoine de Baecque and Emmanuel Laurent. In celebration of the fifty years since the birth of the New Wave, this documentary recalls the presentation in Cannes 1959 of The 400 Blows (Les Quatre cent coups) and the birth of Breathless (A bout de souffle), evoking the birth of two exemplary New Wave filmmakers: François Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard.

PIETRO GERMI, IL BRAVO, IL BELLO, IL CATTIVO (60’ Italy) by Claudio Bondí.
The career and personality of a filmmaker too often forgotten: Pietro Germi – seven of his films in Competition at the Festival de Cannes – received the Palme d’Or in 1966 for SIGNORE E SIGNORI (119′ Italy). Struck for the theatrical release following the Festival, a print restored by Giuseppe Rotunno – Associazione Philip Morris Progetto Cinema will be screened.

A selection of restored and new prints:

L’AVVENTURA by Michelangelo Antonioni (1960, 143’ Italy), which inspired the 2009 Festival poster. New Print.

AN UNS GLAUBT GOTT NICHT MEHR by Axel Corti (1982, 104’ Austria). Print restored by Le Pacte.

GIU LA TESTA (Once Upon A Time…the Revolution) by Sergio Leone (1971, 153’ Italy). Print restored by the Cineteca di Bologna and the laboratory Immagine Ritrovata.

LOIN DU VIETNAM (Far from Vietnam) by Joris Ivens, William Klein, Claude Lelouch, Agnés Varda, Jean-Luc Godard, Chris Marker, Alain Resnais (1967, 115’ France). Print restored by the Archives françaises du film du CNC.

THE MOLLY MAGUIRES (Traitre sur commande) by Martin Ritt (1970, 124’ USA). New print by Paramount Pictures and Swashbuckler.

PIERROT LE FOU by Jean-Luc Godard (1965, 107’ France). Digital restoration and projection by Studio Canal and the Cinémathèque Française.

PRINCE YEONSAN by Shin Sang-ok (1961, 133’ Corée). Print restored by the Korean Film Archive and HFR laboratory.

SENSO (Livia) by Luchino Visconti (1954, 123’ Italy). Print restored by Studiocanal and Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia / Cineteca Nazionale at Cineteca di Bologna / L’Immagine Ritrovata with funding provided by GUCCI, The Film Foundation and Comitato Italia 150.

LES VACANCES DE M. HULOT (Monsieur’s Hulot’s Holiday) by Jacques Tati (1953, 88’ France). Print restored by the Fondation Thomson, the Fondation Groupama Gan, Les Films de Mon Oncle and the Cinémathèque française.

VICTIM by Basil Dearden (1961, 101’ UK). New print.

WAKE IN FRIGHT by Ted Kotcheff (1971, 109’ Australia). Print restored by the National Film & Sound Archive.

LES YEUX SANS VISAGE (Eyes Without A Face) by Georges Franju (1960, 91’ France). Print restored by Gaumont.