Customer Reviews

The Earrings of Madame De... [VHS]

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a terrific movie. To see it is to love it and want to see it again. But if you've never seen it, this video is not going to make you a fan. The subtitles are unreadable whenever they appear against a light background - - there are entire scenes were the subtitles are lost over things like a white tablecloth. Still, the acting will certainly allow you to follow the story - - you won't be lost or confused. In fact, the whole movie is blurry. I had to watch this video in parts because it gave me a headache trying to look at it. But, all that said, if you've seen it and must, must, must see it again, this print is better than nothing. Am I glad I spent the money? Yes, I had to own this movie. I'd just rather have it in a more watchable edition.

...this little jewel's infinite variety (with apologies to Shakespeare for the paraphrase).
I have seen this film at least nine times, and each viewing brings new things to discover and love. The direction, set decoration, music, cast and photography always delight, but this time around I must also pay tribute to the screenplay. Knowing it so well I spent time last night really listening to the nuances of the script, in particular that of Charles Boyer's general. Unlike the showier cleverness of my previous favorite moments ("I don't love you, I don't love you, I don't love you" must be the most passionate non-declaration of all cinematic history), I admired as if for the first time the restrained, dignified, tragic journey the general takes from amused tolerance to suppressed love to frustration and, finally, a soldier's resort to arms. I cannot give adequate expression to my love for this film.

This is one of the greatest European classics ever made. I felt Max OPHULS was very influencied by masters like Ernst LUBITSCH or Joseph MANCKIEWICZ (and French autors like STENDHAL). The script is marvellous and the actors superb (Danielle DARRIEUX found her greatest role, and Charles BOYER and Vittorio DE SICA support her admirably). It is a dreamed feminine role for any actress, and I don't find feminine characters like Danielle DARRIEUX's one in the current movies. If you liked this movie, then try LOLA MONTES and LA RONDE (also by OPHULS).

A masterpiece beyond question. "Madame de" is undeniably Ophuls greatest achievement and one of the ten best films of all time. No written review can accurately describe the profoundly sublime after-effect of "Madame de" - a delicate and sumptuous screen tragedy, typified by a Ophuls exhilaratingly swirling camera and extravagantly decorative period sets and costumes. Danielle Darrieux, Charles Boyer, and a suave Vittorio De Sica all turn in an all-time best performances. A Perfect Film!

This is my favorite Max Ophuls' film. It contains all the best elements of his work: the nostalgic, perfumed athmosphere, the delicate performances, the happiness and despair of love.

What a sad, elegant film this is. The Earrings of Madame de... takes us into the fin de siecle Parisian world of the mannered rich, where the act of amorous intimacy is as much an expected social obligation as it is a personal pleasure, where a serious discussion about serious things is considered as indiscrete as loving one's spouse.

"Madame de... is a most elegant lady," we are told, "distinguished, received everywhere. She seemed destined to a delightful, untroubled existence. Doubtless nothing would have happened but for the jewels." She (Danielle Darrieux) is married to the rich and assured General Andre de... (Charles Boyer). When she realizes she has debts she cannot pay and does not want her husband to learn of, she sells a pair of diamond earrings her husband gave her the day after they were married. She tells her husband a little lie, that the earrings were stolen. The jeweler, not knowing of the little lie, soon goes to the general, assuming he will want to buy them back. He does, but rather than embarrass his wife, he gives them to a mistress he is saying farewell to as she departs for Constantinople. And there, she sells the jewels to cover her gambling debts. The jewels soon appear in the window of an elegant Constantinople jewelry store where Baron Fabrizio Donati (Vittorio De Sica), an Italian diplomat soon on his way to Paris, buys them. And since fate and convenience work in mysterious ways, Donati meets Madame de in Paris and they fall into what passes for love by their class. Donati gives the earrings to Madame de as a sign of his love, not knowing they originally given to her by her husband. And Madame de must now tell a few more little lies. When her husband, the General, sees them, she must tell even more. From a story of amusing deceptions and brilliant social manners, the movie becomes a much darker and sadder story. Donati may be in love, but he understands the limits of their social class. Madame de may be in love, but for the first time in her life she moves beyond those limits. And the General? He may be worldly to a fault, he may even love his wife, but even he cannot accept becoming an object of smiles behind fans without taking some sort of action.

Ophuls immediately captures us with the elegance of both his camera and the dialogue, a mix of oblivious self-centeredness and matter-of-fact moral amusement. This was a time, for those who could afford it, before trophy mistresses learned to first demand gold wedding rings, before trophy wives required community property laws, prenuptial agreements and slick lawyers in custom-bought silk suits. Madame de lives in this world and thrives. Her downfall may be the result of the diamond earrings her husband gave her, but it certainly is that she actually fell in love. Not just in love, either, but in love with the memory of love.

What a pleasure it is to see subtle and experienced actors as Charles Boyer, Danielle Darrieux and Vittorio De Sica take their roles and bring them to life in such a way that we are forced to continually readjust our feelings toward their characters. When Boyer as the General comments to his wife that "a liar should have more sangfroid," he manages without effort to show amusement, indulgence, perhaps love, but also a little distaste, all in one line reading. All three expertly show us a class of society it's more satisfying to be amused by than to take seriously, yet all three succeed in making us take their characters not only seriously, but each one with a good deal of sympathy.

The Region Two DVD from Second Sight, available at Amazon UK, has a fine black-and-white transfer. There are two significant extras. The first is "Working with Max Ophuls." The second is a film essay on Ophuls by Tag Gallagher, identified as a film historian. It begins with this quote by Ophuls, "The camera exists to create a new art -- to show what can't be seen elsewhere, neither in theater nor in life." The essay shows us how Ophuls achieved this, and should be must viewing by any film student. Based on the reported quality of the VHS tapes of the movie, it sounds like it would be better to buy an all-region DVD player.

I purchased this video--the VHS version currently offered by Amazon.com--and was disgusted by the quality of the print. The print is very worn, the subtitles sometimes faded, quite often in the last third of the film. This film is beautifully photographed, the elegance of its backgrounds an essential part of the world in which it is set, and its meaning. These backgrounds are a worn blur much of the time in this print. I cant believe the other reviewers watched this print, for they surely would have complained too.

Max Ophul's The Earrings of Madame De... is an essential film. Filled with Ophul's magical camara work and fine performances all around it is a film to be watched and cherished by all serious film goers.

The film tells the story of a love triangle between Madame de (Danielle Darrieux), her husband (Charles Boyer) and an Itallian diplomat (Vittorio de Sica). On its face its a soap opera plain and simple but if one goes beyond the surface, the film is a play on the upper crust morals of Viennese society. Love is a thing that can be toyed with but never possessed. The earrings of the title enter the story on four occassions: first when they are seemingly unimportant and sold by Madame to pay some debts. They are then sold back to her husband who gives them to his mistress as she leaves for Constantinople. Sold there to once again pay gaming debts they come into the possession of Baron Fabrizio Donati who takes them to France.

The Baron begins a flirtation with Madame which eventually turns to love. He makes a gift of the earrings. The Madame who now cherishes the earrings because of their giver now must face the consequences of her having sold them and lied to her husband. The General demands the Baron take the jewels back and they are once again ought by the General. They make their way to a niece who sells them back to the same merchant. Finally purchased once again by Madame they are left on a church altar as an offering to save the Baron who is now involved in a duel with the General.

The travels of the earrings are used by Ophuls to represent the circularity of life. This favorite device of Ophuls was used in both Lola Montes and La Ronde. This is an excellent film that deserves to be seen. The film for some reason passed into the public domain and there is no American version of a restored print. The version I viewed was by Timeless Media and was truly horrible. The subtitles are often not readable. Much of the film is not translated and the print quality goes from merely bad to truly awful. But unfortunately this is the only version available.

If you want to see one of the greatest films by one of cinema's truly unique directors see this film. I only wish watching it were not so much a chore.

Highly recommended.

I first saw this movie in a dubbed version on the local CBC station. (One of the benefits of living in a border town with Canada.) At first I was put off because it seemed to be about the foibles of a rich, silly woman. But then the camera work drew me in. I'd never seen a camera move so beautifully. It wasn't like watching a movie at all but rather eavesdropping on its characters. Then suddenly this silly woman changes and the movie got darker and the characters more and more complex. At its end I was so moved that I thought I must remember the title in case I ever get the chance of seeing it in a theatre. Which I did about 10 years later. This time in its original form at that temple to movies the Bleecker Street Cinema (alas, gone these many years) in NYC. The print was probably terrible but that wouldn't have mattered. If CHILDREN OF PARADISE takes place in the Paris of Balzac MADAME DE is in the Paris of de Maupassant. It always reminds me of his story USELESS BEAUTY and the director Max Ophuls filmed 3 de Maupassant stories as LE PLAISIR just a few years before. At the beginning of this movie Madame de hums lightly as she sorts through her jewels & furs looking for something she can sell without regret to pay off some debts which she means to hide from her husband, a general. She settles on a pair of heart shaped diamond earrings. 'If only he hadn't given them on our wedding day', she muses knowing she will need to invent a very convincing lie to account for their disappearance. She puts the lie in motion at the opera during a performance of Gluck's ORPHEE. The irony here is not made apparent until later when Madame de meets a baron, a diplomat, and what begins as just another flirtation, entered knowingly to pass the time & amuse herself, grows and becomes so much more until finally Madame de, her husband & her lover are no longer the players in this tragedy but the played. At the end the camera fades on the image of the heart shaped earrings placed upon an altar dedicated to the saint she often prayed to. Max Ophuls isn't much known in this country although his Hollywood film LETTER FROM AN UNKNOWN WOMAN does have a following. But this film belongs right at the top among the great films: CITIZEN KANE, SHOESHINE etc. and THE PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC with whom Madame de might have something in common. If Danielle Darrieux (Madame de), Charles Boyer (Monsieur de)and Vittorio De Sica (the Baron) have ever been better I should like to know where for THAT I wish to see. I have kept from discussing plot & character because I think this is a movie that should be discovered on one's own. At that final close-up of those earrings you come away knowing you've seen something & that's not nothing.

I was looking forward to viewing this almost universally acclaimed movie. But the quality of the (ancient) print on the video is poor, and it really interfered with my enjoyment of the film. Picture and sound need a lot of work. The subtitles are often illegible because they merge with the background. Also, since I know some French, I could tell the subtitles were wholly inadequate in conveying the content of the dialogue.
Nevertheless, I'd still rather see this stunted version of 'The Earrings of Madame de...' than not see it at all. There is an allure here, the possibility of being drawn into another world and another time, that makes me want to watch this again. I hope we won't have to wait forever for Criterion or whoever to produce a DVD of this movie. I'm sure movie lovers everywhere will rejoice once this film gets the complete makeover treatment, with remastered sound and picture, brand new subtitles, and hopefully some extras about the times, the people and the places in this special film.