Customer Reviews

Marius - The Fanny Trilogy Pt 1 [VHS]

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I am a French person, from the very region which saw Marcel Pagnol in the dearest village of his childhood, going hunting with his father and his uncle in "My Father's Glory" and "My mother's Castle"... What I can say and which goes further than any kind of remark one could make about the artistic qualities of this movie -so numerous!- is that seeing it, I recall the smells, the jokes, the taste, the humor full of mockery, the sun and warmth, the cicadas in the trees of my little corner of the world. The only thing I have to reproach about this movie is the overall non-satisfying performance of Orane Demazis as "Fanny". The trilogy constituted of "Marius", "Fanny" and "Cesar" is in spite of this, a beautiful picture of Provence and Pagnol's art. It is a classic in French culture.

If you ever travel to Paris and need some help from a native just say: Marius, Cesar, Fanny... They will say: Ah Monsieur you know your classics! treat you with the utmost respect and do anything for you!(while recollecting some of the memorable scenes of the trilogy). Seriously, the Marius, Cesar and Fanny trilogy is one of the masterpiece of french cinema of the thirties (and forties, and fifties...) The actors Pierre Fresnay and Raimu are classic giants. The director/writer Marcel Pagnol is also another classic giant. These guys were all buddies, and after the movie rehearsal they would go to a cafe by the port in Marseille, and argue to the death about how to make the best pastis! The trilogy is a living part of the french culture, even today.

This is CLASSIC French cinema from before WWII: community life in the Port of Marseille. Charm, humor and real emotions in a world that used to be. Ah, yes!! Father runs local bar, son yearns to travel, his girl gets pregnant. This first part of a trilogy (Fanny, Cesar, the others) sets out the gentle, turbulent tension between the three and, later, how they and the community resolve all needs selfishly and yet so selflessly. It can make you love France again, which even today is really not so different from this! Their several neighbors, and the girl are characters all. This is what cinema could be before Hollywood drowned the world with its limited view, plus car crashes. Raimu, actor name of the father, is a genius for all time.

This is truly a delightful film in every way but the picture quality isn't the greatest. It needs to be restored and put on the DVD format. It's a shame that the studios neglect some of the best films.