Customer Reviews

Le Million [VHS]

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Years ago as a graduate student, I was ecstatic to see a faded, fuzzy, and torn copy of LE MILLION at one of the campus film societies. Nevertheless, I was immediately enchanted. Luckily, those who today want to see this masterpiece have this magnificently restored version by Criterion. No one who loves classic cinema will fail to be enchanted by this magical story about the hunt for a lost, winning lottery ticket.

In 1931, the year this film was made, European cinema was just beginning to catch up with the technical achievements made in the United States in the late 1920s. The period from 1929 to the early 1930s was an extraordinary time, as the art struggled with perfecting the new ability to record soundtracks. For a brief period of time, the world of cinema was awash with a world of possibilities, and in Hollywood Ernst Lubitsch made perhaps the first lasting musical films in a string of productions (THE LOVE PARADE, MONTE CARLO, and THE SMILING LIEUTENANT by 1931, and later ONE HOUR WITH YOU and THE MERRY WIDOW) that borrowed heavily from the operetta, a form that tragically-based on the extraordinary success achieved by Lubitsch and later Clair and Mamoulian-failed to survive for long.

LE MILLION was essentially an attempt to do in France what Ernst Lubitsch was doing so successfully in Hollywood. The transition was an easy one, especially given that Lubitsch, the European expatriate, was setting all of his films in Europe. Rene Clair, however, added many touches of his own. The humor he employs in the film is laced with a degree of slapstick that simply wasn't Lubitsch's style. This film is a romp through Paris, and romping wasn't Lubitsch's mode of travel. LE MILLION is working class, while Lubitsch focused primarily on the antics of the aristocracy, or with workers having to deal with the aristocracy. Also, while Clair of necessity worked primarily in the studio (the limitations of sound technology required it), he employs some exterior shots that were very unusual for the time.

There is a magic and a delight in LE MILLION that simply cannot be captured in words. There is something sui generis about a truly great film, especially one that is great in only the way that a film can be great, in the use of camera to tell a story, to tell a joke, to invoke a sense of delight. Except for those unfortunate film viewers for whom no good film was ever made in black and white, for whom no good film can be subtitled, and for whom an "old" film means made before 1970, this is one of those filmed that will be loved and cherished by anyone who loves movies.

When people think of black & white foreign films from the 20's, they inevitably imagine snoozers that are outrageously incomprehensible and bizarre. Though they're often right, this movie is here to prove them wrong.

"Le Million" is one of a handful of musical comedies that I'd watch over and over. The plotline is simple: retrieve a lottery ticket from a jacket that was given away to a stranger. Sounds easy, right? Not if director Rene Clair has his way! He adds plot twists, mistaken identities, disloyal friends, goldigging sexpots, and some pretty funny slapstick. Get ready for the most entertaining 90 minutes you've spent in a long time. It's interesting to see how many of the actors still relied on silent film methods of acting (lots of facial expressions and body language), even though this is a full-fledged "talkie". And Annabella provides wonderful visual and aural beauty.

The songs are corny beyond belief but, fortunately, they're few so it's bearable. The corniness doesn't make them bad, just hopelessly out of date. They do help the story along nicely though, and the new lyric translation helps a lot. Despite being fluent in French, I had trouble understanding some of the lyrics, probably due to early recording limitations which occasionally cause muffled sound during loud passages. But this is minor and only occurs during the songs. Criterion did a wonderful job with the restoration as a whole. The print is clear and bright, with only very small segments showing any wear. The dialog is easy to understand and is crisp.

I did have some problems with the subtitles, however. There are a few sentences in which they are wildly inaccurate. And a few of the spoken "curse" words have been translated into much more vulgar English than necessary. If there are kids in the room, note that this results in an essentially PG-rated film.

A DVD that's well worth the small investment. You'll own a piece of classic movie history, and it's tremendously fun to watch.

Rene Clair's Le Million is the first sound picture to free the actors and the action from the tyranny of the sound booth, so necessary to early sound pictures. In Le Million, Clair used new, lighter cameras and sound equipment to film and record the action, which moves in and around buildings, down the streets and so forth in a fluid motion new to the screen of 1931.

Beyond having an amusing plot, Le Million moves along briskly, ending with the classic chase so familiar to French cinema, a tradition which it helped to establish.

In summary, an entertaining film today, and a technical masterpiece of its time, as important to sound pictures as Battleship Potemkin is to montage. A cinema milestone from one of the great directors in the history of film.

The simple tale of a chase over a winning lottery ticket, reveals a humanism rarely found in cinema. Two stuck-up artists race to find the ticket, as they try to avoid their upset landlord, jealous lovers and the butcher. Lazare Meerson's sets are both dreamlike and realistic, revealing the qualities of "poetic realism," this genre is often defined as. Clair wanted to re-define the musical, without the fanfare of your typical big Hollywood "numbers," and brought the songs into the action of the film. It is also a commentary on the recent advent of sound, which Clair was no fan of. Sounds come and go and often don't fit, as his roots in Surrealism show. The opening shot alone, of Paris rooftops, beautifully designed by Meerson, is worth a dream or two

Criterion did a nice job with this 1931 musical comedy. The quality is very good considering its age. It is an important film historically, but also it's just good, clean, amusing fun. And we know it has a happy ending because everyone is celebrating in the beginning. :o)

Seventy-five years old, and René Clair's Le Million remains one of the most delightful, ebullient and amusing of movies. It's even more interesting if you take the time to read the insert in the Criterion case before you watch the film.

Michel (René Lefevre), a poor artist, shares a garret with his best friend, Prosper. Michel's girl friend, Beatrice (Annabella), lives across the hall. Then Michel discovers he has won the lottery with a prize of one million Dutch florins. But where did he put the ticket? Ah, yes, in the pocket of his coat. But he gave the old coat to Beatrice to mend. And when she saw Michel sitting very close to his model, Vanda, she angrily gave the coat away to a poor man who appeared in her room with a story about being chased. And the poor man, Grandpa Tulip, turns out to be a ringleader of a group of thieves. When he gets back to his store, where he sells all the stolen goods he receives, he tosses the old coat on a pile of clothing. And just then tenor Sopranelli enters the store looking for an old coat as part of his costume for an opera concert he's giving that night at the Opera Lyrique. "A great artist," he points out, "must pay attention to the slightest details." Soon everyone is after the coat, including all of Michel's creditors. And all this frenetic comedy is played out with songs. Le Million was one of the first, if not the first, musical comedies of the sound era.

The music pervades the movie, jaunty, romantic and light hearted, from fragments the characters' consciences sing to themselves to the long and sweet opera scene to the joyous opening and closing. Even the thieves have a song...

"We are the foot soldiers of inequality.

We take back the spoils of social injustice.

And under the watchful eye of the police...

...the watchful eye of the police...

We redistribute wealth and private property."

To which the police reply...

"We are the foot soldiers of legality.

No bandit can escape the police.

Our arm upholds the scale of justice

In the name of public virtue and private property."

The movie is full of marvelous and inventive sequences. The opening of the film takes us over the roof tops of Paris to a lit skylight, where two elderly men are clambering up to look in. They raise the skylight and the sound of happy song comes up to us. They're spotted, and the dancing crowd asks if they'd like some champagne. They'll be told the story of why everyone is dancing, and they...and we...are informed that the story, of course, has a happy ending. I was charmed starting right then.

A major sequence takes place back stage at the Opera Lyrique. Everyone who has learned of the ticket in the coat has converged here. At one point there is a mad chase for the coat that morphs into a football match complete with crowd cheers and an umpire's whistle. Another time there are fast comings and goings into closets, rooms, hallways and behind the scenery as the curtain goes up. And when the curtain goes up, Sopranelli and a bulky, middle-aged diva wearing a blonde wig with pigtails down to her hips begin to sing a ponderously romantic song. Behind an artificial bush Michel and Beatrice are trapped. And as the singing continues, the camera turns the scenery into a magic, artificial forest where it would be impossible for two lovers not to embrace. They turn the elephantine song into a tableaux with falling artificial leaves as they make the lyrics become real. It's one of the most inventive and sweetest scenes you'll ever hope to see. Throughout the movie are chases up and down stairs and in and out of rooms, with doors locked and opened, and improbable hiding places discovered. Critics have made a good case of how this film influenced Chaplin and the Marx Brothers, as well as Rodgers and Hart's and Rouben Mamoulian's Love Me Tonight.

Film analysis aside, you'd have to be a terminal grump to watch this movie without a smile on your face.

The Criterion picture looks very good, especially considering age and probable condition of the source print. The only significant extra is a short film interview with René Clair made in 1959 when he discussed his views on sound in motion pictures.

One of the most majestic compositions of comedy and musical ever shown in a film. Absolutely hilarious even for today's standards. An explosive plot that builds suspense and romance until the films climatic end. A certain classic!

At the dawn of sound, director René Clair brought us this delicious farcical concoction, imbued with a spirited, joyously romantic flavor only the French can produce. It is unalloyed fun to watch the cast of kooks-able performers all-run circles around each other while occasionally bursting into song. The sequence in which Michel and Company make a grab for the coat during a stage performance of "La Boheme," is a highlight. Fresh and timeless.

The premier edition of the prestigious "Sight and Sound" critics poll of the all-time Top Ten movies came out in 1952 (and every 10 years thereafter another poll is issued). Coming in a tie for 10th place was Rene Clair's "Le Million". That poll was a bit heavy with silent movies (6 of the 12) and a couple of relatively obscure "sound" pictures ("Louisiana Story" and "Le Jour se Leve"); make that three obscure sound pictures if you want to include "Le Million". I've generally been impressed with the selections of the magazine's poll and usually I'm able to appreciate what made each movie so special. In the case of "Le Million" I was also able to enjoy the movie. By that I mean that "Le Million" is a fun movie to watch. It starts out by letting us see a festive party of a large group of celebrants. They explain why the have all come to celebrate and that leads the story back to earlier that day. The story unfolds somewhat like a Chaplin film in normal speed with all sorts of comic twists and turns. Along the way the dialogue varied from individual spoken lines to group chorus. It could be called a musical but don't let that turn you away if it doesn't sound like your cup of tea. It's a comedy of errors more than anything else and the beauty of it is we know that, somehow, everything's going to turn out OK (otherwise why were all those people celebrating when the movie started).

I got a kick out of the sets. There was an art to the backdrops and the lighting that gave a lot of added depth especially in the young lady's apartment. The many different characters gave a real variety to the cast and they all seemed to have their own role in all the events that unfold.

I admit that this movie gets a 5 Star rating in part because of its' advance reputation. However, this isn't one of those movies in which we search for brilliance (the number one spot on the 1952 poll went to "Bicycle Thieves" which is...well you decide). This is a movie that delights the viewer and, for perspective, it didn't make the "NY Times" best 1000 films list. It may not have belonged on "Sight and Sound's" 1952 list but it certainly could have replaced "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" on the "NY Times" list.

This film begins with the ending celebration, so we know that despite all the problems, all will be well. It is a light and frothy film that has nothing really to say. It is fantastic that it has been revived on video for a new generation of film viewers, who perhaps have been blasted too much by violence.

Take the trip to a forgotten Paris and a wonderful fairy tale.