An Almost Perfect Affair

Rating:
Summary: Major talents, major let-down.
Review: It is depressing to see actors and crew who have worked on some of the most important films of the last half-century (stars Keith Carradine and Monica Vitti; composer Georges Delerue; cinematographer Henri Decae) directed by a major American film-maker (Michael Ritchie) in hamfisted slush like this. It strives to be both an Altmanesque lampoon of the film-industry during the Cannes Film Festival, but lacks authenticity, detail, atmosphere, wit or satiric nous; and a Euro-romance, drenched in a soupily romantic score and TV-movie soft-focus visuals. It would be nice to say both impulses pull each other apart, but neither strand has anything to recommend itself beyond disbelief that THESE talents are actually doing THIS. Any Henry James-like tension, ironic or otherwise, in a plot featuring an 'innocent' American abroad in decadent Europe is ruined by Carradine's equine cloddishness and Vitti in Anna Magnani Italian blowsy mode. Independent film-maker Carradine is encouraged to take more interest in people than his art in order to make better movies: this film is totally perfect proof against such bogus platitudes.

Rating:
Summary: Charming Sleeper
Review: This film's been unfairly maligned for years; dumped by its distributor and savaged by critics in its initial release, perhaps it can find an appreciative audience in this spiffy new DVD version. The plot, a slight romance between American indie filmmaker Carradine and Italian producer's wife Vitti at the Cannes film festival, is slight, but very pleasant. There's real chemistry between the pair; Monica, particularly, is touching and very appealing. Some genuine laughs in the Walter Bernstein screenplay, sympathetic direction from Michael Richie, and a glorious score from the always-reliable Georges Delarue add to the film's pleasures. Also enjoyable are the unbilled star cameos, and the running joke about the remake of STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE with Vanessa Redgrave and Charles Bronson (if memory serves, such a project was discussed in the 70's; the proposed Stanley was Stallone, even more ludicrous!) The transfer's gorgeous; at bargain price, this one's really worth checking out.

Rating:
Summary: Charming Sleeper
Review: This film's been unfairly maligned for years; dumped by its distributor and savaged by critics in its initial release, perhaps it can find an appreciative audience in this spiffy new DVD version. The plot, a slight romance between American indie filmmaker Carradine and Italian producer's wife Vitti at the Cannes film festival, is slight, but very pleasant. There's real chemistry between the pair; Monica, particularly, is touching and very appealing. Some genuine laughs in the Walter Bernstein screenplay, sympathetic direction from Michael Richie, and a glorious score from the always-reliable Georges Delarue add to the film's pleasures. Also enjoyable are the unbilled star cameos, and the running joke about the remake of STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE with Vanessa Redgrave and Charles Bronson (if memory serves, such a project was discussed in the 70's; the proposed Stanley was Stallone, even more ludicrous!) The transfer's gorgeous; at bargain price, this one's really worth checking out.