CLASSICS & ANTHOLOGIES
Max Ophüls
Passionate and a true workaholic, Max Ophüls, a cosmopolitan filmmaker, left his unique mark on German, French, and American cinema, and on the history of cinema as a whole. CINEMATEK is dedicating a retrospective to him to shine a light on the work of a director with an unconventional career who gifted the seventh art with some of its finest gems.
Max Ophüls, born Max Oppenheimer in Germany to influential parents in the textile industry, discovered a passion for theater in his teenage years. Instead of taking over the family business, he decided to pursue a career as an actor under the pseudonym Max Ophüls. Unsuccessful and disappointed by setbacks, he shifted his focus to directing plays. He staged numerous productions that helped him build a name for himself in the theater world. The transition from silent films to talkies had a profound impact on the young director, who began to see cinema in a new and fascinating light. Thanks to his reputation in the theater, he convinced UFA, the largest German studio of the time, to produce his first film, Die verliebte Firma, a comedy that went largely unnoticed despite its undeniable directorial qualities. In 1932, he achieved his first major success with Liebelei, an adaptation of the famous Arthur Schnitzler novel. Ophüls never strayed far from his love of literature, with many of his films being adaptations.
In 1933, he fled Nazi Germany for France, where he directed a few commissioned films in various styles before creating his first major work, Le Roman de Werther, a French-language adaptation of Goethe’s masterpiece. He went on to direct Edwige Feuillère in Sans lendemain, followed by De Mayerling à Sarajevo. In these films, the signature touch of the master had not yet fully emerged. Accused of desertion, Ophüls fled to the United States, where he was still unknown. He had to search for work like any other anonymous director. It was Preston Sturges, the famous director of Sullivan's Travels and an admirer of Liebelei, who opened the doors of the studios for him, including Universal, which entrusted him with directing an adventure film about the exile of King Charles I, produced and starring Douglas Fairbanks. The film was a success and allowed Ophüls to direct a second Hollywood film, much closer to his artistic ambitions. Letter from an Unknown Woman, adapted from Stefan Zweig, is a small masterpiece where the seeds of the style that would establish Max Ophüls as one of the greatest directors in cinema history begin to sprout. If there is one word to define his unmistakable style, it is elegance.
Upon returning to France, Ophüls created a series of films that marked the pinnacle of his work. La Ronde, Le Plaisir, and Madame de... are all masterpieces that shine with the brilliance and virtuosity of a directorial style characterized by complex and masterfully controlled camera movements. His final film, Lola Montès, was his first to use color and Cinemascope, bringing to life a flamboyant, baroque spectacle that serves as a synthesis of his entire body of work. Tragically, it resulted in a commercial failure, which marked the end of Ophüls’ aspirations. He passed away two years later, disheartened by producers who had repeatedly re-edited the film against his wishes.
Tuesday 01.10 20:00 PLATEAU Cart
Saturday 05.10 18:00 PLATEAU Cart
Max Ophüls
La fiancée vendue
De verkochte bruid
Die verkaufte Braut
- Max Ophüls, Germany 1932 ⁄ Max Nadler, Jarmila Novotna, Otto Wernicke ⁄ B&W ⁄ 77' ⁄ ST - OND: FR - NL
Thursday 03.10 20:00 PLATEAU Cart
Wednesday 09.10 18:00 PLATEAU Cart
Max Ophüls
Les Joyeux Héritiers
Lachende Erben
- Max Ophüls, Germany 1932 ⁄ Lien Deyers, Heinz Rühmann, Ida Wüst ⁄ B&W ⁄ 75' ⁄ ST - OND: FR - NL
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Friday 11.10 20:00 PLATEAU Cart
Max Ophüls
Une histoire d’amour
Liebelei
- Max Ophüls, Germany 1933 ⁄ Wolfgang Liebeneiner, Carl Esmond, Magda Schneider ⁄ B&W ⁄ 87' ⁄ ST - OND: FR
Thursday 10.10 15:00 LEDOUX Cart
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Max Ophüls
La Femme de tout le monde
La signora di tutti
- Max Ophüls, Italy 1934 ⁄ Isa Miranda, Memo Benassi, Tatyana Pavlova ⁄ B&W ⁄ 89' ⁄ ST - OND: FR - NL
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Max Ophüls
Comédie de l’argent
Komedie om geld
- Max Ophüls, Netherlands 1936 ⁄ Herman Bouber, Rini Otte, Matthieu van Eysden ⁄ B&W ⁄ 81' ⁄ ST - OND: FR
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Max Ophüls
Yoshiwara
- Max Ophüls, France 1937 ⁄ Pierre Richard-Willm, Sessue Hayakawa, Michiko Tanaka ⁄ B&W ⁄ 80' ⁄ ST - OND: DA
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Max Ophüls
Le Roman de Werther
- Max Ophüls, France 1938 ⁄ Pierre Richard-Willm, Annie Vernay, Jean Galland ⁄ B&W ⁄ 81' ⁄ V: FR ⁄ ST - OND: —
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Max Ophüls
Sans lendemain
- Max Ophüls, France 1939 ⁄ Edwige Feuillère, Jorge Rigaud, Daniel Lecourtois ⁄ B&W ⁄ 82' ⁄ V: FR ⁄ ST - OND: —
Wednesday 06.11 20:00 PLATEAU Cart
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Max Ophüls
De Mayerling à Sarajevo
- Max Ophüls, France 1940 ⁄ Edwige Feuillère, John Lodge, Aimé Clariond ⁄ B&W ⁄ 92' ⁄ V: FR ⁄ ST - OND: —
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Max Ophüls
The Exile
- Max Ophüls, USA 1947 ⁄ Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Maria Montez, Paula Corday ⁄ B&W ⁄ 91' ⁄ V: EN ⁄ ST - OND: —
Saturday 09.11 17:00 LEDOUX Cart
Max Ophüls
Letter from an Unknown Woman
- Max Ophüls, USA 1948 ⁄ Joan Fontaine, Louis Jourdan, Mady Christians ⁄ B&W ⁄ 87' ⁄ ST - OND: NL
Monday 11.11 19:00 LEDOUX Cart
Max Ophüls
Pris au piège
Caught
- Max Ophüls, USA 1949 ⁄ James Mason, Barbara Bel Geddes, Robert Ryan ⁄ B&W ⁄ 87' ⁄ ST - OND: FR - NL
Wednesday 13.11 21:30 LEDOUX Cart
Max Ophüls
Les Désemparés
The Reckless Moment
- Max Ophüls, USA 1949 ⁄ James Mason, Joan Bennett, Geraldine Brooks ⁄ B&W ⁄ 80' ⁄ ST - OND: FR - NL
Sunday 17.11 19:00 LEDOUX Cart
Max Ophüls
La Ronde
- Max Ophüls, France 1950 ⁄ Simone Signoret, Serge Reggiani, Simone Simon ⁄ B&W ⁄ 90' ⁄ ST - OND: EN
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Max Ophüls
Le Plaisir
- Max Ophüls, France 1952 ⁄ Jean Gabin, Simone Simon, Danielle Darrieux ⁄ B&W ⁄ 95' ⁄ V: FR ⁄ ST - OND: —
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Max Ophüls
Madame de...
- Max Ophüls, France, Italy 1953 ⁄ Charles Boyer, Danielle Darrieux, Vittorio De Sica ⁄ B&W ⁄ 99' ⁄ V: FR ⁄ ST - OND: —
Tuesday 26.11 21:00 LEDOUX Cart
Max Ophüls
Lola Montès
- Max Ophüls, France, West Germany 1955 ⁄ Martine Carol, Peter Ustinov, Anton Walbrook ⁄ color ⁄ 115' ⁄ ST - OND: NL
Thursday 28.11 15:00 LEDOUX Cart
Saturday 30.11 19:00 LEDOUX Cart
Max Ophüls
Montparnasse 19
- Jacques Becker, Max Ophüls, France, Italy 1958 ⁄ Gérard Philipe, Lilli Palmer, Anouk Aimée ⁄ B&W ⁄ 106' ⁄ ST - OND: NL