Letter from an unknown woman 1948, max ophuls youtube. Letter from an unknown woman program note, internationales forum des jungen films, 1978. Dec, 2017 the movie letter from an unknown woman shows zweig and ophuls at their best. Perhaps the finest american film from the famed european director max ophuls, the film stars joan fontaine as a young woman who falls in love with a concert pianist. David thomson explains why letter from an unknown woman still resonates today todays best video the week in tv. The film stars joan fontaine, louis jourdan, mady christians, and marcel journet. Music is by daniele amfitheatrof and cinematography by franz planer. Irena, a ukrainian woman coming to italy looking for a job as a maid.
One of my alltime favorites 1948, a breathtaking, bitter, exquisitely orchestrated exploration of love and selfishness by max ophuls. Arabic, basque, bulgarian, croatian, english, estonian, french, greek, hungarian, persian, portuguese brazil, romanian, serbian, spanish, turkish subtitles. The beginning and end of the film letter from an unknown woman 1949 were significantly changed due to censorship. Letter from an unknown woman is one of the few films that can be said to be truly beautiful. Stefan zweig letter from an unknown woman so much more than a love letter. Studiovorgaben zum trotz auch einer seiner personlichsten. Second dose of dvr action this weekend, thanks again to tcm. But in 1948 ophuls was given an opportunity to display his legendary technique in a movie no one would have trouble understanding, the indulgently romantic letter. Released 1948, letter from an unknown woman stars joan fontaine, louis jourdan, mady christians, marcel journet the movie has a runtime of about 1 hr 30 min, and received a score of out of 100. With joan fontaine, louis jourdan, mady christians, marcel journet. The unknown woman is an ultimate enbodiment of unrequited love.
The kind of love which, if it doesnt bloom, it kills and gets killed, ending up in a waterloo that only big ideas can cause. Daniele amphiteatrofs delicate music score captures a precise viennese flavor. Get it today with same day delivery, order pickup or drive up. View all letter from an unknown woman documentation on cinefiles. Letter from an unknown woman 1948 stream and watch. Pessin, erskine sanford, otto waldis, sonja bryden. The film stars xu and jiang wen as lovers during the 1930s and 1940s in beijing. If max ophuls hadnt cooled his heels in hollywood to flee the nazis, his name might have conjured only the most unintelligible of foreign cinemavague and inaccessible to the average american filmgoer. Letter from an unknown woman is directed by max ophuls, who also coadapts the screenplay with howard koch from the novella written by stefan zweig. In 1992, letter from an unknown woman was selected for preservation in the united states national film registry by the library of congress as being culturally, historically. Based on stephen zweigs viennaset story that was adapted by max ophuls, the sumptuously lensed chinese costumer letter from an unknown woman has many of the same problems a remake of citizen. The movie letter from an unknown woman shows zweig and ophuls at their best. Not just an unrequited love, but the love felt by the lesser for the more. Street date december 5, 2017 available through the olive films website 29.
On the subject of stefans conversion by the end of the film and its representation of a mans journey into symbolic order, and thus into history, see tania modleski, time and desire in the womans film, letter from an unknown woman, ed. Letter from an unknown woman is a melodrama which has gotten under the skin of many whove treasured it for decades, not just for its evocative direction and enveloping mood, but the poignancy found in chasing rainbows. In zweigs novella, the novelist r felt little remorse towards this unknown woman who wrote him a letter. Letter from an unknown woman 1948 official trailer joan fontaine. Joan fontaine, louis jourdan, mady christians, marcel journet, art smith, carol yorke, howard freeman, john good, leo b. Letter from an unknown woman 1948 the movie database.
Ophuls put what was perhaps his first fully realized, wholly immersive experience of that tension onscreen in 1948, during his hollywood exile ophuls was a german expatriaterefugee from the nazis, with letter from an unknown woman, a melodrama that reminds us how illused that word is when its employed as some sort of default pejorative. Letter from an unknown woman is a 2004 chinese film written and directed by xu jinglei and is her second feature film as director after 2002s my father and i. Max article, seventh art, the, marilyn goldin, 1964. Starring joan fontaine, louis jourdan, mady christians, marcel journet, art smith and carol yorke, letter from an unknown woman also known as brief einer unbekannten, lettera da una sconosciuta is a dramaromance film, released in the usa on april 28 of 1948. Letter from an unknown woman 1948 turner classic movies. In a nutshell, i thought the screenplay and plot written by ophuls and howard e.
Oscars best picture winners best picture winners golden globes emmys san diego comiccon new york comiccon sundance film festival toronto intl film festival awards central festival central all events. Chinese drama warm my heart episode 15 new chinese drama, romance drama eng sub. The louis jourdan website letter from an unknown woman. In the film on the other hand both lisa and stefan take responsibility for their illicit affair. Letter from an unknown woman 1948 stream and watch online.
Made in 1948, this immaculate costume movie was his second hollywood production the first was the elegant, rarely revived romantic romp. Letter from an unknown woman is the first max ophuls i have seen. It was based on the novella of the same name by stefan zweig. Letter from an unknown woman is a 1948 american drama romance film that was directed by max ophuls. Letter from an unknown woman 1948 in early 20thcentury vienna, stefan brand louis jourdan is about to leave the city because he faces a duel that he wants no part of. Giuseppe tornatores suspenseful thriller the unknown woman won five david di donatellos for best film, best director, best actress, best music, and best cinematography. Letter from an unknown woman is a 1948 american blackandwhite drama romance film released by universalinternational and directed by max ophuls. Letter from an unknown woman film at lincoln center. This 1948 max ophuls melodrama, in a recent restoration, will be.
Its recognized as such now, having been drafted into. The classic letter from an unknown woman makes one wonder. Michael jacksons rare love letter to unknown woman greek subtitles. The film stars joan fontaine, louis jourdan, may christians and marcel journet. A pianist about to flee from a duel receives a letter from a woman. Joan fontaine, letter from an unknown woman love and fate, two of the most fertile concepts in dramatic history, were rarely as perfectly realized as when one of the worlds greatest directors and one of hollywoods most undervalued stars joined forces to create his 1948 romantic opus, letter from an unknown woman. Taking place in vienna in the early twentieth century, lisa, a teenager living read more about letter from an. But in 1948 ophuls was given an opportunity to display his legendary technique in a movie no one would have trouble understanding, the indulgently romantic letter from an unknown woman. In 1948, a film version was produced with a screenplay adaptation by howard koch. Faro island film festival 1948 winner golden train award. Letter from an unknown woman is a 1948 american blackandwhite drama romance film released by universalinternational and directed by max ophuls listed as max opuls in the opening credits sequence. Apr 24, 2014 stephan zweigs 1922 novella letter from an unknown woman was adapted into max ophulss 1948 film of the same name. Letter from an unknown woman subtitles 60 subtitles. In vienna, about 1900, a dashing man arrives at his flat, instructing his manservant that he will leave before morning.
Its recognized as such now, having been drafted into the national film registry quite early 1992. Letter from an unknown woman program note, harvard film archive, 2000. Dec 07, 2017 letter from an unknown woman is a 1948 american drama romance film that was directed by max ophuls. The film is an adaptation of stefan zweigs 1922 novella of the same name which was also adapted in 1948 by screenwriter howard koch. Perhaps the finest american film from the famed european director max ophuls, the film stars joan fontaine as a young woman who falls in love with a concert. The incomparable max article, east bay express, kelly vance. Joan fontaine plays a girl then a woman who is sexually obligated and infatuated to louis jourdan, who is sexually free and only obligated to his music. The double narrative, in cineaction toronto, springsummer 1993. It stars joan fontaine, louis jordan, mady christians, art smith and howard freeman. The film letter from an unknown woman is such an icon of cinema scholarship that it is difficult to realize it was not well received when it first appeared in the spring of 1948.
The story of unrequited love is told through a series of flashbacks as the pianist finally comes to read a. Released 1948, letter from an unknown woman stars joan fontaine, louis jourdan, mady christians, marcel journet the movie has a runtime of about 1. Zweigs book is a firstperson account of a womans heartwrenching masochistic love for a famous novelist. Letter from an unknown woman awards and nominations. A man receives a letter from a mysterious woman who has known him throughout his life. Letter from an unknown woman is a 1948 film about a pianist about to flee from a duel who receives a letter from a woman he cannot remember, who may hold. In it, i treat my subject from the point of view of philosophy. Koch which is based on the novella of the same name is good, but what makes the film special is ophuls direction and choice of camera movements and visual rhythm. In a deliciously artificial findesiecle vienna concocted on a studio backlot, max ophuls conducts a veritable symphony of moving camerawork, turning stefan zweigs short story of consuming romantic delusion into a voluptuous tragedy begun when a young woman joan fontaine develops a consuming fascination with a concert pianist neighbor louis jourdan. His servant gives him a letter from an unknown woman, which he reads. Letter from an unknown woman is a 1948 american blackandwhite drama romance film released by universalinternational and directed by max ophuls it was. The subject of this monograph is the 1948 film directed by max ophuls, letter from an unknown woman. The film certainly gave me a lot of things to think about. Mar 26, 2010 second dose of dvr action this weekend, thanks again to tcm.
In flashbacks we see the lifelong passion of lisa berndle for him. Mar 25, 2015 the german emigre director max ophulss romantic drama letter from an unknown woman, an 1948 adaptation of a novella by zweig, is equally anchored in both. Almost all the elements of the novella are in the film, with a few slight changes that enhanced the narrative so it would be suitable for the release of the film. Letter from an unknown woman is one of the greatest films of the 40s, and therefore of all time. Virginia wrightwexman and karen hollinger, rutgers university press, new brunswick, 1986, pp. It indeed looks pristine, and the unsteadiness in the title sequence on the previous disc now seems tamed down. I talk about the ideas in the film, and about the position it takes regarding one of the perennial questions of philosophy, one that is literally as old as plato.