Thanks to your review I've seen this again. And I think it was my first time in English (rather than French with subtitles, I should add to avoid sounding too pretentious!).
The Amazon print is very good and I love the sets, style, and costumes. The sense of life with lobotomy, as captured, rings entirely true from memories of summer vacations in the south of France - maybe it's something to do with the heat mixing with all that local vin rosé, apparently on tap? This may also be the first time I've ever liked Alain Delon in anything - he's usually just smooth and annoying Overall, it captures a perfect sense of place and time.
I have one minor quibble in that I prefer the ending as conjured up by the near-remake A Bigger Splash. Also Ralph Fiennes and his ghastly daughter were so much easier to dislike. But that Maserati... ooh la la: all is forgiven!
Glad you enjoyed it. Two things- the ending on the English version is different from the French, I think? And those last few seconds change everything. Second, one of the things I like about Maurice Ronet in this, is that he's actually quite subtle with his put-downs. So you grow to dislike him as the film goes on- but it's a gradual build-up. Personally, I like this approach- it's more like real life. And it turns Alain D to the bottle, which then explains why he does what he does.
You're right about the end. I've checked and, whilst the original French version is a bit longer than the English version overall, only the latter has the police turning up in a van at the end. The French version ends with them looking out the window. That to me works better. As per the remake, I was very keen for him to get away with it and for them to survive as a couple.
I see that the original 1969 English release title of the film was The Sinners (!!), so I suppose they had to hammer home that point.
I also totally agree about the overall subtlety. The difference between the '69 and '15 versions says everything about how our society has become cruder and less open to nuances in the intervening years.
I'm glad you said that. W D Taylor. It's a FASCINATING case. I am obsessed with it. The Anglo-Irish gentleman antique dealer who does a bunk from his wife and child in NYC and resurfaces a few years later as a Hollywood film director, with a different name. There are several books worth tracking down.
Here you go. In no particular order: William J. Mann: 'TinselTown: Murder, Morphine & Madness at the Dawn of Hollywood' (2014), Sidney Kirkpatrick 'A Cast of Killers' (1986), Robert Giroux ' A Deed of Death' (1990), Charles Higham 'Murder in Hollywood' (2004) and Rick Geary's graphic novel, 'Famous Players' (2009). The Higham's entertaining, but imo, needs to be taken, perhaps, with a pinch of salt. Taylorology is the best source for primary research. There's lots of unfounded Hollywood tittle-tattle and gossip in this case.
Unfounded tittle-tattle often makes for a good read! Thanks for this - think I may have heard of the Higham one and intrigued by the graphic novel. Another world.. sort of want to be there but in reality grubby and dark.
Thanks for the link, super. It is fascinating - had no idea how many characters were involved and deathbed confessions/accusations. Think I could get a bit obsessed with Mabel Normand too, like Taylor did.
I rather liked Mabel Normand, who was a great friend of Taylors. They lent rare books to each other. Not so sure about Mary Miles Minter and her mother, who sounds ghastly. Both suspects. One of the strangest things about the case, I think, is the contrast between Deane Tanner- the dodgy, hard drinking antique dealer, who abandons his family. And the upstanding, greatly admired Desmond Taylor. Like two entirely different people.
Oh wow, lots to be going on with here - thanks! It is the sort of thing I could become v obsessed with. Minter with her criminal record and ghastly mother adding to the dark underbelly of the case. And like you say, a narcissist (I presume) re-inventing himself, utterly absorbing.
I'm about to watch the tennis. But when I've got some time, I'll come up with a list of books on the case for you. About five or six of them? Some better than others. Taylor's a complete enigma. Was he gay? Possibly. Or possibly not. Or was he a womaniser? Was he a secret druggie? I don't think anybody's really cracked it yet.
Maurice Ronet can be remarkably annoying (the roles, not the guy), and Delon "can" be excused for losing his cool, lol. It happened a couple of times ... I need to tell you about a story of mine coming out in an anthology later this summer. It's called Poolside and riffs on an obsession with David Hockney. Right aligned with your post, Luke!
Yep. Ronet's character - Harry- is far too pleased with himself. But the putdowns are subtle- one of the things I like about La Piscine. No doubt you know A Bigger Splash- the 73 Hockney bio-pic/doc well?
Not sure if it's available on Amazon Prime Video in the UK but in the US, Un Homme et Une Femme can be found under A Man and a Woman: 20 Years Later. I also have a lot of behind the scenes photos and stories of the filming of La Piscine in my post from last summer if anyone wants to read more about this chic film, https://habituallychic.substack.com/p/cinema-chic-la-piscine. Happy Summer!
Beautiful visuals and a great murder scene, but never quite lived up to the potential of the brilliant opening scenes. The French version is much “cooler” insofar as the English dubbing gets in the way of the immersion.
I don't think it was dubbed. Deray shot each scene at least twice over, once in French and then again in English. There are two versions of the film, plus slightly different editing, length and a different ending. But as it was a direct rather literal translation from the French into English, yes, sometimes it can sound a bit stilted. So personally, I would go for the French version- but the English (international) version is perfectly watchable- Readers! Don't let this put you off! It's a terrific film.
The English version is available on the Criterion DVD and the actors act in English. It's not dubbed. In this version, director Jacques Deray made his edits based on performances, rather than doing a shot-by-shot re-creation of the French version.
Sorry, I didn’t mean don’t watch it. Like you I hadn’t seen it for years and was super pleased to watch it when it popped up on Amazon a few weeks ago. It’s a great watch. Just starts off with more potential than it follows through on and a few scenes have that somewhat forced feel of 60s movies. The chemistry between Schneider and Delon at the start, if bottled, could solve the worlds energy crisis.
Thanks, yes. I think the French version is probably the best one to watch, too- slightly longer. But whatever version you watch, it's just great that it's now a freebie on Amazon. I had been meaning to buy the imported DVD for years, but until recently it was horribly expensive.
Thanks to your review I've seen this again. And I think it was my first time in English (rather than French with subtitles, I should add to avoid sounding too pretentious!).
The Amazon print is very good and I love the sets, style, and costumes. The sense of life with lobotomy, as captured, rings entirely true from memories of summer vacations in the south of France - maybe it's something to do with the heat mixing with all that local vin rosé, apparently on tap? This may also be the first time I've ever liked Alain Delon in anything - he's usually just smooth and annoying Overall, it captures a perfect sense of place and time.
I have one minor quibble in that I prefer the ending as conjured up by the near-remake A Bigger Splash. Also Ralph Fiennes and his ghastly daughter were so much easier to dislike. But that Maserati... ooh la la: all is forgiven!
Glad you enjoyed it. Two things- the ending on the English version is different from the French, I think? And those last few seconds change everything. Second, one of the things I like about Maurice Ronet in this, is that he's actually quite subtle with his put-downs. So you grow to dislike him as the film goes on- but it's a gradual build-up. Personally, I like this approach- it's more like real life. And it turns Alain D to the bottle, which then explains why he does what he does.
You're right about the end. I've checked and, whilst the original French version is a bit longer than the English version overall, only the latter has the police turning up in a van at the end. The French version ends with them looking out the window. That to me works better. As per the remake, I was very keen for him to get away with it and for them to survive as a couple.
I see that the original 1969 English release title of the film was The Sinners (!!), so I suppose they had to hammer home that point.
I also totally agree about the overall subtlety. The difference between the '69 and '15 versions says everything about how our society has become cruder and less open to nuances in the intervening years.
Thanks for sending me off on a William Desmond Taylor vortex this afternoon so I could procrastinate from the desk job.
Next I might look up Delon’s bad behaviour…
He is my least favourite Ripley though.
I wrote a blog post about Taylor for The Greasy Spoon. You can read it here: https://lukehoney.typepad.com/the_greasy_spoon/2012/08/orange-blossoms-and-the-mystery-of-william-desmond-taylor.html
I'm glad you said that. W D Taylor. It's a FASCINATING case. I am obsessed with it. The Anglo-Irish gentleman antique dealer who does a bunk from his wife and child in NYC and resurfaces a few years later as a Hollywood film director, with a different name. There are several books worth tracking down.
Perfect, half a dozen books of so would be great. Love a labyrinth and cast of characters like this.
The Norrie tennis match is proving a good one.
Here you go. In no particular order: William J. Mann: 'TinselTown: Murder, Morphine & Madness at the Dawn of Hollywood' (2014), Sidney Kirkpatrick 'A Cast of Killers' (1986), Robert Giroux ' A Deed of Death' (1990), Charles Higham 'Murder in Hollywood' (2004) and Rick Geary's graphic novel, 'Famous Players' (2009). The Higham's entertaining, but imo, needs to be taken, perhaps, with a pinch of salt. Taylorology is the best source for primary research. There's lots of unfounded Hollywood tittle-tattle and gossip in this case.
Unfounded tittle-tattle often makes for a good read! Thanks for this - think I may have heard of the Higham one and intrigued by the graphic novel. Another world.. sort of want to be there but in reality grubby and dark.
Thanks for the link, super. It is fascinating - had no idea how many characters were involved and deathbed confessions/accusations. Think I could get a bit obsessed with Mabel Normand too, like Taylor did.
I rather liked Mabel Normand, who was a great friend of Taylors. They lent rare books to each other. Not so sure about Mary Miles Minter and her mother, who sounds ghastly. Both suspects. One of the strangest things about the case, I think, is the contrast between Deane Tanner- the dodgy, hard drinking antique dealer, who abandons his family. And the upstanding, greatly admired Desmond Taylor. Like two entirely different people.
If you really get into it, there's this exhaustive dossier of primary research material:https://www.silentera.com/taylorology/index.html
Oh wow, lots to be going on with here - thanks! It is the sort of thing I could become v obsessed with. Minter with her criminal record and ghastly mother adding to the dark underbelly of the case. And like you say, a narcissist (I presume) re-inventing himself, utterly absorbing.
I'm about to watch the tennis. But when I've got some time, I'll come up with a list of books on the case for you. About five or six of them? Some better than others. Taylor's a complete enigma. Was he gay? Possibly. Or possibly not. Or was he a womaniser? Was he a secret druggie? I don't think anybody's really cracked it yet.
Maurice Ronet can be remarkably annoying (the roles, not the guy), and Delon "can" be excused for losing his cool, lol. It happened a couple of times ... I need to tell you about a story of mine coming out in an anthology later this summer. It's called Poolside and riffs on an obsession with David Hockney. Right aligned with your post, Luke!
Yep. Ronet's character - Harry- is far too pleased with himself. But the putdowns are subtle- one of the things I like about La Piscine. No doubt you know A Bigger Splash- the 73 Hockney bio-pic/doc well?
I saw that a very long time ago...
Not sure if it's available on Amazon Prime Video in the UK but in the US, Un Homme et Une Femme can be found under A Man and a Woman: 20 Years Later. I also have a lot of behind the scenes photos and stories of the filming of La Piscine in my post from last summer if anyone wants to read more about this chic film, https://habituallychic.substack.com/p/cinema-chic-la-piscine. Happy Summer!
Beautiful visuals and a great murder scene, but never quite lived up to the potential of the brilliant opening scenes. The French version is much “cooler” insofar as the English dubbing gets in the way of the immersion.
I don't think it was dubbed. Deray shot each scene at least twice over, once in French and then again in English. There are two versions of the film, plus slightly different editing, length and a different ending. But as it was a direct rather literal translation from the French into English, yes, sometimes it can sound a bit stilted. So personally, I would go for the French version- but the English (international) version is perfectly watchable- Readers! Don't let this put you off! It's a terrific film.
The English version is available on the Criterion DVD and the actors act in English. It's not dubbed. In this version, director Jacques Deray made his edits based on performances, rather than doing a shot-by-shot re-creation of the French version.
Exactly. Thanks for the clarification.
Sorry, I didn’t mean don’t watch it. Like you I hadn’t seen it for years and was super pleased to watch it when it popped up on Amazon a few weeks ago. It’s a great watch. Just starts off with more potential than it follows through on and a few scenes have that somewhat forced feel of 60s movies. The chemistry between Schneider and Delon at the start, if bottled, could solve the worlds energy crisis.
Thanks, yes. I think the French version is probably the best one to watch, too- slightly longer. But whatever version you watch, it's just great that it's now a freebie on Amazon. I had been meaning to buy the imported DVD for years, but until recently it was horribly expensive.