Tag Archives: Stephane Audran

the indiscrete wickedness of the bourgeoisie (film: La rupture – Claude Chabrol, 1970)

Some of the most scathing cinematic critiques of the bourgeoisie and the social order it dominated were created in the years after the student uprisings of 1968. They did not always take the form of explicitly political films, and one … Continue reading

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an obsessive thriller with Isabelle Adjani at her best (film: Mortelle rendonnée – Claude Miller, 1983)

Alfred Hitchcock died in 1980, but not completely. In fact, his influence is so strong that to this day, 45 years after his departure, not only are his films watched and re-watched, analyzed and enjoyed, but they also represent benchmarks … Continue reading

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crime without punishment (film: Juste avant la nuit – Chaude Chabrol, 1971)

Made in 1971, ‘Juste avant la nuit‘ (translated to English as ‘Just Before Nightfall’) was made towards the end of a very productive period in the career of French director Claude Chabrol. Since 1969 he had directed at least two … Continue reading

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crime comedy with a French sauce (film: Cop au vin – Claude Chabrol, 1985)

‘Cop au vin‘ (an inspired translation of the original title ‘Poulet au vinaigre‘) is one of those films by Claude Chabrol which, when viewed, I have the impression that they were made with Alfred Hitchcock looking approvingly over the French … Continue reading

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the feast got cold (film: Babette’s Feast – Gabriel Axel, 1987)

‘Babette’s Feast‘, a film written (after a story by  Karen Blixen) and directed by Gabriel Axel, was a huge international hit in 1987 when it hit the screens, winning the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film that year. I … Continue reading

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the profile of a murderess (film: Violette Nozière – Claude Chabrol, 1978)

In 1978, when Claude Chabrol made ‘Violette Noziere’, many people in France remembered very well the criminal case of the woman who gives the film its name. It had been one of the scandalous, passionate, and morbid stories of the … Continue reading

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Hitchcock in a French village (Film: Le boucher – Claude Chabrol, 1970)

If Alfred Hitchcock had made a mystery thriller film set in a French village, I think it would have been ‘Le Boucher‘. Hitchcock, as we all know, did not make such a film, but maybe he got to see Claude … Continue reading

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love and crime in the countryside (film: Les noces rouges – Claude Chabrol, 1973)

A few years after being one of the French New Wave four aces, Claude Chabrol said goodbye to film experiments and embarked on a very active commercial directorial career. For over 30 years he has produced films at a rate … Continue reading

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