Home | Movies By Year | Movies from 1908
L'Arlsienne (1908 film)
Buy L'Arlsienne (1908 film) now from AmazonFirst, read the Wikipedia article. Then, scroll down to see what other TopShelfReviews readers thought about the movie. And once you've experienced the movie, tell everyone what you thought about it.
Wikipedia article
'L'Arlsienne' ' is a 1908 French drama film directed by Albert Capellani, based on Alphonse Daudet's eponymous play. It is the first film produced by the 'Socit cinmatographique des auteurs et gens de lettres' (SCAGL) [fr] ' created at the beginning of the same year to produce cinematographic adaptations of literary classics.Review and link to watch the film:
Plot
A young man from the country, Frdric, says good-bye to his family and his sweetheart Yvette in front of his family home and goes to the old city of Arles to attend the bull fight at Roman Amphitheatre. There he meets a beautiful young woman and falls in love with her. They stroll together through the street of the old city and vow eternal love. As he leaves her at her home and walks away, her former lover Mifilio comes along and forcefully complains about her unfaithful behaviour, but she coldly sends him away.
The next day Frdric meets the girl again and proposes to her and she accepts him. He takes her to his home to introduce her to his parents who welcome her.
A few days before the date planned for the wedding, Milifio appears at Frdric's house and shows his grandfather Balthazar a letter proving that she had been his mistress and had sworn him eternal love. He shows it to Frederic who confronts the girl. She coldly admits the facts and haughtily leaves the house. Frdric is devastated.
To prevent him to fall into madness, his mother convinces him to marry Yvette. Frdric consents and the wedding is celebrated.
But Frdric cannot forget the Girl from Arles. He keeps having visions of her either alone or with Milifio. Trying to find solace, he climbs to the attic of his house, but there he sees her kissing Milifio in front of the open window. Wanting to catch them, he falls from the window and crashes on the ground. He dies in his mother's arms while Yvette watches, crying.
Production
The SCAGL was created at the initiative of Charles Path, the founder of the production company Path Frres in order to give a new dimension to cinema as the public was beginning to get tired of simplistic comic or melodramatic films. Its object was "The adaptation, composition and cinematographic, photographic and phonographic representation, both in France and abroad, of literary and dramatic works by French or foreign authors, deceased or living (...)".Journal Officiel de la Rpublique Franaise, 22 juin 1908, n 81. The creation of this company was also a reaction to the creation in February of the same year of a company with a similar objective, ', and to the ongoing production by that company of its first film, 'The Assassination of the Duke of Guise'.Dominique Moustacchi et Stphanie Salmon, 'Albert Capellani directeur artistique de la SCAGL ou lmergence de lauteur', 1895: Revue de l'association franaise de recherche sur l'histoire du cinma, 68|2012, pp.99-119.
Albert Capellani was appointed Artistic Director of the SCAGL and in charge of directing 'L'Arlsienne', the first film to be produced by the new company. The film was almost entirely shot on location in Arles and shows the old streets, the Roman Amphitheatre and the olive groves. It was longer than usual for the time with a length of 355 meter, giving a projection time of about 18 minutes at 18 fps.Christine Leteux, 'Albert Capellani, Pioneer of the Silent Screen', The University Press of Kentucky, 2015,
The film is composed of 43 shots, showing 27 different points of views, and 10 intertitles which do not replace dialogs but rather introduce the various scenes. Apart from two camera pannings, all the shots are fixed wide shots.
Release and reception
The SCAGL managed to beat Le Film d'Art at the finish line and the premire of 'L'Arlsienne' took place in Paris at the Omnia-Path theatre on 1 October 1908, one and a half months before the release of 'The Assassination of the Duke of Guise'. The film was presented with the incidental music composed by Georges Bizet for the eponymous play. It was the first time that a score composed by a renowned composer was associated with a film.
According to 'Phono-Cin-Gazette', the premire of the film in Paris was a resounding success.Phono-Cin-Gazette, n 86, 18 octobre 1908 The film was also a success in London according to an article published in 'Bioscope' which stressed that the fast rhythm of action increased the viewers' interest and that the images of the countryside were like a fairy-tale.Quoted by Mariann Lewinsky, in the booklet of the DVD box set 'Albert Capellani, un cinema di grandeur 1905-1911', Italy, Ed. Il Cinema ritrovato
Christine Leteux wrote that L'Arlsienne is a genuine masterpiece. "Capellani shows a remarkable sens of pictorialism in his camera angles and lighting effects. The film even contains an astonishing 180-degree panorama. He uses double exposure with amazing virtuosity. Capellani manages to make us feel Frdric's torments as he is haunted by the image of the Arlsienne which appears constantly by his side, even in the presence of his bride".
Preservation
The film was considered lost during many decades. It was rediscovered and restored at the beginning of the 21st century and presented in 2011 at the Festival 'Il Cinema Ritrovato' organised by the Cineteca di Bologna. The film is included in the DVD box set 'Albert Capellani, un cinema di grandeur 1905-1911' published by 'Il Cinema Ritrovato'.
Selected Cast
* Paul Capellani as Frdric
* Henri Desfontaines as Mitifio
* Henry Kraus as Balthazar
* Jeanne Grumbach as L'Arlsienne
References
Buy L'Arlsienne (1908 film) now from Amazon
<-- Return to movies from 1908