Max Ophuls - The Earrings of Madame de...

(aka 'Diamond Earrings' or 'Gioielli di Madame de ... ' or 'The Earrings of Madame de...')

Directed by Max Ophuls
France / Italy 1953

Ophüls' penultimate film, indulging a characteristically tender irony in its adaptation of Louise de Vilmorin's novel, is - even by his standards - exceptionally elegant in its rendering of its fin de siècle Paris milieu of ballrooms, the opera, and dashing young military officers paying their attentions to the unnamed heroine (Darrieux) of the title. The story concerns this beautiful woman's adulterous affair with an Italian diplomat (De Sica), with a pair of earrings playing an implausible and extraordinary role in their relationship. What is particularly brilliant about the film is the way Ophüls constantly draws attention to this improbable plot device, to allow a distanced and unmoralistic meditation on actions and their consequences. Also fine is the sumptuous decor, photographed in superb monochrome, and there is a particularly good performance from Boyer as the discreet 'wronged' husband.

Excerpt from TimeOut Film Guide located HERE

Posters

Theatrical Release: September 16th, 1953

Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews

DVD Review: Second Sight Films - Region 2 - PAL

DVD Box Cover

CLICK to order from:

All 4 Second Sight Ophuls Films/DVD

Distribution

Second Sight Films - Region 2 - PAL

Runtime

1:35:42

Video

1.33:1 Aspect Ratio
Average Bitrate: 5.15 mb/s
PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.

Bitrate:

Audio

French (Dolby Digital 2.0)

Subtitles

English (non-removable)

Features

Release Information:
Studio: Second Sight Films

Aspect Ratio:
Original Aspect Ratio 1.33:1

Edition Details:

• Featurette: Working With Max Ophuls
• Video Essay by Tag Gallagher

DVD Release Date: September 18th, 2006
Keep Case
Chapters: 16

Comments:

Another good image from Second Sight. Although dirty in spots it still shows some incredible detail and contrast - bordering on Criterion-level. The negative are the subtitles are non-removable (but can be erased via re-burning). Of all the Ophuls DVDS just brought out I would have expected this to be a prime candidate for a commentary. The featurette - Working With Ophuls - and Tag Gallagher's Video Essay are both fine supplements - certainly interesting in their own right. Overall this is another must-have DVD that we haven't compared to existing versions, but suspect it is superior.

The film is essential and this DVD represents it in good stead. Recomended!

Gary W. Tooze

DVD Menus